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Internal tools the team builds itself
Power Apps, Retool and OutSystems license each person who uses an app and lean on developers to build them. FasterOS lets the people who run a process build its forms, reports, apps and agents by clicking, for $1 a month for each person who uses them.
- Far lower cost $1 a month per user, against $5 to $22 per user on low-code platforms.
- Built by the team Logic from explained functions; no JavaScript, SQL or Power Fx.
- Agents included Processes that wait for approvals, on every plan.
- Public too Sites, stores, bookings and a support desk for customers.
What's different underneath
Every user, licensed
Low-code platformsPower Apps Premium is $20 a user a month ($22 from January 2027). Retool charges builders $10 and internal users $5 a month on Team, $50 and $15 on Business. OutSystems has quoted from about $36,300 a year and now prices by estimate only.
FasterOS$5 a month for each person who builds and $1 for each team member who uses what’s built, with hosting by use. Customers and the public use public forms and apps free.
Built by the people who run the process
Low-code platformsPast simple screens, Power Apps uses Power Fx formulas, Retool expects JavaScript and SQL, and OutSystems is built for professional developers.
FasterOSForms, reports, apps and agents are built by clicking, with logic from explained functions (or written as text). The Assistant can build the first version from a description.
Their strength: your existing systems
Low-code platformsThese platforms connect to databases and systems you already run: Dataverse and 1,000+ connectors for Power Apps, any SQL database or API for Retool, enterprise integration for OutSystems.
FasterOSFasterOS keeps its own data, every form a table at any size, and other systems reach it through the Faster API. Connecting outside databases directly isn’t built yet.
Internal and external, together
Low-code platformsInternal tools are the focus. Public sites, stores, bookings and customer support need other products (Power Pages, for instance, licensed separately).
FasterOSThe same records drive internal apps and what customers see: a site, a store, bookings, live chat and a support desk with a customer portal.
Side by side
What it takes, and where each one comes from.
| What you need | Power Apps | Retool | OutSystems | FasterOS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Internal apps over your data | Built in | Built in | Built in | Built in |
| Built without code | Add-on Power Fx formulas | Needs code JavaScript and SQL | Needs code Professional developers | Built in Jade by clicking, and the Assistant |
| Connect your existing databases | Built in Dataverse and 1,000+ connectors | Built in Any SQL database or API | Built in Enterprise integration | API only Not yet: data lives in FasterOS; others reach it by API |
| Agents and approvals | Add-on Power Automate; standalone flows licensed separately | Add-on Workflows, by plan | Built in Workflows | Built in Agents that wait for people |
| Records and reports at any size | Built in Dataverse, by capacity | Your job Your own database | Built in | Built in 600,000 searched in about a second |
| Public sites, stores and bookings | Add-on Power Pages, licensed separately | Not built in Internal tools only | Add-on Separate apps to build | Built in |
| A support desk with a customer portal | Add-on Dynamics, licensed separately | Not built in Other tools | Needs code Build it | Built in Faster Support |
| Your team’s chat, docs and sheets | Add-on Microsoft 365, licensed separately | Not built in Other tools | Not built in Other tools | Built in |
| Run it on your own servers | Not built in Cloud only | Built in Self-hosted option | Built in Self-managed option | Not built in Cloud only |
| Pricing | Per user $20 a user a month ($22 from 2027) | Per user $10–$50 a builder, $5–$15 a user a month | Quote By estimate; from about $36,300 a year | Published $5 a builder, $1 a member |
Build the same approval app
Operations wants an equipment request form, a manager’s approval with a two-day limit, a report of open requests, and the requester told the outcome. Here’s what each takes.
FasterOS: 5 steps, by the operations team
- Create your team and invite the managers1:34 how-to
- Build the request form1:56 how-to
- Turn its requests into a report of what’s open1:49 how-to
- Describe the approval, with its two-day limit; an agent runs it
- Start it from the form, so every request runs it
Three are shown start to finish in narrated how-tos. About 5 minutes of video in all.
A low-code platform: licenses, a developer, then the app
- License every person who’ll use the app
- Set up the data (Dataverse, or a database you run)
- Have a developer build the screens and queries
- Build the approval in the workflow tool (licensed separately on some)
- Deploy, and keep the app maintained as needs change
If the app sits on databases you already run and a developer team owns it, these platforms are built for that.
Your first year, priced
Our own published prices, and theirs as published or benchmarked. Change anything to match your quotes.
People who build People who use the apps FasterOS $790–$1,273 Seats, plus hosting by use (low to high activity). Agents, reports, public sites and the support desk included. Already on FasterOS? Only its storage more Seats are paid once, for everything your team builds: adding this costs only its own use and any add-on. Power Apps $12,480 52 Premium users. Power Automate, Power Pages and Dataverse capacity can add more. Retool $3,240 Team: 2 builders and 50 internal users, billed yearly. Business is $50 and $15. OutSystems $36,300 Its last published starting price; now priced by estimate.Each of these is one tool for one job, with its own bill. FasterOS is a platform: the first solution pays for your team’s seats, and every one after it (a site, a store, a support desk, agents) adds only its hosting and any add-on.
Beyond internal tools
What a low-code platform licenses separately, FasterOS includes.
Agents that decide, loop and escalate Approvals with time limits, reminders and escalation, by clicking. Take the tour →App Builder Your forms, reports, sheets and scenes as one app, shared with a link. Take the tour →Data of any size Reports and dashboards that stay fast across hundreds of thousands of records. Take the tour →A support desk with a customer portal Answers from your own knowledge, a ticket and a conversation for every request. Take the tour →Websites and stores Public pages, order forms, bookings and a store, on your own domain. Take the tour →The Faster API Other systems read and write your records, logic and agents. Take the tour →Your first year with each
Low-code platforms
- License each new user, and each related product
- Keep developers on hand for changes
- Maintain the connections to the systems underneath
FasterOS
- Add users at $1 a month
- The team changes its own forms, apps and agents
- Public sites and support included
When a low-code platform is the better fit
- Admin tools built by engineers over databases and APIs you already run (Retool).
- An organization standardized on Microsoft 365 and Dataverse (Power Apps).
- Large, mission-critical applications built by professional developers (OutSystems).
Questions
Do people who only use an app pay?
Team members who sign in are $1 a month each. Customers and the public use public forms and apps free.
Can it connect to our database?
Not directly yet. FasterOS keeps its own data, and the Faster API lets your systems read and write records, change logic and start agents.
Who builds the apps?
The people who run the process: forms, reports, apps and agents are built by clicking, and the Assistant can build a first version from a description.
Can we host it ourselves?
No. FasterOS is cloud only, with every change written to three copies on separate servers.
Sources, as published in 2026: Microsoft: Power Apps Premium price update ($20 a user a month; $22 from January 2027); Retool pricing (Team $10 a builder, $5 an internal user; Business $50 and $15 a month billed yearly); OutSystems pricing history (from $36,300 a year; now by estimate).
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