Top 15 Fastest-Growing Open-Source Low-Code Projects on GitHub in 2025

Originally published at https://www.nocobase.com/en/blog/github-top15-fastest-growing-open-source-low-code-projects. Introduction Back in mid-2024, we published a list of the top 15 open-source low-code projects on GitHub by star count. The article received widespread attention and was widely shared among developers. Now, we're bringing you an updated list: the top 15 open-source low-code projects on GitHub with the fastest star growth in Q1 2025. Over the past three months, which projects have seen the most momentum, which continue to grow strong, and which newcomers are rising fast? Let’s find out. ⚠️ Data Explanation The ranking is based on star growth from December 31, 2024, to March 31, 2025, sorted in descending order. The data is sourced from OSSInsight. While the star counts may slightly differ from real-time GitHub numbers, they offer meaningful insights under consistent measurement standards. Ranking Summary Rank Project Type & Use Case Stars Gained Start Stars End Stars 15 Budibase Internal app builder for forms and workflows 725 23,277 24,002 14 GrapesJS Visual HTML editor for websites, landing pages, emails 813 23,023 23,836 13 NocoBase Model-driven, plugin-extensible low-code platform 844 12,533 13,377 12 Windmill Script-based workflow automation with multi-language support 1,165 10,894 12,059 11 Directus Visual data platform and CMS for SQL databases 1,201 29,137 30,338 10 Refine React framework for building enterprise-grade CRUD apps 1,223 29,287 30,510 9 Appsmith Visual low-code platform for internal tool development 1,392 35,183 36,575 8 Strapi Open-source headless CMS for custom content APIs 1,624 66,993 68,617 7 ToolJet Developer-friendly low-code builder for internal apps 1,725 33,630 35,355 6 Appwrite All-in-one backend-as-a-service (BaaS) platform 1,792 46,497 48,289 5 PocketBase Single-binary backend with DB, auth, file storage, and real-time 2,399 41,067 43,466 4 NocoDB Spreadsheet-like interface for relational databases 2,808 49,973 52,781 3 AppFlowy AI-powered, privacy-first Notion alternative 2,913 60,122 63,035 2 Supabase Open-source Firebase alternative with real-time features 4,429 74,721 79,150 1 n8n Self-hostable, AI-integrated workflow automation tool 18,420 52,623 71,043 No.15: Budibase Star Growth Summary: Growth: +725 Stars on Dec 31, 2024: 23,277 Stars on Mar 31, 2025: 24,002 Links: GitHub: https://github.com/Budibase/budibase Website: https://budibase.com About the Project: Budibase is a platform built for creating internal tools with ease. It's especially suited for use cases like form handling, approval workflows, and data dashboards: Flexible Data Sources: Connect to external databases like PostgreSQL or MySQL, use REST APIs, or manage data with Budibase’s built-in database. Visual UI Builder: Drag-and-drop editor makes it easy to design responsive layouts without writing code. Built-in Automation: Define triggers and actions to automate business workflows with minimal effort. Best For: Building internal systems such as admin panels, approval flows, form collection apps, or customer portals. Budibase boosts development speed and is ideal for adapting to evolving business needs. Recent Highlights: In November 2024, version 3.0 was released, featuring several major updates: AI Features: Added tools like AI configuration panels, Budibase AI, an AI-powered CRON generator, and smart fields to enhance automation and intelligence. Workflow Branching: Introduced support for branching within automation flows, allowing for more complex and dynamic process designs. Visual Role Management: Upgraded the RBAC interface to make permission settings more intuitive and user-friendly. No.14: GrapesJS Star Growth Summary: Growth: +813 Stars on Dec 31, 2024: 23,023 Stars on Mar 31, 2025: 23,836 Links: GitHub: https://github.com/GrapesJS/grapesjs Website: https://grapesjs.com/ About the Project: GrapesJS is a front-end visual builder focused on designing HTML templates. It's often used for embedding editors into CMS systems or SaaS platforms. Key features include: Versatile Content Editing: Supports building websites, landing pages, email templates, and more. Drag-and-Drop Layouts: Allows users to construct complex layouts quickly using a visual editor. Extensive Plugin Ecosystem: Offers plugins for custom code editing and other enhancements. Best For: Great for developers and teams who want to integrate visual content editing into their platforms or quickly create emails, landing pages, or full websites. Recent Highlights: In Q1 2025, GrapesJS rolled out several important updates: v0.22.4 (Dec 5, 2024): Improved data source handling, fixed drag model initialization issues, and upgraded the rich-text editor customization. v0.22.5 (Jan 15, 2025): Added new events like project:load, component:script:mount, and component:script:unmount for bette

Apr 8, 2025 - 08:38

Top 15 Fastest-Growing Open-Source Low-Code Projects on GitHub in 2025

Originally published at https://www.nocobase.com/en/blog/github-top15-fastest-growing-open-source-low-code-projects.

Introduction

Back in mid-2024, we published a list of the top 15 open-source low-code projects on GitHub by star count. The article received widespread attention and was widely shared among developers.

Now, we're bringing you an updated list: the top 15 open-source low-code projects on GitHub with the fastest star growth in Q1 2025.

Over the past three months, which projects have seen the most momentum, which continue to grow strong, and which newcomers are rising fast?

Let’s find out.

⚠️ Data Explanation

The ranking is based on star growth from December 31, 2024, to March 31, 2025, sorted in descending order.

The data is sourced from OSSInsight. While the star counts may slightly differ from real-time GitHub numbers, they offer meaningful insights under consistent measurement standards.

Ranking Summary

Rank	Project	Type & Use Case	Stars Gained	Start Stars	End Stars
15	Budibase	Internal app builder for forms and workflows	725	23,277	24,002
14	GrapesJS	Visual HTML editor for websites, landing pages, emails	813	23,023	23,836
13	NocoBase	Model-driven, plugin-extensible low-code platform	844	12,533	13,377
12	Windmill	Script-based workflow automation with multi-language support	1,165	10,894	12,059
11	Directus	Visual data platform and CMS for SQL databases	1,201	29,137	30,338
10	Refine	React framework for building enterprise-grade CRUD apps	1,223	29,287	30,510
9	Appsmith	Visual low-code platform for internal tool development	1,392	35,183	36,575
8	Strapi	Open-source headless CMS for custom content APIs	1,624	66,993	68,617
7	ToolJet	Developer-friendly low-code builder for internal apps	1,725	33,630	35,355
6	Appwrite	All-in-one backend-as-a-service (BaaS) platform	1,792	46,497	48,289
5	PocketBase	Single-binary backend with DB, auth, file storage, and real-time	2,399	41,067	43,466
4	NocoDB	Spreadsheet-like interface for relational databases	2,808	49,973	52,781
3	AppFlowy	AI-powered, privacy-first Notion alternative	2,913	60,122	63,035
2	Supabase	Open-source Firebase alternative with real-time features	4,429	74,721	79,150
1	n8n	Self-hostable, AI-integrated workflow automation tool	18,420	52,623	71,043

No.15: Budibase

Star Growth Summary:

Growth: +725
Stars on Dec 31, 2024: 23,277
Stars on Mar 31, 2025: 24,002

Links:

GitHub: https://github.com/Budibase/budibase
Website: https://budibase.com

About the Project:

Budibase is a platform built for creating internal tools with ease. It's especially suited for use cases like form handling, approval workflows, and data dashboards:

Flexible Data Sources: Connect to external databases like PostgreSQL or MySQL, use REST APIs, or manage data with Budibase’s built-in database.
Visual UI Builder: Drag-and-drop editor makes it easy to design responsive layouts without writing code.
Built-in Automation: Define triggers and actions to automate business workflows with minimal effort.

Best For:

Building internal systems such as admin panels, approval flows, form collection apps, or customer portals. Budibase boosts development speed and is ideal for adapting to evolving business needs.

Recent Highlights:

In November 2024, version 3.0 was released, featuring several major updates:

AI Features: Added tools like AI configuration panels, Budibase AI, an AI-powered CRON generator, and smart fields to enhance automation and intelligence.
Workflow Branching: Introduced support for branching within automation flows, allowing for more complex and dynamic process designs.
Visual Role Management: Upgraded the RBAC interface to make permission settings more intuitive and user-friendly.

No.14: GrapesJS

Star Growth Summary:

Growth: +813
Stars on Dec 31, 2024: 23,023
Stars on Mar 31, 2025: 23,836

Links:

GitHub: https://github.com/GrapesJS/grapesjs
Website: https://grapesjs.com/

About the Project:

GrapesJS is a front-end visual builder focused on designing HTML templates. It's often used for embedding editors into CMS systems or SaaS platforms. Key features include:

Versatile Content Editing: Supports building websites, landing pages, email templates, and more.
Drag-and-Drop Layouts: Allows users to construct complex layouts quickly using a visual editor.
Extensive Plugin Ecosystem: Offers plugins for custom code editing and other enhancements.

Best For:

Great for developers and teams who want to integrate visual content editing into their platforms or quickly create emails, landing pages, or full websites.

Recent Highlights:

In Q1 2025, GrapesJS rolled out several important updates:

v0.22.4 (Dec 5, 2024): Improved data source handling, fixed drag model initialization issues, and upgraded the rich-text editor customization.
v0.22.5 (Jan 15, 2025): Added new events like project:load, component:script:mount, and component:script:unmount for better project lifecycle control. The team also launched the Studio SDK, an embeddable visual editor kit featuring React 19 support, an icon picker, and a high-performance VirtualList component—making it easier for developers to build seamless editing experiences.

No.13: NocoBase

Star Growth Overview:

Star Increase: +844
Dec 31, 2024: 12,533 stars
Mar 31, 2025: 13,377 stars

Links:

GitHub: https://github.com/nocobase/nocobase
Website: https://www.nocobase.com/

About the Project:

NocoBase is a highly extensible open-source no-code/low-code development platform, purpose-built for rapidly building and scaling enterprise applications. Unlike spreadsheet-based tools or UI-first builders, NocoBase adopts a fully data model–driven architecture—ideal for applications with complex workflows, fine-grained permissions, and clearly defined user roles.

What makes NocoBase unique:

Modular Plugin Architecture: All features, from permissions and workflows to APIs, are loaded as independent plugins—allowing you to enable, replace, or extend functionality as needed.
Model-Driven Development: Every table structure and field relationship is driven by configuration, supporting many-to-many relationships, nested fields, and data views for complex business logic.
Frontend-Backend Separation: The backend focuses on data modeling, while the frontend uses visual building blocks to assemble custom UIs—decoupling data structure from UI design.
Advanced Permissions: Offers role-based, condition-based, and field-level access control—suited for multi-role systems.

Best For:

NocoBase is ideal for developers and teams working on backend frameworks, internal tools, or systems that require rich data modeling, dynamic workflows, and robust access control. Think of it as a low-code version of Strapi, Hasura, and an RBAC engine—fully open-source, self-hosted, and customizable with plugins.

Recent Highlights:

Q1 2025 brought several major milestones:

Pricing Update (April): To lower the entry barrier, NocoBase open-sourced its commercial plugins and slashed all prices by 50%.
v1.6.0 (March): Introduced cluster deployment mode, improved security protocols, and added a migration manager—enhancing stability and scalability.
v1.5.0 (February): Optimized core performance, added support for large-scale data import/export, built-in email management, and print template features—boosting performance and usability.

No.12: Windmill

Star Growth Overview:

Star Increase: +1,165
Dec 31, 2024: 10,894 stars
Mar 31, 2025: 12,059 stars

Links:

GitHub: https://github.com/windmill-labs/windmill
Website: https://windmill.dev/

About the Project:

Windmill is an open-source developer platform and workflow engine that transforms scripts into working tools with auto-generated UIs, APIs, and scheduled jobs. Core features include:

Language Flexibility: Supports Python, TypeScript, Go, PHP, Bash, SQL, and more—use whatever language you’re comfortable with.
Auto-Generated Interfaces: UI is automatically generated from script parameters, enabling seamless interaction for end users.
Workflow Composition: Combine multiple scripts into data pipelines or multi-step automations.

Best For:

Great for building internal tools, automating workflows, or deploying data pipelines—especially when you want low-code speed without sacrificing developer control.

Recent Highlights:

Key updates in Q1 2025:

MQTT Triggers (v1.475.0): Added support for MQTT to trigger workflows when messages are received.
Global Recompute (v1.474.0): Introduced a helper to trigger re-evaluation of all frontend components—simplifying reactive logic.
Postgres Triggers (v1.449.0): Enabled listening to Postgres events (INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE) to trigger custom scripts automatically.

No.11: Directus

Star Growth Overview:

Star Increase: +1,201
Dec 31, 2024: 29,137 stars
Mar 31, 2025: 30,338 stars

Links:

GitHub: https://github.com/directus/directus
Website: https://directus.io/

About the Project:

Directus is an open-source data platform that turns any SQL database into customizable APIs and no-code apps in real time. It’s designed for developers and teams who want full control over their data while still enjoying no-code flexibility.

Key capabilities include:

Database Mirroring: Keeps your data in sync with external SQL sources for seamless integration and backup.
Developer Toolkit: Lightweight SDKs and prebuilt tools make it easy to integrate Directus into any app.
Granular Access Control: Fine-tune data access rules to meet security and compliance requirements.
Built-In Authentication: Offers secure and flexible user authentication mechanisms.

Best For:

Ideal for building CMS, BaaS platforms, and other data-centric apps. A great fit for technical teams needing a flexible low-code tool with full backend control.

Recent Highlights:

In November 2024, version 11.1.2 was released with improvements to content versioning and a new comment API endpoint.

No.10: Refine

Star Growth Overview:

Star Increase: +1,223
Dec 31, 2024: 29,287 stars
Mar 31, 2025: 30,510 stars

Links:

GitHub: https://github.com/refinedev/refine
Website: https://refine.dev/

About the Project:

Refine is an open-source React meta-framework tailored for building enterprise-grade web apps centered on CRUD operations. It provides a streamlined developer experience with ready-to-use hooks and components for common challenges like authentication, access control, routing, networking, state management, and localization.

Why Developers Love It:

Fully Transparent Codebase: No black-box limitations—everything is open and extendable, giving full development freedom.
Enterprise Security: Easily integrates with custom auth systems and supports advanced access control, making it secure and compliant.
Modular & Flexible: Seamlessly works with REST and GraphQL, supports various frontend tools and libraries.
Fast UI Building: Comes with Ant Design integration out of the box, but also supports other UI kits or custom design systems.

Best For:

A perfect tool for rapidly building internal tools, admin panels, dashboards, and B2B apps—ideal for developers who want speed without sacrificing flexibility.

Recent Highlights:

In Q1 2025, Refine shipped several major enhancements:

Refine AI (Feb): Introduced AI-powered features that simplify app development and boost productivity.
Refine Devtools (Mar): A new toolset for better debugging and development insights—track queries, preview auto-generated code, and more.