Refine

Open-source React framework for building admin panels, dashboards and internal B2B apps in code.

Open sourceSelf-hostableInternal tool builders

Verified facts: 3 of 3
Alternatives ranked: 5
Approved reviews: 0
Visits sent from here: 0

About Refine

Refine is a React meta-framework for data-heavy internal apps. Rather than a drag-and-drop canvas, it gives developers hooks and components for the repetitive parts of admin panels, such as data fetching, CRUD routing, authentication, access control, forms, tables and real-time updates, while leaving the UI layer open: it works headless or with Ant Design, Material UI, Mantine or Chakra, and connects through data providers to REST, GraphQL, Supabase, Strapi and many other backends. The output is ordinary React code you own and deploy anywhere, so there is no platform lock-in or per-user fee. The company also offers an AI tool that generates Refine apps from your APIs, producing code you can download or publish. It is MIT-licensed. It suits teams with front-end developers who find low-code builders limiting, but it is a framework, so non-developers cannot use it and you take on hosting, upgrades and maintenance yourself.

Best for: React developers who want to code internal tools quickly without a low-code platform.

What works

MIT-licensed with no per-user costs
Works with many UI libraries and backends
Produces plain React code you fully own

Why people leave

Requires React developers
You handle hosting and maintenance
No visual builder for non-technical staff

Top Refine alternatives

See all 5

1
React-admin
Longer-established React admin framework with an enterprise edition.
66.5
2
Appsmith
Visual builder if you want less hand-written code.
62.6
3
Retool
Hosted low-code platform that saves maintaining your own app.
59.6
4
AdminJS
Auto-generated admin panel for Node.js backends.
57.2
5
Filament
Equivalent framework for teams working in Laravel and PHP.
55.3

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Refine: common questions

Is Refine free?

Yes. Refine is free, open-source software that you can host yourself.

Is Refine open source?

Yes. The source code is on GitHub at refinedev/refine. You can also run it on your own server.

What platforms does Refine run on?

Refine is available for Web and Self-hosted.

What are the best alternatives to Refine?

The highest-ranked Refine alternatives right now are React-admin, Appsmith and Retool. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.

See all 5 Refine alternatives

Refine facts

3 of 3 verified

License: MIT; Checked Oct 25, 2026github.com(opens source in a new tab); “License: MIT (MIT License).”
Purpose: Internal tools, admin panels, dashboards; Checked Oct 25, 2026github.com(opens source in a new tab); “Description: A React Framework for building internal tools, admin panels, dashboards & B2B apps with unmatched flexibility..”
Code ownership: Plain React code; Checked Oct 25, 2026refine.dev(opens source in a new tab); “Download or publish Get your app with pure React code, no black box and it’s yours alone.”