Summary
An IT specialist built a complete commercial retail app (POS, inventory across 3 warehouses, delivery, reporting) using Retool AI on a free account, hit the AI credit limit, and wants to know the correct licensing/deployment path before upgrading ā including commercial use rights, transferring ownership to the client, standalone/offline deployment, self-hosted plan requirements, and whether an Agency program applies.
AI Response
Retool apps can be built and used commercially on a paid plan, but they must always run inside the Retool environment ā there is no way to export an app as a fully standalone/offline program that installs directly on store or warehouse computers with no Retool dependency. To hand the project to the client, the recommended approach is to export the app and import it into a Retool org owned by the client, so the client becomes the owner of the app and its data (users still log in to Retool to use it). A practical tip from the community is to save the final build as the app's live version so it displays correctly regardless of which plan the client's org is on. Self-hosting is possible but is an Enterprise-tier offering that requires a license key obtained from a Retool account manager, and even self-hosted deployments still connect to Retool's licensing service, so it is not a truly offline/local install. Because commercial-use terms and any Agency/partner program eligibility are governed by Retool's pricing and Terms of Service rather than by product docs, those specifics should be confirmed directly against Retool's official pricing and legal pages before upgrading.
Sources
Building and Shipping Apps for Clients and Ownership Options
A solved thread on the identical scenario, confirming apps must run in the Retool environment, that ownership is transferred by exporting/importing into the client's own org, and advising to set the final release as the live version regardless of the client's plan.
Documents the self-hosted deployment path, showing it requires a Retool license key (an Enterprise offering obtained via an account manager) and that Docker is non-production only, clarifying that self-hosting is not a fully offline standalone install.
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