Kilvin is live · pricing from $50/user/mo · last verified 7 Nov 2026 · viability healthy
Kilvin
Kilvin builds custom internal software for non-technical teams — dashboards, workflow automation and CRM extensions in days.
Kilvin is the right call when the workflow is genuinely bespoke and nobody on staff can build it. The managed route — requirements review, first prototype in 24 hours, daily updates, then Managed Maintenance on a 24-hour response SLA (weekends and U.S. holidays excluded) — is the real product; the chat build agent covers the small stuff. Don't pick it expecting a cheap Retool: you're paying for someone else to do the work, and that's fine if the workflow justifies it.
Verdict generatedVerified 6d ago · liveness 73/100 · cite: rightaichoice.com/tools/kilvin
- Operations teams automating high-volume manual workflows without engineering staff
- Healthcare and finance groups needing HIPAA or SOC 2 Type II internal tooling
- Ops managers who want to build a single-purpose internal app themselves via chat
- Companies that have outgrown spreadsheets but can't hire a dev team
- Engineering teams that want full control over code, hosting and deployment
- Anyone building a customer-facing product rather than internal tooling
- Organizations requiring on-premise or self-hosted deployment
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Skip Kilvin if you have engineers who want to own the code, hosting and deployment of your internal tools — this is a hosted workspace where Kilvin's platform, and optionally Kilvin's engineers, run the build.
The $800/mo Scale tier is flat-rate for unlimited users, but it is the only way to get user groups, rich permissions, SOC 2 Type II and workflow automation — those aren't on the $50/user/mo Build tier.
Kilvin's published tiers run from a $0 plan with up to 5 users, through $50/user/mo for up to 25 users, to $800/mo flat for Scale with unlimited users and SOC 2 Type II — so Scale gets cheaper than per-seat pricing somewhere past 16 seats. Managed Build and Maintenance are quoted per engagement. That puts Kilvin above self-serve builders like Retool and Appsmith on price and below a traditional dev agency on time to first working tool.
In short
Kilvin — Kilvin builds custom internal software for non-technical teams — dashboards, workflow automation and CRM extensions in days. Best for Operations teams automating high-volume manual workflows without engineering staff, Healthcare and finance groups needing HIPAA or SOC 2 Type II internal tooling, Ops managers who want to build a single-purpose internal app themselves via chat. Plans from $50/user/mo.
What is Kilvin?
Kilvin — Kilvin builds custom internal software for non-technical teams — dashboards, workflow automation and CRM extensions in days. Best for Operations teams automating high-volume manual workflows without engineering staff, Healthcare and finance groups needing HIPAA or SOC 2 Type II internal tooling, Ops managers who want to build a single-purpose internal app themselves via chat. Plans from $50/user/mo.
Kilvin is a custom internal software platform for teams whose workflows don't fit inside off-the-shelf tools. It gives you a private shared workspace where your applications, files and data live together — a shared desktop your whole team logs into. You can build apps yourself with the embedded build agent, or hand the work to Kilvin's engineers under the managed route. The pitch is aimed at operations, finance and healthcare groups that have outgrown spreadsheets but have no engineers to build replacements. The self-serve side is a chat-based build agent: describe the app, watch updates land in real time, course-correct as you go, then publish to your team with one click. Around that sits the plumbing — a data layer Kilvin creates automatically so every app reads from one connected source of truth, file storage, third-party integrations that pull data in and write data back, and access controls scoped to individual apps, datasets or platform capabilities. The managed route runs a requirements review, ships a first prototype in 24 hours, then iterates with daily updates while a dedicated engineer works your tool suite. Ongoing support covers hosting, monitoring, break-fixes and small adjustments, backed by a 24-hour response SLA that excludes weekends and U.S. holidays. Compare pages line Kilvin up against Retool, Appsmith, Base44, Lovable, Claude Code and Framer. It's backed by Y Combinator and operates as Chorrie, Inc. Where Retool and Appsmith hand technical teams a builder and let them run, Kilvin sells the finished workspace — speed and hand-holding over raw control. Agencies, dev shops and consultants can also build on Kilvin for their own clients through a partner program.
Key features
- Embedded build agent that creates and updates apps from a chat prompt
- Real-time app updates so you can course-correct while building
- One-click app publishing and sharing to your team
- Custom app builder for dashboards, internal tools and reporting engines
- Custom databases created automatically as one shared source of truth
- File and data storage within the shared workspace
- Access controls down to individual apps, datasets and platform capabilities
- Global search across workspace apps, files and data
- Third-party integrations including Google Workspace, Teams, Slack and Salesforce
- Webhooks for instant updates back into the workspace
- Write data back to third-party platforms from inside a Kilvin app
- User groups and rich permission controls
- Workflow automation and approval workflows
- Intake forms, task management, CRM extensions and document generation
- Data encrypted in transit and at rest, isolated to your workspace
Behind the verdict
Kilvin sells a finished workspace rather than a builder. The homepage is unusually blunt about the comparison: "SaaS builds tools for everyone. We build tools for you." That framing tells you what you're buying — a shared desktop where your apps, files and data sit together, with a data layer Kilvin creates for you ("Real databases, zero database work"), file storage, and access controls scoped down to individual apps, datasets or platform capabilities rather than all-or-nothing. The strongest asset is the managed build service. The page lays out three steps: a requirements review with your team, prototype-and-iterate with daily updates from Kilvin engineers, then continuous support covering error monitoring and updates. The stated first prototype lands in 24 hours, and most teams go from first call to live in under a week according to the plans page. That is meaningfully faster than a traditional dev agency's scoping phase, and Kilvin argues the difference is structural rather than incremental — build-test-iterate in hours instead of weeks. The self-serve side is thinner on evidence. The embedded build agent is described clearly enough (describe what you need, updates appear in real time, course-correct as you go, publish to your team), and the app menu is concrete: custom dashboards, data insights, internal tools, workflow automation, personnel management, approval workflows, document generation, event notifications, CRMs, intake forms, task management, scheduling systems. Integrations cover Google Workspace, Teams, Slack and Salesforce, with data flowing both ways plus webhooks for updates back into the workspace. Security claims are specific — encrypted in transit and at rest, isolated to your workspace, secured by HIPAA and SOC 2-compliant infrastructure. What Kilvin does not tell you is what model powers the build agent. No model name appears anywhere in the vendor material, so treat capability claims about the agent as unverified until you've tried it on your own workflow. The managed route is where the accountability sits anyway. Fit matters. This is internal tooling — dashboards, approvals, claims processing, revenue cycle management, personnel and reporting tools — not customer-facing product work. Teams with engineers who want to own code, hosting and deployment should look at Retool or Appsmith instead; Kilvin's value proposition is the opposite of that control. HIPAA and custom storage/database rows are Enterprise-tier, so a small healthcare team that needs compliance before it can justify enterprise pricing is stuck. And there is no on-premise or self-hosted option, which rules it out for organizations that cannot put their data in a hosted third-party workspace. Agencies get a separate lane: the partner program offers workspaces at 30–35% below suggested price, 20% of referred client software spend for 24 months, and annual blocks for larger firms. You set your own client pricing and own the apps you build. If you're a dev
Models under the hood
as of 2026-11-13
Limitations
- The vendor material never names the AI model behind the embedded build agent, so what powers self-serve builds is not publicly specified.
- HIPAA, custom file storage, custom database rows and bring-your-own-keys are Enterprise-only, so a small team that needs HIPAA cannot stay on a cheaper tier.
- The Managed Maintenance 24-hour response SLA excludes weekends and U.S. holidays.
- Managed Build and Managed Maintenance are priced by conversation rather than published on the plans page, so budget has to come from a call.
- There is no on-premise or self-hosted deployment option.
- The comparison set on Kilvin's own site (Retool, Appsmith, Base44, Lovable, Claude Code, Framer, Odoo) spans very different categories, so treat those pages as positioning rather than like-for-like benchmarks.
as of 2026-11-01
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Is Kilvin still active?
Kilvin is live · pricing from $50/user/mo · last verified 7 Nov 2026 · viability healthy.
Viability score
How well maintained and how widely used is Kilvin? Built from what the vendor actually publishes (docs, changelog, tutorials, integrations, pricing), whether the site is live, and how much real users discuss it. How we calculate this
Last calculated: November 2026
How we score →What do users say about Kilvin?
What people actually say about Kilvin — is it worth it?
We ran a structured research pass across product reviews, community discussions, and post-purchase forum threads to surface the patterns vendors won't publish themselves. Below: the recurring strengths, the hidden costs people mention most, and the cohort that consistently regrets adopting this tool.
ResearchedDiscussed by users across 1 source (YouTube) · researched Aug 27, 2026.
Average across the 1 source that answered — each source counts once, not each post.
- +AI-native builder enables non-technical users to create custom apps via chat.
- +Managed build option provides a dedicated developer with daily updates.
- +Free tier supports up to 5 users, making it easy to trial.
- +HIPAA and SOC 2 Type II compliance fits regulated industries like healthcare.
- +Granular access controls and SSO/SAML support enterprise needs.
- −No real community feedback available to validate performance.
- −Name confusion with unrelated 'Kelvin' products hampers search and trust.
- −Pricing adds up quickly for larger teams ($50/user/mo base).
- −Managed add-ons cost $800/mo, a heavy lift for small teams.
- −No integrations listed, limiting connectivity with existing tools.
- • No public pricing transparency on per-feature costs, making upgrades unpredictable.
- • Potential storage or API usage overage fees not disclosed in the description.
How we verified this
Every listed fact about Kilvin — pricing, features, links, status — is re-read from the vendor's own pages by our verification pipeline and each change is logged with a date; the last pass ran on 7 Nov 2026. Analysis is drafted with AI models and checked against our editorial standards before publishing; see how we verify.
Verification history
We have re-verified Kilvin 14 times since . Each pass re-reads the vendor's own pages and re-checks every listed field against that evidence; passes where nothing had changed are marked as such.
- — changed link health, switching in, limitations, hidden costs, who should skip it, setup time, description, who it suits, pricing fit, pricing tiers, our verdict, use cases, switching out, features
- — changed pricing page, description, who it suits, our verdict, features, integrations, who should skip it, pricing tiers, summary
- — changed link health
- — changed SSL certificate
- — changed description, pricing fit, setup time, switching out, hidden costs, our verdict, limitations, features, use cases, who should skip it, switching in
- — changed limitations, pricing page
Showing the 6 most recent of 14 verification passes.
Free to cite with attribution — this page re-verifies continuously.
How much does Kilvin cost in 2026?
Kilvin: Plans from $50/user/mo. Pricing last verified 7 Nov 2026.
Plans compared
Every published Kilvin tier, its price as the vendor publishes it, who it fits, and what it adds over the tier below. The 12-month cost projection follows.
| Plan | Price | Billing | Who it's for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | Usage-basedVendor: “$0/forever” | usage | A small team of up to 5 people testing whether a chat-built internal app beats their spreadsheet.Adds: Starting tier at $0/forever: up to 5 users, shared workspace, embedded build agent, global search and app-level access controls. |
| Build | $50/user/mo | monthly, per seat | An ops team of up to 25 people ready to connect Kilvin to the systems they already run.Adds: Adds app connectors to existing systems, smart file storage indexed for AI search, custom databases as a shared source of truth and one-click publishing, at $50/user/mo. |
| Scale | $800/moVendor: “$800/mo flat” | monthly | A department-wide rollout that needs SOC 2 Type II, granular permissions and workflow automation.Adds: Moves from per-seat to $800/mo flat with unlimited users, and adds user groups, rich permissions, SOC 2 Type II, workflow automation and third-party integrations. |
| Enterprise | Custom | quote | Regulated healthcare or finance groups that need HIPAA and control over storage before they can put data in a hosted workspace.Adds: Adds HIPAA compliance, custom storage, custom database rows and bring-your-own-keys, priced custom. |
12-month cost
Project the real annual outlay, including the implied monthly cost when only an annual tier is published.
Vendor list price only. Add-on usage, seat overages, and contract minimums are surfaced under Hidden costs & gotchas.
Where the pricing makes sense
The company stage and team size where Kilvin's pricing actually pencils out — and where peers do it cheaper.
Kilvin's published tiers run from a $0 plan with up to 5 users, through $50/user/mo for up to 25 users, to $800/mo flat for Scale with unlimited users and SOC 2 Type II — so Scale gets cheaper than per-seat pricing somewhere past 16 seats. Managed Build and Maintenance are quoted per engagement. That puts Kilvin above self-serve builders like Retool and Appsmith on price and below a traditional dev agency on time to first working tool.
Has Kilvin's pricing changed?
No plan price for Kilvin has moved since we began logging in Aug 2026; the pricing page is re-read on every verification pass.
Who should pick Kilvin?
Pick Kilvin if you are Operations teams automating high-volume manual workflows without engineering staff, Healthcare and finance groups needing HIPAA or SOC 2 Type II internal tooling, Ops managers who want to build a single-purpose internal app themselves via chat, Companies that have outgrown spreadsheets but can't hire a dev team.
Look elsewhere if you are Engineering teams that want full control over code, hosting and deployment, Anyone building a customer-facing product rather than internal tooling, Organizations requiring on-premise or self-hosted deployment, Small teams that need HIPAA before they can justify Enterprise-tier pricing.
Skip it if Skip Kilvin if you have engineers who want to own the code, hosting and deployment of your internal tools — this is a hosted workspace where Kilvin's platform, and optionally Kilvin's engineers, run the build.
GeneratedReal-world workflow fit
Concrete scenarios for the personas Kilvin actually fits — and what changes day-one when you adopt it.
You have a spreadsheet-driven approval process that has grown three tabs and two people who understand it. You describe the app to the embedded build agent, watch updates land in real time, correct the fields and statuses as it goes, then publish it to your team.
Outcome: A working internal app on the shared workspace, reading from the data layer Kilvin created, with access scoped per app or dataset.
You take the managed route: a requirements review with Kilvin, a first prototype in 24 hours, daily update cycles with a dedicated engineer, then Managed Maintenance for hosting, break-fixes and small adjustments on a 24-hour response SLA.
Outcome: A hosted app suite on HIPAA and SOC 2-compliant infrastructure without hiring a developer, with the trade-off that compliance features require the Enterprise tier.
You join the partner program, build custom internal tools for clients in Kilvin workspaces at 30–35% below suggested price, set your own client pricing and keep ownership of the apps you build.
Outcome: Faster delivery on client engagements, plus 20% of each referred client's software spend for 24 months if you route referrals Kilvin's way.
Use cases
- Automate repetitive data entry and approval workflows with custom-built software.
- Monitor business metrics and real-time automation status through a dedicated dashboard.
- Integrate existing CRM, spreadsheets and email into a unified internal tool.
- Replace manual scheduling and task management with a tailored team application.
- Streamline claims processing and revenue cycle management in healthcare.
- Create custom personnel management and reporting tools for growing teams.
- Deliver client-facing custom tools as an agency using the Kilvin partner program.
Setup time & first value
How long it actually takes to get something useful out of Kilvin — broken out by persona, not the marketing-page minute.
Self-serve: minutes to a first app description, with updates appearing in real time as the build agent works. Managed Build: first prototype in 24 hours, and Kilvin says most teams go from first call to live in under a week. Managed Maintenance transitions after launch, with a 24-hour response SLA excluding weekends and U.S. holidays.
Switching to or from Kilvin
How to bring data in from common predecessors and how to get it back out — written for the switcher, not the buyer.
- →From Retool or Appsmith: rebuild the app with the embedded build agent or hand the spec to Kilvin's managed team, then move data into the workspace data layer.
- →From spreadsheets: describe the workflow to the build agent and import your files into workspace storage as the shared source of truth.
- →From a custom-built internal tool: bring requirements to the managed build requirements review and let Kilvin's engineers rebuild in your own workspace.
- ↗To another builder: Kilvin states you own your data and can export it at any time.
- ↗To a self-hosted stack: plan for a rebuild, since Kilvin is hosted-only with no on-premise deployment option.
Integrations
Resources & guides
Tutorials & Learning
YouTube returned 6 videos for “Kilvin”, and we withheld 6: 6 could not be judged, because “Kilvin” is a single word that other videos use for other things. We are showing none, because we could not prove any of them are about Kilvin.
Official links
What are the best Kilvin alternatives?
The closest alternatives to Kilvin we list are Retool, Appsmith and Tempo Labs. Ranked by direct product-type match, not category overlap.
| Alternative | Pricing | Starts at | Last verified |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retool | Freemium | Pricing not published | — |
| Appsmith | Freemium | Pricing not published | — |
| Tempo Labs | Freemium | Pricing not published | — |
Alternatives to Kilvin
View allRetool
Retool builds governed internal apps from a prompt, an AI coding agent, or imported React code, wired to production data.
Appsmith
Open-source low-code platform for building internal tools with drag-and-drop UI, JavaScript, and Git.
Tempo Labs
Tempo Labs turns prompts into production React components on a shared visual canvas for whole teams.
Tools that pair well with Kilvin
Common stack mates teams adopt alongside Kilvin, with the specific reason each pairing earns its keep.
Retool
Retool builds governed internal apps from a prompt, an AI coding agent, or imported React code, wired to production data.
Appsmith
Open-source low-code platform for building internal tools with drag-and-drop UI, JavaScript, and Git.
Tempo Labs
Tempo Labs turns prompts into production React components on a shared visual canvas for whole teams.
Kilvin vs its closest rival
Kilvin's closest head-to-head is with Presto Voice.
Our Kilvin vs Presto Voice verdict written Jul 3, 2026 is more than 90 days old, so it is being re-reviewed against current data and is not shown.
Frequently asked questions
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