If you need an admin panel for your application, you want something quick to set up, secure, and flexible. ForestAdmin is a well-known SaaS admin panel that targets businesses needing advanced admin solutions—but it comes with its own set of trade-offs, including pricing and how it handles your database connection.
Kottster is a modern alternative that focuses on simplicity, privacy, and control. Unlike ForestAdmin, Kottster is open-source and can be fully self-hosted, so your database credentials and data never leave your infrastructure.
In this article, we’ll compare Kottster with ForestAdmin, looking at setup, privacy, pricing, customization, and control. By the end, you’ll know which tool better fits your requirements.
1. Setup and Database Connection
ForestAdmin:
- You sign up and use the ForestAdmin web interface to connect your database.
- You need to provide your database credentials to ForestAdmin’s cloud platform.
- ForestAdmin generates an admin panel for you based on your schema.
- The core logic and admin UI run on their cloud infrastructure.
Kottster:
- Kottster is self-hosted. You deploy it on your own infrastructure or cloud of your choice.
- Your database credentials and data always stay with you; Kottster never stores or transmits them externally.
- Setup takes about 5 minutes. You connect your database, and admin pages are generated automatically.
- You control where your data flows and how the service runs.
Key difference:
With ForestAdmin, your credentials are shared with a third party. With Kottster, your database connection credentials are kept private and secure.
2. Hosting, Privacy, and Security
ForestAdmin:
- Primarily a cloud solution—your admin panel is managed by ForestAdmin’s servers.
- Self-hosting is only available for Enterprise customers at custom pricing.
- You must trust ForestAdmin with your database credentials and sometimes your data.
- Security depends on their practices and compliance; your internal policies may require stricter isolation.
Kottster:
- Fully self-hosted and open-source; you own the infrastructure.
- No credentials or data leave your environment.
- You can deploy behind a firewall, on-premises, or in your private cloud.
- Built-in authentication and role management come standard.
Key difference:
ForestAdmin puts you on their cloud by default. Kottster lets you run everything on your own servers.
3. Pricing
ForestAdmin:
- No free tier; paid plans start per user per month.
- Self-hosted version available only for Enterprise customers with custom (and usually high) pricing.
- Cost grows as your team or client base grows.
Kottster:
- Free and open-source. No per-user fees, no required subscriptions.
- You only pay for your own infrastructure (if self-hosted in the cloud).
- Transparent and predictable costs, ideal for startups and teams who want to keep expenses low.
Key difference:
ForestAdmin is commercial SaaS with no free plan. Kottster is free and open-source.
4. Customization and Developer Experience
ForestAdmin:
- You can customize the admin panel using their UI and some code.
- Custom features often require using their proprietary scripting and configuration.
- Less flexible if you want deep integration or to own the codebase.
Kottster:
- Full access to source code and admin panel pages.
- Edit any page or add custom logic directly in your own repository.
- Supports no-code customization as well as advanced developer customization using modern JavaScript, React, and Node.js.
- No vendor lock-in—everything runs and can be modified under your control.
Key difference:
Kottster gives you the actual code and full control. ForestAdmin keeps you within their platform.
5. Deployment and Control
ForestAdmin:
- Standard usage means your admin panel is deployed and managed by ForestAdmin.
- You can’t freely move the admin panel between servers or environments.
- Self-hosted deployment is only available to Enterprise users.
Kottster:
- Deploy anywhere: traditional server, Docker, serverless, or edge platforms.
- Move or scale your admin panel as you want.
- No vendor lock-in, and no dependency on third-party cloud services.
6. Summary and Key Differences
Both Kottster and ForestAdmin help you build admin panels for your database, but their approach is completely different.
- ForestAdmin is a SaaS platform that requires you to trust a third party with your database credentials and pay monthly fees. Self-hosting is only possible at the Enterprise tier.
- Kottster is a free, open-source alternative you can fully self-host. You keep all data and credentials private, deploy wherever you want, and customize without limitations.
If you want full privacy, control, and a predictable cost, Kottster is a strong ForestAdmin alternative. If you’re fine with giving up some control for the convenience of a managed SaaS solution (and higher cost), ForestAdmin might be a fit.
Ultimately, the right tool depends on your priorities—privacy and ownership, or managed hosting and commercial support.
