Convertigo

What Is Convertigo?

The low-code market is worth over $30 billion and dominated by three names: Microsoft Power Apps, OutSystems, and Mendix. All three are proprietary. All three lock you in. And none of them let you host the platform on your own servers with full source code access.

Convertigo is the outlier. Founded in France in 1994 as Twinsoft — originally a terminal emulation software company — it pivoted to enterprise integration in 2005 and rebranded as Convertigo in 2009 after raising $4.5 million from Auriga Partners. Today it operates as a full-stack low-code/no-code platform under the AGPL 3.0 licence, deployable via Docker on any infrastructure you control.

That history matters. While newer low-code tools chase slick UIs and rapid prototyping, Convertigo's DNA is enterprise integration. Its backend sequence engine connects to legacy systems — mainframes, SOAP services, LDAP directories — that most modern platforms ignore entirely. The platform ships with over 300 connectors and produces native iOS and Android apps, PWAs, and responsive web applications from a single project.

The company is small. About 13 employees working out of Orsay, near Paris. This is not a venture-backed rocketship. It is a profitable, independent French software company that has been shipping enterprise software for three decades. Whether that is a strength or a weakness depends entirely on what you need.

Key Features

Dual Studio Architecture

Convertigo splits its development environment into two tools. The No Code Studio is a browser-based visual builder aimed at business users — drag-and-drop form builders, workflow designers, and template-based app creation. The Low Code Studio is an Eclipse-based IDE for developers, used to build backend sequences, configure connectors, and write custom logic. This separation works well for organisations with mixed technical teams, though the Eclipse dependency feels increasingly anachronistic.

Full Sync Offline Engine

This is Convertigo's most genuinely differentiated feature. Full Sync provides automatic offline data synchronization with conflict resolution baked in. Field workers, logistics teams, and anyone operating in low-connectivity environments can use apps that continue functioning offline, then reconcile data when connectivity returns. OutSystems and Power Apps offer offline capabilities, but neither matches the depth of Convertigo's implementation, which is built on CouchDB replication.

Backend Sequence Engine

The sequence engine lets developers visually orchestrate complex backend workflows — chaining API calls, database queries, and business logic into reusable microservices. It supports REST, SOAP, SQL, and legacy protocols. For integration-heavy projects connecting modern frontends to older enterprise systems, this is where Convertigo earns its keep.

Native Mobile Compilation

Unlike platforms that generate web wrappers, Convertigo compiles true native binaries for iOS and Android via Cordova. Combined with Full Sync, this makes it one of the few low-code platforms capable of delivering genuinely offline-capable native mobile apps for enterprise use cases.

AI-Assisted Development

Convertigo has integrated ChatGPT and Mistral AI into its development workflow for prototype generation and coding assistance. It is a practical addition rather than a headline feature — useful for accelerating common tasks but not a replacement for understanding the platform's architecture.

Pricing

Convertigo's pricing is its most compelling competitive argument. The Community Edition is completely free. You download it, deploy it via Docker, and build applications with no licence fees, no user limits, and no feature gates on the core platform. This is genuine open-source, not "open-core with everything useful behind a paywall."

Paid plans start at €15/month for the Starter tier, which adds managed cloud hosting on OVHcloud data centres in France. The Professional tier at roughly €100/month includes priority support and advanced connector access. Enterprise pricing is custom and scales based on end-user count — Convertigo claims the per-user cost drops aggressively at volume.

Annual billing gets a 30% discount across all paid tiers. For context: OutSystems pricing starts in the tens of thousands per year and Mendix charges per-app fees that escalate quickly. Convertigo is an order of magnitude cheaper — or free, if you self-host.

The trade-off is real, though. You get what you pay for in support responsiveness and platform polish. A €15/month tier does not come with the white-glove onboarding that a six-figure OutSystems contract includes.

EU Compliance & Privacy

Convertigo's compliance story is structurally strong. As a French company (Convertigo SAS, based in Orsay), it operates entirely under EU jurisdiction. In 2024, the company migrated its managed cloud to OVHcloud, specifically choosing French data centres to ensure data remains under French and EU law — not subject to US extraterritorial legislation like the CLOUD Act.

The self-hosting option adds a layer that no proprietary competitor can match. Deploy Convertigo on-premise or in an air-gapped environment, and your data never touches external infrastructure. The AGPL 3.0 licence means the source code is fully auditable — compliance teams can verify exactly what the platform does with data, rather than relying on vendor attestations.

For regulated industries — banking, government, healthcare — this combination of EU jurisdiction, sovereign cloud hosting, and self-hosted deployment is difficult to replicate with any other low-code platform on the market.

Who It's Best For

Enterprise integration teams connecting modern applications to legacy backend systems. Convertigo's 300+ connectors and sequence engine handle SOAP, mainframes, and SQL databases that most modern low-code tools ignore.

Regulated organisations in EU member states needing full data sovereignty. The self-hosted option with auditable source code satisfies compliance requirements that no proprietary platform can match.

Field operations teams building offline-capable mobile apps. Full Sync's conflict-resolving data engine is purpose-built for logistics, utilities, and healthcare workers in low-connectivity environments.

Budget-conscious IT departments that need low-code capabilities without five- or six-figure annual licence fees. The free Community Edition is functionally complete.

The Verdict

Convertigo is not the prettiest low-code platform. It is not the easiest to learn. Its Eclipse-based IDE and modest documentation will frustrate developers accustomed to the polish of OutSystems or Mendix. But it does something no major competitor does: it gives you a genuinely open-source, full-stack low-code platform that you can deploy anywhere, audit completely, and pay nothing for. If your priorities are data sovereignty, legacy integration, and offline mobile — and you have developers willing to climb the learning curve — Convertigo is the only serious open-source option in the enterprise low-code space.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Convertigo really free to use?

Yes. The Community Edition is fully functional with no user limits, no feature gates, and no time restrictions. You self-host it via Docker on your own infrastructure. Paid plans add managed hosting, support, and cloud convenience — but the core platform is genuinely free.

How does Convertigo compare to Microsoft Power Apps?

Power Apps is easier to start with and deeply integrated into the Microsoft ecosystem. Convertigo offers what Power Apps cannot: self-hosting, open-source code, offline-capable native mobile apps, and freedom from Microsoft vendor lock-in. If you are already all-in on Microsoft 365, Power Apps is the path of least resistance. If you need data sovereignty or run non-Microsoft infrastructure, Convertigo is the stronger choice.

Can I build native mobile apps with Convertigo?

Yes. Convertigo compiles native iOS and Android binaries via Cordova, not just web wrappers. Combined with Full Sync offline data, it produces mobile apps that work in disconnected environments — a capability that most low-code platforms either lack or implement poorly.

Where is my data stored when using Convertigo Cloud?

Convertigo's managed cloud runs on OVHcloud data centres in France. Data stays under French and EU jurisdiction. If that is not sufficient, you can self-host on any infrastructure and keep data entirely within your own perimeter.

Is Convertigo suitable for large enterprise deployments?

Yes, with caveats. Convertigo has three decades of enterprise deployment history in banking, insurance, and government. The platform scales. However, the company has roughly 13 employees, which means enterprise support capacity is limited compared to OutSystems (2,000+ employees) or Mendix (backed by Siemens). Evaluate whether the community and documentation meet your team's self-sufficiency level before committing.