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Refine
Developer ToolsFreemiumOpen-source headless React framework for admin panels, dashboards and B2B internal tools
82/100
7 min readScreenshots
Refine is an open-source, MIT-licensed React meta-framework that ships everything you need to build CRUD-heavy admin panels and B2B apps — auth, RBAC, data providers, real-time, and an AI agent that scaffolds production-ready code.
Refine is an open-source, headless React meta-framework purpose-built for admin panels, dashboards, internal tools and B2B CRUD apps — and as of it ships with a paid AI agent that scaffolds working apps from a prompt. We rate it 82/100 — the most flexible enterprise-grade React framework in this category, but only if you're comfortable wiring more of the UI yourself than you would with a more opinionated rival like React-Admin.
Refine is an MIT-licensed React framework first released by founder Necati Ozmen and team in , and accepted into Y Combinator's S23 batch. It targets the unsexy but enormous niche of internal tools — the dashboards, CRMs, CMSs, HRIS panels and admin consoles that every B2B company eventually has to build. Instead of dictating a UI library, Refine is "headless by design": it gives you a set of React hooks for data fetching, auth, access control, forms, tables, routing and i18n, and lets you bolt on whichever component library you already use.
As of , the refinedev/refine repo has 34,557 stars and 3,008 forks, and the latest stable release is @refinedev/core v5.0.12 shipped on . Refine v5 brings React 19 support, TanStack Query v5 integration and meaningful performance improvements over the v4 line.
@refinedev/devtools package shows query state, mutations and hook usage live during development.
Sentiment in the React ecosystem is genuinely positive but not uncritical. On GitHub Discussion #1917 ("Compare to React-Admin?") and the parallel Hacker News thread item 37065475, developers consistently praise Refine for being headless-by-default, for its breadth of data providers, and for shipping RBAC and real-time as MIT code rather than as a paid Enterprise add-on. Product Hunt reviewers single out the smart context-aware AI agent and the "3x faster" build claim as broadly accurate for prototypes.
The recurring complaints are equally consistent and worth taking seriously. Marmelab's React-Admin team — admittedly competitors — pointed out three real issues: Refine's default theme has oversized desktop margins forcing constant scrolling; the default edit form puts "Delete" uncomfortably close to "Save", which has caused accidental deletions for testers; and there is no built-in undo. The bigger structural critique is that "headless" cuts both ways — you ship more code to reach the same UX as a more opinionated framework, and the learning curve is real for teams without strong React fundamentals.
Refine CORE — the framework itself — is free and MIT-licensed forever. Refine AI (the optional agent) is the paid product, billed by "Refine tokens" consumed during generation:
| Plan | Price | Tokens / month | Key Limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter (Free) | $0/month | 300 | Core features, preview only, no credit card |
| Starter Paid | $0.99/month | 300 | Same as free, paid tier for billing setup |
| Pro | $20/month | 1,500 | Interactive code editor, one-click export, Netlify hosting, file uploads |
| Pro 3K | $40/month | 3,000 | Same Pro features, more tokens |
| Pro 6K | $80/month | 6,000 | For heavy use |
| Pro 40K | $533/month | 40,000 | Studio / agency tier |
| Enterprise | Contact | Custom | Self-hosted Refine, SLA, dedicated support |
Critically: nothing about the open-source framework is gated by Refine AI. If you only want the React framework, you never have to pay or sign up.
Best for: Mid-to-senior React teams building B2B SaaS dashboards, internal admin panels, CRMs or data-heavy CRUD apps where they want enterprise features (RBAC, audit log, real-time) without paying for a commercial framework, and where they need to plug into an existing backend (Supabase, Hasura, REST, GraphQL).
Not ideal for: Solo non-developers wanting drag-and-drop visual building (use Budibase or Retool); teams that want a fully opinionated, batteries-included admin UI out of the box (use React-Admin); or anyone who needs a no-code internal tools builder with a UI canvas.
Pros:
Cons:
React-Admin is the most direct competitor — more opinionated, ships a polished default UI, but charges for RBAC/audit-log in its Enterprise tier. Retool is a closed-source low-code drag-and-drop builder, faster for non-developers but lock-in heavy. ToolJet and Budibase are open-source low-code visual alternatives — pick those if you want a UI canvas, not a code framework.
For a React team that needs to ship a production B2B internal tool with auth, RBAC, real-time and a real backend integration in weeks rather than months, Refine is the strongest free option in 2026. The 34K-star community, MIT license, breadth of data providers and active v5 release line all justify the 82/100 rating. Take a point off if you want a polished default UI without writing component code — React-Admin is friendlier there. Take three points off if you were hoping Refine AI would be cheap; the token model gets expensive past the Pro tier. The free open-source framework, however, remains a clear recommendation.
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