Gadget
Gadget is a serverless full-stack JavaScript platform for building, running and scaling web apps: managed Postgres, Node.js backend, auto-generated GraphQL API, React frontend and Google Cloud hosting, with no-code Shopify and BigCommerce connections and a built-in AI assistant.
What is Gadget?
Gadget is a serverless, full-stack application development platform. It has two halves: an editor where you build the application, and a cloud platform that runs it in development and in production. Its own documentation calls it a comprehensive platform designed to accelerate and simplify the entire development process, an infraless stack pre-stitched from the start across data, backend logic, API, frontend and hosting.
The database is fully managed PostgreSQL. Gadget handles creation, maintenance, scaling, backups and automatic indexing, offers rich field types including vector and computed fields, and exposes a spreadsheet-style editor for records. The backend is serverless Node.js: model actions, global actions, HTTP routes, background jobs, a CRON scheduler and access to NPM packages. Every project gets a public GraphQL API, generated and documented automatically, with built-in permissions, custom endpoints, a fully typed JS and React client for TypeScript, and a query compiler that avoids N+1 and join problems. The frontend is a React scaffold powered by Vite, with hot module reloading, auto-generated components pre-wired to the API and built-in previews; you can also host the frontend elsewhere and talk to the generated API. Everything runs on Google Cloud Platform, serverless at every tier, with development and production URLs created alongside the project, one-click deploys and 24/7 monitoring.
Connections are the differentiator: Shopify with two-way sync, webhooks, OAuth and Polaris and App Bridge frontends, plus BigCommerce, OpenAI, ChatGPT through a built-in MCP server, Google SSO, Stripe billing and Sentry. Extensible authentication, file storage with permissions and the Gelly expression language for aggregation ship out of the box. Tooling covers a cloud IDE or local work through ggt, the Gadget CLI, with Git source control, unlimited development environments, JS and GraphQL playgrounds and a searchable log viewer. An integrated AI assistant applies changes to the app using credits, 100 of them granted at signup, while questions and answers are unlimited and consume none.
Gadget claims 99.99% uptime and more than 6 billion webhooks processed. Its stated use cases are public or custom Shopify and BigCommerce apps, internal tools, integrations and iPaaS work, and multi-tenant SaaS that scale to millions. It is published by Gadget Software Inc., founded in Ottawa in 2020 by Harry Brundage and Mohammad Hashemi, both former Shopify engineers.
What it does
- Generate a complete application from a plain-English description, such as a product review app for Shopify stores or a CRM for lawyers
- Create managed Postgres tables in seconds, with no SQL and no schema migration to write
- Auto-generate a typed, documented GraphQL API with ready-made JavaScript and React clients
- Connect Shopify or BigCommerce without code: OAuth, auto-registered webhooks and two-way synchronization
- Write and run serverless Node.js actions, in the background or on a CRON schedule
- Build a React frontend from auto-generated components already wired to the API
- Deploy the whole app, schema, backend, frontend and config included, in a single command onto Google Cloud
When to use Gadget / When not to
A quick filter to help you decide if Gadget is the right fit.
When to use Gadget
- Shopify and BigCommerce agencies that ship client apps on tight deadlines and want OAuth, webhooks and hosting handled for them
- App studios publishing listings on the Shopify or BigCommerce app stores, with billing, authentication and multi-tenant hosting included
- Product and operations teams assembling internal tools on top of their commerce and SaaS data
- Solo developers and freelancers who need a production-grade backend and 24/7 hosting without hiring a DevOps team
- Founders launching a multi-tenant SaaS who want a database, a GraphQL API and a production environment from day one
When not to use Gadget
- Teams committed to Python, Ruby, Go or any backend language other than JavaScript and TypeScript, since Node.js is the only runtime
- Projects that must run on their own database or their own cloud account: bring your own cloud, on GCP or AWS, is reserved for the Enterprise plan
- Native iOS or Android development, as Gadget produces web apps and APIs only and ships no mobile application
- Long-term hobby projects on the free tier, since Hobby apps are permanently deleted after 12 consecutive months without a login
- Organizations that require a published security certification such as SOC 2 or ISO 27001, or an interface, documentation and support in a language other than English
How to use Gadget
A typical end-to-end flow, from setup to results.
- Create an account on app.gadget.dev through the Create app button on the site
- Describe the application you want in the generation field on the home page, or start from a blank Shopify app, web app or BigCommerce app
- Alternatively, fork a ready-made template: product quiz, blog with authentication, wishlist, screenwriter GPT or pre-purchase extension
- Define your data models, that is your Postgres tables, in the editor, with no SQL and no migration
- Add a Shopify, BigCommerce or OpenAI connection: OAuth, webhooks and synchronization are configured without code
- Write the business logic in JavaScript: model actions, global actions, HTTP routes, background jobs and scheduled tasks
- Work in the cloud IDE, or locally with the ggt CLI, your usual editor and Git
- Test with the JS and GraphQL playgrounds, and inspect the log viewer with its search and filters
- Assemble the React frontend from the auto-generated components, with live previews
- Deploy to the production environment in a single command, then follow logs, jobs and incidents on status.gadget.dev
Pros & Cons
Pros
- The whole stack arrives pre-assembled: no infrastructure boilerplate for database, authentication, deployment, CI, SSL, load balancing, Docker or secrets
- A permanent free plan, Hobby at $0 forever, with unlimited development environments on every tier
- Typed API and clients generated automatically, with documentation specific to each project
- Industrial-strength Shopify and BigCommerce connections: OAuth, auto-registered webhooks, two-way sync, reconciliation and no advertised rate limit
- Google Cloud hosting with 24/7 monitoring and a 99.99% uptime commitment backed by service credits under the SLA of 25/07/2023
- Local development remains possible on every plan: ggt CLI, the editor of your choice, Git source control and unlimited development environments
- Customer-reported gains are specific: 3x developer output at On/Sight, +30% revenue at Craftberry, 50% less time at Code and 1,000+ hours saved at Onelive
Cons
- Heavy platform dependency: the JavaScript and Node.js stack, the Gadget-managed Postgres database and Google Cloud hosting are imposed, and bring your own cloud is Enterprise-only
- Multi-layered pricing that is hard to forecast: subscription, platform credits, AI credits and per-unit overages (CPU $0.3/hour, data storage $1.50/GB, search $0.15/GB, DB reads $0.6/TB, edge bandwidth $0.4/GB, platform credits $1 per 100K)
- AI assistant credits are chargeable beyond quota, at $25 for 100 credits, with only 10 credits a month included on Pro and 50 on Premium
- A tightly capped Hobby plan: 2 seats, 5 app installs, 1-day log retention, no backups, no spend limit and community support only
- Backup restores are billed $150 per recovery on Pro and Premium, and Hobby apps are permanently deleted after 12 months without a login
- No published security certification, neither SOC 2 nor ISO 27001, and no postal address anywhere on the site
- Data is transferred and stored in Canada and the United States, every disclosed subprocessor is US-based and no EU representative is designated under Article 27; interface, documentation and support are English-only, with no mobile app
Pricing & Plans
A permanent free plan is available: Hobby, priced at $0 forever. The lowest paid entry point is the Pro plan at $35 per month, followed by Premium at $350 per month, while Enterprise pricing is quoted on request. All amounts are expressed in USD and billed monthly, with automatic renewal at the end of each cycle.
- up to 2 seats
- unlimited development environments
- 1 production environment
- 10 CPU hours
- 0.5 GB data storage
- 1 GB search storage
- 3 TB DB reads
- 1 GB DB writes
- up to 10 seats
- 1 production environment then $10 per extra environment
- 30 CPU hours
- 3 GB data
- 5 GB search
- 5 TB DB reads
- 3 GB DB writes
- 10 GB edge bandwidth
- up to 25 seats
- 150 CPU hours
- 15 GB data
- 25 GB search
- 25 TB DB reads
- 15 GB DB writes
- 50 GB edge bandwidth
- 5M platform credits a month
- dedicated cloud on GCP or AWS
- unlimited projects and hosting
- cost-plus pricing on hosting
- performance and support SLAs
- No cold starts $10
- Smart CDN $20
- Execution capacity $25
- custom domains free
- $25 for 100 credits
- on every plan
Data, GDPR & hosting
A consolidated view of how Gadget handles your data.
GDPR overview
Implementation is concrete but uncertified. The Privacy Policy in force since 13 May 2024 carries a dedicated section 9.1, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Privacy Rights, addressed to EEA residents and listing nine rights: information, access, rectification, erasure, restriction, portability, withdrawal of consent, objection to direct marketing and profiling, and complaint to a national authority. Transfers outside the EEA to the United States and Canada rely on a recognized legal adequacy mechanism and contracts (9.1 B), subprocessors are published with their activity and location (9.1 D and E), and a pre-signed DPA is downloadable and incorporated into the Terms by reference, except for free trials. A data protection officer answers at privacy@gadget.dev, and a separate CCPA section states that personal data is not sold. What is missing is equally clear: no EU representative under Article 27, no named standard contractual clauses and no security certification.
Who owns the data?
The Terms are explicit: User Content is the user's property and Gadget claims no ownership of it (6.1.1). You grant Gadget a non-exclusive, royalty-free, transferable licence covering use, display, execution, reproduction, distribution, publication, modification, adaptation, translation and derivative works, but limited to three listed purposes: providing the service to you, improving its features, and compiling anonymized, aggregated statistics that cannot reasonably be used to identify you. Gadget or its licensors own the platform, its software and its own Content (5.1). Any feedback you send can be reused freely, with no confidentiality and no compensation (5.2). For your end users' personal data, Gadget acts as processor, not controller (Privacy 9.1 C).
Reuse rights
Because you keep ownership of your User Content, you can reuse, publish or resell what you build without asking Gadget for permission, and your application code can be pulled down at any time with the ggt CLI and kept under Git source control. On termination, you may request a copy of your User Content within 30 days in a standard file format (Terms 13.3); more complex migrations to another service are billed as professional services, at time spent. Account deletion is requested at support@gadget.dev: content is removed within a reasonable delay, although an archive copy of certain Registration Data may be kept (13.2). Privacy §11 adds access, rectification, erasure, objection, portability and restriction rights, exercised through privacy@gadget.dev. The limits sit on the platform itself: Terms 6.2.1 forbids data mining, robots and crawlers against the service, and any use outside its intended purpose.
Data retention & training
Hosting summary
Applications run on Google Cloud Platform, fronted by Cloudflare's global edge network for delivery. The publisher, Gadget Software Inc., is described as a Canadian resident corporation (Privacy 1.2), and the Terms apply the laws of the Province of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada (§12). The Data Locality section of the Privacy Policy states that collected data may be transferred to and stored in Canada, outside the EEA and covered by a European Commission adequacy decision, as well as in the United States; transfers outside the EEA to third-party providers rely on a recognized adequacy mechanism and contracts (9.1 B). Eight subprocessors are disclosed, all located in the US: Cloudflare Analytics, Fivetran, Humio, Google Cloud, Hubspot, LaunchDarkly, Axiom and Crunchy Data. The database is highly available at 99.99%, with reads and writes across two zones and an optional standard-availability tier at half the compute. Enterprise customers can bring their own cloud, on GCP or AWS. For a European user the consequence is plain: no EU hosting region is offered and data leaves the EEA by design.
Things to keep in mind
Risks and trade-offs to weigh before adopting Gadget.
- AI-generated code remains your responsibility: the Terms provide the service AS IS (10.2), with no warranty of accuracy, reliability or freedom from error
- Technology lock-in: the stack, the database and the hosting all belong to Gadget, and leaving requires a migration billed as professional services at time spent (Terms 13.3)
- Erosion of infrastructure skills: authentication, database, deployment, permissions and CI are hidden away, so the team stops practising them
- Usage costs are hard to cap: the spend limit does not exist on the Hobby plan, and overages are billed per unit
- Hobby applications are automatically and permanently deleted after 12 consecutive months without a login (Terms 4.5)
- Data is transferred and stored outside the EU, in Canada and the United States, all subprocessors are US-based, and no published security certification gives you a third-party audit to lean on
- Mandatory arbitration before a single arbitrator, class-action waiver and Ontario and Canadian federal law (Terms §12); you also stay responsible for your own end users' personal data (Privacy §2), and the site uses advertising and targeting cookies (Privacy §6)
Setup & Integrations
Technical difficulty
Moderate, and the difficulty is in the coding, not the setup. Signing up and creating an app takes a click, development and production environments arrive immediately with their URLs, and there is no server, Docker, SQL migration, SSL certificate or load balancer to configure. The AI assistant can generate and modify the app from a description, and templates can be forked. The real prerequisite is JavaScript or TypeScript and React: the Incubator program asked for at least two years of JavaScript experience. An optional path uses the ggt CLI, a local editor and Git. Production ships in one command.
Deployment
Integrations
Behind Gadget
Fundraising
Social
Resources
All the official URLs gathered for verification and reference.
Frequently asked questions
What is Gadget?
Is there a free plan?
How much do the paid plans cost?
Does every Gadget app come with an API?
Which languages and frameworks do I need to know?
Can I work locally rather than in the browser?
Which integrations are available without code?
Where is my data hosted?
Who owns the code and the data I put into Gadget?
What support is included with each plan?
Should you pick Gadget?
Gadget's promise is narrow and clear: remove the infrastructure boilerplate so a team writes only what is specific to its application. The stack, managed Postgres, serverless Node.js, a generated GraphQL API, a React frontend and Google Cloud hosting, arrives stitched together, and the Shopify and BigCommerce connections turn what is usually weeks of OAuth, webhook and sync plumbing into a configuration step.
The audience it serves best is visible in its own case studies: agencies and studios delivering Shopify or BigCommerce apps, product teams assembling internal tools, and independent developers who want a backend without a DevOps rota. A free-forever Hobby plan, unlimited development environments and a 99.99% uptime commitment keep the cost of trying it genuinely low.
The reservations are just as concrete. You adopt Gadget's language, database and cloud together, and leaving means a migration that Gadget bills as professional services. Pricing stacks a subscription on top of platform credits, AI credits and per-unit overages, which makes forecasting harder than the headline $35 per month suggests. No security certification is published, neither SOC 2 nor ISO 27001, and data is transferred and stored in Canada and the United States, with every disclosed subprocessor in the US and no Article 27 representative for the EU.
On maturity the signals are reassuring: a company founded in 2020, $8.5M raised in 2021 behind Sequoia and Bessemer, Terms refreshed on 21 January 2026 and an active changelog. In 2026 the positioning has visibly moved from a developer productivity stack towards AI-assisted app generation, under the banner Build and run web apps in hours, with AI. If your team already writes JavaScript and React and ships commerce or internal apps, Gadget removes a great deal of work; if you need portability guarantees or audited security, look closely before committing.
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