Report updated Jun 30, 2026
kintone
For business teams and departments looking to replace manual spreadsheet and email-based processes with centralized, custom-built database applications.
kintone is an established productivity app that is available.
What is kintone?
Kintone is a no-code database and workflow management platform for business teams, available as a web and mobile application.
Users hire Kintone to consolidate scattered spreadsheets and email threads into a single, structured portal that enforces process consistency across departments.
Current Momentum
v3.4
- Added photo editing in latest release.
- Maintains steady enterprise-focused update cadence.
Active Nemesis
Notion: Notes, Tasks, AI
By Notion Labs, Incorporated
Other Rivals
7-Day Rank Pulse 🇺🇸
ProductivityNo ranking data
Rating Pulse 🇺🇸
Gathering signals...
What makes this app unique?
What Does It Look Like?
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What Are The Key Features?
Drag-and-drop interface for creating custom business databases and workflows without programming
Threaded comments and discussions attached directly to specific database records
Role-based access settings for specific data records and app views
Automated task handoffs, custom reminders, and scheduled notifications for business processes
In-app photo editing and attachment for field reporting and status updates
How much does it cost?
- Free trial available
- Paid subscription model for enterprise teams
Subscription model focused on enterprise seat-based licensing, anchored by the ability to replace legacy spreadsheet workflows.
Who Built It?
Cybozu
Providing mobile access to enterprise groupware and workflow management tools. Enabling remote teams to maintain connectivity with core organizational systems.
Portfolio
5
Apps
What other apps does Cybozu make?
Explore the full Cybozu report
Portfolio breakdown, audience, momentum, and every app published by Cybozu.
What do users think recently?
Analysis in progress, available soon
What is the competitive landscape for kintone?
Where is it available?
Localized markets (2)
How's The Productivity Market?
How does it evolve in the Productivity market?
Kintone maintains a steady presence in the productivity category, currently holding the #88 Free position in the JP market. Its focus on structured data management differentiates it from the document-first approach of broader workspace competitors.
Rank progression
1 active ranking tracked — 30-day window
The rivals identified
Nemeses(1)
Notion dominates the 'all-in-one' workspace niche, directly competing with Kintone's goal of consolidating scattered spreadsheets and documents into a single collaborative portal.
Differentiators
- Offers a highly flexible block-based editor that allows users to build custom databases and wikis without coding.
- Integrates native AI features directly into the document workflow to summarize, rewrite, and generate content on the fly.
- Maintains a massive community-driven template ecosystem that lowers the barrier to entry for complex project management setups.
Head to head
Kintone must emphasize its enterprise-grade data integrity and structured process automation to differentiate against Notion's superior UX and AI-driven flexibility.
Contenders(4)
SharePoint is the incumbent enterprise solution for document management and team collaboration, directly overlapping with Kintone's portal functionality.
Differentiators
- Deeply integrated into the Microsoft 365 ecosystem, providing seamless authentication and file sharing for existing enterprise clients.
- Offers granular permission controls and compliance features that are essential for large-scale corporate document management.
Smartsheet targets the same enterprise audience as Kintone, focusing on spreadsheet-based project management and data consolidation.
Differentiators
- Supports advanced project management views like Gantt charts and critical path analysis for complex enterprise operations.
- Provides robust reporting and dashboarding tools that aggregate data from multiple sheets into high-level executive summaries.
monday.com is a direct competitor in the work management space, focusing on visual project tracking and team collaboration.
Differentiators
- Utilizes highly visual, color-coded boards that provide instant status updates on project progress across large teams.
- Features a vast library of pre-built automation recipes that simplify complex task management and cross-departmental workflows.
Airtable serves the exact same job-to-be-done as Kintone by bridging the gap between spreadsheets and relational databases for business teams.
Differentiators
- Provides a visual, spreadsheet-like interface that makes complex relational database management accessible to non-technical business users.
- Offers a powerful automation builder that triggers workflows across third-party apps without requiring custom development.
Same space(2)
Google Docs serves as an adjacent tool for document-based collaboration, often used alongside Kintone for unstructured data.
Differentiators
- Provides industry-standard real-time collaborative editing that remains the benchmark for document-based team workflows.
- Leverages the massive Google Workspace network effect to ensure near-universal compatibility and ease of adoption.
ClickUp offers a broad suite of productivity tools that overlap with Kintone's collaboration and task management features.
Differentiators
- Consolidates tasks, docs, chat, and whiteboards into a single platform to reduce context switching for remote teams.
- Allows extensive customization of workspace views, including list, board, calendar, and Gantt chart configurations.
New entrants(1)
This app represents an emerging threat in the data collection space, focusing on mobile-first form management.
Differentiators
- Optimizes the mobile experience for creating and managing data collection forms that feed directly into Google Sheets.
- Simplifies the process of turning raw form submissions into actionable data insights for small business users.
Compare kintone against every rival
All rivals in one side-by-side table — identity, store metrics, ratings & sentiment, and strategic intel — plus a head-to-head page for each.
The outtake for kintone
Strengths to defend, gaps to attack
Core Strengths
- Structured process automation enables complex business workflows
- Granular permission controls satisfy enterprise security requirements
- Mobile media capture extends utility to field workers
Critical Frictions
- Steep learning curve for non-technical users
- Lack of modern, intuitive UI compared to Notion
- No native AI content generation
Growth Levers
- Untapped education partnerships for B2B distribution
- Integration of AI-driven data synthesis
Market Threats
- Notion's rapid AI-feature cadence
- Microsoft 365 ecosystem lock-in via SharePoint
- Emerging mobile-first form tools for small business
What are the next best moves?
Ship AI-assisted app building because Notion's AI-driven workspace is the primary competitive threat → increase new-user conversion
Notion's AI features are a key differentiator in the competitive landscape analysis.
Trade-off: Pause the field-reporting UI refresh — AI-assisted building has a higher impact on top-of-funnel acquisition.
Audit onboarding flow because the learning curve is a top barrier to entry → reduce churn
The platform's rigid architecture is identified as a weakness compared to modern competitors.
Trade-off: Same-quarter capacity available — no major lever displaced.
A counter-intuitive read
The platform's rigid, process-heavy architecture is not a weakness but a moat, as it prevents the 'feature creep' that makes Notion increasingly difficult to govern for large-scale enterprise compliance.
Feature Gaps vs Competitors
- AI-driven content generation (available in Notion but absent here)
- Block-based flexible editor (available in Notion but absent here)
- Gantt chart analysis (available in Smartsheet but absent here)
Key Takeaways
Kintone holds its enterprise ground through structured data integrity but risks irrelevance as Notion's AI-driven flexibility captures the broader market, so the PM must prioritize AI-assisted app creation to lower the barrier for non-technical users.
Where Is It Heading?
Mixed Signals
The productivity market is shifting toward AI-integrated, flexible workspaces that prioritize user experience over rigid database structures. Kintone remains advantaged in complex process automation but must address its UI friction to prevent further erosion of its user base to Notion and Airtable.
Notion's rapid AI-feature cadence pulls attention away from structured database tools, forcing Kintone to defend its enterprise-grade data integrity against flexible alternatives.
The latest release added photo editing capabilities, signaling continued investment in field-worker utility rather than maintenance-mode stagnation.