A Rails admin dashboard framework you own and override
No ratings yet# Gemfile
gem "administrate"Administrate vs Rails Admin
Both replace Forest Admin. Rails Admin is the better-known of the two (7,900 stars), while Administrate also stands in for Retool.
Rails Admin
Better knownA zero-configuration admin interface generated from your schema
No ratings yet# Gemfile
gem "rails_admin"What Administrate does
Administrate generates admin controllers and views that you then edit like any other Rails code. The generated code is yours. A dashboard class per model describing fields and their types Index, show, new and edit screens Search and filtering Every view overridable, because they are generated into your app Administrate generates code into your repository; Madmin keeps more of itself inside the gem. Pick generated-and-editable, or configured-and-compact.
Read the full Administrate listing →
Why you might pick it
- It also replaces Retool.
What Rails Admin does
RailsAdmin introspects your models and gives you a working admin with no per-model configuration. CRUD for every model it finds, immediately Search, filters and export A history of changes A configuration DSL for when the defaults are wrong Zero configuration means it exposes everything by default, including models you did not mean to expose. Gate the mount and configure visibility before this goes anywhere near production.
Side by side
Rows where the two differ are marked.
| Administrate | Rails Admin | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Admin and internal tools | Admin and internal tools |
| Replaces (differs) | Forest Admin, Retool | Forest Admin |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars (differs) | 5800 | 7900 |
| Gem (differs) | administrate | rails_admin |
| Mounts at | /admin | /admin |
| Member rating | — | — |
What each one gets off your invoice
Questions
- What is the difference between Administrate and Rails Admin?
- Both replace Forest Admin. Rails Admin is the better-known of the two (7,900 stars), while Administrate also stands in for Retool.
- Can I mount both Administrate and Rails Admin in the same Rails app?
- Technically yes — engines mount at different paths — but they overlap, so running both usually means two sets of tables doing one job. Pick one.
- Do Administrate and Rails Admin replace the same SaaS product?
- Both are listed as replacements for Forest Admin.