Softr
Builds client portals and internal tools directly on top of an Airtable base or Google Sheet, without writing code.
What you'd use it for
Turning an Airtable base or Google Sheet into a login-gated client portal or internal tool without hiring a developer.
- Gate a directory, dashboard or booking page behind login, with different user roles seeing different records
- Let users submit or edit records in the underlying Airtable base or Google Sheet directly from a form or list
- Charge for access with a built-in Stripe checkout tied to a subscription or one-off payment
- Trigger a Zapier, Make or n8n workflow off a form submission or button click
The verdict
Softr is the fastest way to put a real front end on an Airtable base or Google Sheet without hiring a developer, and for a straightforward client portal or internal tool it earns its keep in well under a day. The catch is less about missing features than about the reader count — the Basic plan's record and user allowance is a hard ceiling with no pay-as-you-go overage, so outgrowing it means jumping straight from $19 to $99 a month rather than paying a small add-on fee. It suits a small, defined user base reading and writing data that already lives in Airtable or Sheets; it is not built for a large public membership site or for logic that has outgrown what a spreadsheet-backed data model can express.
What it costs
| Tier | Price | For | Includes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Trying the builder on a first small project. | Basic app building with Softr branding and limited records. |
| Basic | $19/month | A single small app for internal or light client use. | A custom domain, 1 builder seat (extra seats $5/month), 10 app users and 50,000 database records — the app user and record limits are hard caps on Basic with no pay-as-you-go overage. |
| Pro | $99/month | A real client-facing portal or several internal tools. | Everything in Basic, plus removal of Softr branding, granular permissions and custom code/API connectors; 60 app users and 500,000 database records included, with extra app users from $1/month and extra builder seats from $10/month. |
| Business | $329/month | Teams running Softr as a core part of their product or operations. | The highest self-serve limits — 130 app users and 1,000,000 database records included, extra app users from $2/month — plus two-factor authentication, domain-restricted signup and priority onboarding. |
| Enterprise | Custom pricing | Organisations needing custom limits, SSO or support terms. | Negotiated directly with Softr. |
Read from Softr's own pricing page on 25 Sep 2026. Vendors change prices without notice.
What you need to start
- An Airtable base or Google Sheet already set up with the data the app will be built on
- A Softr account, free to start with no credit card required
- A paid plan to remove Softr branding or connect a custom domain
Softr's own onboarding promises a working, Airtable-connected page in under 30 minutes; getting real user roles and payment gating in place realistically takes a full day.
Your first run Connect an existing Airtable base or Google Sheet, pick a template, and Softr's own onboarding puts a working, login-gated page live in under 30 minutes, though wiring up user roles, payments or a custom domain takes a good deal longer than that first page.
Where it breaks
Browser-based; no desktop app. Data lives in Airtable, Google Sheets, or Softr's own tables, not in Softr itself.
First entry in this reference. There is no previous check to compare it against.
When not to use it
Not for anyone expecting to add capacity gradually — the Basic plan has no pay-as-you-go option for extra records or app users, so outgrowing its allowance means a jump straight to the $99 Pro tier rather than a small overage charge. Also not for teams that need real application logic or a production database behind the portal, since that is Retool's job rather than Softr's.
Softr solves a problem Airtable users hit constantly: the base itself is not something you can hand a client or a non-technical teammate — it looks like a spreadsheet, and giving edit access to the whole base is usually more openness than you want. Softr sits on top and builds a proper front end — a login-gated portal, a directory, a booking form — that reads from and writes back to the same Airtable data, without duplicating it anywhere.
The appeal is that your data model stays where it already is. If you already run operations out of Airtable, this is a front door onto that data rather than a second system to keep in sync.
What actually costs money as you scale
The Basic tier is a harder ceiling than the sticker price suggests: its 10 app users and 50,000 database records are hard caps with no pay-as-you-go overage, so outgrowing either means jumping straight to Pro at $99/month. Overage pricing only appears from Pro upward, and only on builder seats (an extra $10/month on Pro, $20/month on Business) and app users (extra users from $1/month on Pro, $2/month on Business) — database records themselves have no overage option at any self-serve tier, Basic included.
Where it fits next to the alternatives
Against Retool, Softr is faster to start and friendlier to a non-technical builder, but shallower — it’s built specifically for Airtable and Sheets as a backend, where Retool connects to real production databases and handles more complex application logic.
Alternatives
Websites & appsAppsNoloco
A no-code builder for client portals and internal tools that reads directly from Airtable, Google Sheets or a database, with AI generating the first layout for you.
Websites & appsHarnessRetool
Assembles internal admin tools and dashboards directly over your existing databases, with AI able to generate the interface from a description instead of you dragging every component by hand.
Websites & appsAppsGlide
An app builder that turns a table of records into something staff and customers can actually use on a phone, without anyone writing code or shipping to an app store.
Get Softr
Buying the tool is not the hard part.
The ebook is about what to hand over, in what order, and how you find out when it goes wrong. One payment, no subscription.