How do you build a client portal with Softr?
You can let Softr's AI build the portal from a description, or start from one of Softr's 19 templates for portals. Either…
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Is Softr free?
Yes. Softr has a free plan with no end date, and you don't need a card to sign up. You can build as many apps as you like on it, but only five people can log in to them. Your apps stay on a softr.app address and show a "Made with Softr" badge. Every new account also starts with a free trial of the Business plan. When the trial ends, the account moves to the free plan on its own. The cheapest paid plan, Basic, costs $19 a month on yearly billing.
For my Softr review, I built a customer portal for a made-up cleaning company during that free trial. But the portal ended up with twice as many app users as the free plan allows.
I built the portal on November 2, 2026. I checked the free plan and the prices again on November 3.
What you get for free
Softr's pricing page lists these limits for the free plan.
- Five people can log in to your apps. Softr calls them app users. It counts each email address once, even when the same person uses several of your apps. Visitors who don't log in don't count.
- Three people can work on your apps in Softr Studio. Softr calls them builders, and they can also log in to your apps without counting as app users.
- Your databases can hold 5,000 records in total, and one database can hold 1,000.
- You get 1 GB for files.
- Workflows can run 500 actions a month. When they reach the limit, Softr pauses them until the next month.
On the free plan, you get 5 AI credits a month, and new accounts get 50 bonus credits on top. The AI built my whole portal for 0.98 credits. When the credits run out, you can keep building by hand.
What you pay for
A new app gets a random address on softr.app. You can change the name. I changed mine to wrenfield-cleaning.softr.app. Your own domain needs Basic or higher.
Your app shows a "Made with Softr" badge in the bottom corner. On phones, it covered half of my "Book a cleaning" button. Basic still shows a light Softr logo at the bottom, and Pro removes it.
The free plan has only two user groups, visitors and logged-in users. My portal needed separate groups for staff and customers, and those start with Pro. Pro is also the first plan where people can log in with a code by email or with Google. On the free plan, they use a password.
| Free | Basic | Pro | Business | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Billed yearly | $0 | $19a month, $228 a year | $99a month, $1,188 a year | $329a month, $3,948 a year |
| Billed monthly | $0 | $25a month | $119a month | $395a month |
| App users | 5 | 5 team and 5 client users | 10 team and 50 client users | 30 team and 100 client users |
| Database records | 5,000 | 50,000 | 500,000 | 1 million |
| Your own domain | No | 1 included | 1 included | 1 included |
| Softr branding | Badge | Light branding | None | None |
| Groups like staff and customers | No, only visitors and logged-in users | No, only visitors and logged-in users | Up to 3 | Up to 10 |
| How users log in | Email and password | Email and password | Also a code by email or Google | Also two-factor login |
| AI credits a month | 5 | 10 | 50 | 100 |
The free trial
My trial was the Business plan for seven days. It started when I signed up, and Softr never asked for a card. The editor showed "7 trial days left" at the top, and the plan and billing page showed the end date.
In Softr's list of plans, the button on the free plan says "Automatic when trial ends". Without a card, nothing gets charged.
Softr's help pages say you can extend the trial once. If you add a card, you get seven more days. Then Softr charges the card when the trial ends, unless you cancel first. I didn't try that.
What you build during the trial
During the trial, you can use the paid features, so it's easy to build something that doesn't fit the free plan. Softr's AI made up nine sample users for my portal, and I invited one test customer. After I published the portal, Softr counted all ten as app users. The AI had also set up separate groups for staff and customers.
My trial ends on November 9, so I can't say yet what Softr does with the extra users and the groups. Softr's help pages say you can't buy extra app users on the free plan. Users above a plan's limit can still be added, but they stay deactivated until you make room or upgrade. Deactivated users don't count.
If you build with Softr's AI and want to stay on the free plan, delete or deactivate the sample users before you invite real people.
Is the free plan enough?
The free plan is enough to try Softr. You can build and publish a whole app on it, and the AI credits are enough for a first version. It also works for an app that people use without logging in, like a public list with a request form.
For a customer portal, it's too small. Only five people can log in, and there are no separate groups for staff and customers. Basic doesn't help much, because only 5 customers can log in. Softr calls them client users. Pro allows 50 client users and has those groups. It costs $99 a month on yearly billing or $119 on monthly billing, plus tax. I show how to build one in my article on building a client portal with Softr.
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