Softr: What It Is, Pricing and How to Use It (2026 Guide)

What is Softr?

Softr is a platform for building business apps without writing code: client portals, partner portals, internal tools, intranets, knowledge bases, lightweight CRMs and dashboards. You describe or assemble the app, connect it to your data, decide who can log in and what each person can see, and publish it on a Softr subdomain or your own domain. Softr now calls itself “the AI app builder for business operations”.

The company was founded in 2020, is backed by FirstMark Capital and Atlantic, and is remote-first with around 60 staff. Customer data is hosted in Germany.

Many people still know Softr as “the front end for Airtable”, and that description is out of date. Today a Softr app can run entirely on Softr’s own pieces: apps drafted by the AI Co-Builder and edited in Softr Studio, Softr Databases, Workflows, Softr Forms, Softr Agents, and Softr MCP for building from Claude or ChatGPT.

The problem it solves is the gap between a spreadsheet and custom software. Teams that run operations in Airtable, Sheets or a CRM need to give clients or staff a safe, branded way to see and update their own records. Code takes weeks; sharing the raw spreadsheet exposes everyone’s data. Softr sits in between.

Who it is for

• Agencies, consultancies and service firms that want a client portal where each client logs in and sees only their projects, invoices, files and requests.
• Operations teams building internal tools: inventory trackers, approval flows, project trackers, onboarding checklists and team intranets.
• Small businesses that need a lightweight CRM or ERP shaped around their process rather than a general-purpose product.
• Airtable and Google Sheets users who want a secure interface for people outside the base, with logins and per-role permissions.

Softr is not the right tool for consumer apps expecting tens of thousands of concurrent users on Airtable or Sheets data, because those sources have their own rate limits (Softr itself points high-concurrency apps to Softr Databases or SQL). It is also a poor fit if you need pixel-perfect, fully custom interfaces (look at Bubble or write code) or native apps in the App Store and Google Play. If what you need is a project board for your own team rather than an app for outsiders, a work management tool such as monday.com is the simpler choice.

Key features

• AI Co-Builder. From the dashboard choose Create new app > Generate with AI and describe what you need. The Co-Builder asks two or three clarifying questions, then creates database tables with sample data, pages, navigation, user groups and permissions, and a theme. It also edits existing apps from the editor chat.
• Softr Studio and blocks. The visual editor works with pages made of blocks: lists, tables, kanban boards, calendars, charts, forms and item detail views. The Vibe Coding block generates custom UI components with AI, and their data actions appear in a visual panel so you can set permissions per user group.
• Softr Databases. A built-in relational database with formulas, lookup and rollup fields, revision history, manual snapshots and Database AI Agents that auto-fill fields or generate content, with no external API rate limits.
• Over 20 data sources. Connect Airtable, Google Sheets, Notion, HubSpot, monday.com, Supabase, PostgreSQL, MySQL, Salesforce, Excel or any REST API, among others. Snowflake and BigQuery are Enterprise-only. Airtable users get a one-click migration tool, and CSV import works for everything else.
• User groups and permissions. Define user groups, control page and block visibility per group, and set Page Rules to redirect people after sign-in or sign-out. Business adds Global data restrictions, which limit which records each user can ever see. OTP and Google sign-in arrive on Pro, two-factor authentication on Business, SSO on Enterprise.
• Workflows. Trigger-and-action automations with AI steps, external API calls, Run Custom Code (JavaScript or Python), Send Notification (push and in-app inbox) and integrations such as Gmail, HubSpot, Jira, DocuSign, Anthropic and Gemini.
• Softr Agents and Ask AI. Launched in August 2026 on every plan. App Agents live inside an app and answer questions or perform tasks under that app’s permissions; Scheduled Agents run on a timetable. Ask AI is an in-app chat over your data.
• Softr MCP server. Launched in September 2026 on every plan. Claude, Claude Code, ChatGPT, Codex, Cursor or any other MCP client can build apps, create custom blocks, query and edit databases and design workflows. It runs under your own permissions and uses no Softr AI credits.

Pricing

Softr prices by plan, then by builders and app users on top. The figures below are from Softr’s pricing page and pricing docs at the time of writing, in US dollars excluding tax. The pricing page defaults to yearly billing (“2 months off”); the annual figure is the effective monthly price of a plan billed once a year.

Plan	Annual (per month)	Monthly	Builders	App users included	Records	Workflow actions / month	AI credits / month	Key additions
Free	$0	$0	Up to 3	5 in total	5,000	500	5	Unlimited apps, databases, workflows, agents and forms; Softr API and MCP; Softr branding; no custom domain
Basic	$19	$25	1 (+$5 or $6 each)	5 Team + 5 Client, no add-ons	50,000	2,500	10	One custom domain, conditional form logic, automated database backup
Pro	$99	$119	2 (+$10 or $12 each)	10 Team (up to 50, +$3 each) + 50 Client (up to 250, +$1 each)	500,000	10,000	50	Remove Softr branding, OTP and Google sign-in, granular permissions, comments, custom code and API connectors, 3 custom user groups
Business	$329	$395	3 (+$20 or $24 each)	30 Team (up to 100, +$5 each) + 100 Client (up to 500, +$2 each)	1,000,000	25,000	100	Global data restrictions, 2FA, domain-restricted sign-up, installable mobile app (PWA), push notifications, priority support, 10 custom user groups
Enterprise	Custom	Custom	Custom	Custom	Custom	Custom	Custom	SSO (SAML, OpenID), SCIM, audit logs, Snowflake and BigQuery, custom SLAs, invoice and PO payment

Rules that matter more than the headline price:

• Team vs Client users. Team users share a business email domain with a builder; everyone else, including any Gmail or Outlook address, is a Client user. The same email counts once across all your apps, and deactivated users do not count.
• Add-on users are billed monthly, even on annual plans, after a 7-day grace period. Above a plan’s maximum, new users are created deactivated.
• A worked example. A client portal for 50 client contacts and 10 staff on your company domain fits Pro’s included 50 Client and 10 Team users at $99 a month billed annually. Grow to 200 client contacts and Pro needs 150 extra Client users at $1 each, about $249 a month in total, before you weigh the Business plan’s extra features.
• AI credits and workflow actions reset monthly and do not roll over. When either runs out, AI features or workflows pause until the reset or an upgrade; the editor keeps working.
• Extra custom domains cost $13 a month (annual) or $15 (monthly) each; every paid plan includes one.
• Trial and refunds. Sign-up starts a 7-day trial of Business features with no card; adding a card extends it to 14 days and you are charged when it ends unless you cancel. Monthly plans are refundable within 14 days of the first payment, yearly plans within 30 days. Non-profits and education get 50% off.

How to use Softr: step-by-step

1. Sign up and choose how to start

1. Go to softr.io and click Start for free. Sign-up starts the Business-feature trial automatically and needs no card.
2. On the dashboard, click Create new app and choose one of three routes: Generate with AI, a template (the docs list more than 90), or build from scratch.
3. Choose where the data lives. For a new project, pick Softr Databases. If your data is already in Airtable, Google Sheets, HubSpot or a SQL database, connect that source instead, or use the one-click Airtable migration to move it into Softr.

2. Generate a first app with the AI Co-Builder

Write a specific description, not just “a CRM”:

Client portal for a 10-person marketing agency.
Tables: Clients, Projects, Deliverables, Invoices, Requests.
Clients log in and see only their own projects, deliverables
and invoices, and can submit new requests with a file upload.
Staff see everything and can change deliverable status.
Pages: Dashboard, Projects (kanban by status), Invoices, New request.

Answer the Co-Builder’s clarifying questions and let it build. Then replace the sample data in each table with a few real records.

3. Refine the app in Softr Studio

• By chat: use the AI chat in the editor sidebar for structural changes, such as “Add a calendar of deliverable due dates to the Dashboard”.
• By hand: click a block to change its data source, fields, filters, sorting and actions. Add blocks from the block library: lists, tables, kanban, calendar, charts, forms and item details.

4. Lock down permissions and test as a real user

This is the step that makes a client portal safe, so do not skip it.

1. Open the user groups the Co-Builder created (for example Clients and Staff) and check the rule that decides who belongs to each.
2. For every page and block, set visibility by user group. On list and table blocks, filter records to the logged-in user, for example showing only Projects where the Client email matches the current user.
3. On Business, add Global data restrictions so a misconfigured block still cannot expose another client’s records.
4. Click the Play icon to preview the app as a specific user. The device selector, QR code and shareable preview link cover mobile checks. Log in as two different test clients and confirm neither sees the other’s data.

5. Publish and invite users

1. Click Publish in the top navigation bar. The app goes live on a random <name>.softr.io subdomain, which you can rename in the Publish dropdown.
2. On a paid plan, connect your own domain (for example portal.youragency.com).
3. Republish after every change; edits do not go live until you do.
4. Invite app users and check how they count: client contacts on their own domains or on Gmail are Client users, colleagues on your domain are Team users.

Automate an approval with Workflows

A common next step is an approval flow. Create a Workflow triggered when a record is created in the Requests table, add a condition on the request type or amount, then use Send Notification to alert the account manager in the app’s inbox, or send an email through the Gmail integration. Each action counts toward the monthly allowance; triggers and flow controls do not.

Build from Claude or ChatGPT with Softr MCP

Connect the Softr MCP server to Claude, Claude Code, ChatGPT, Cursor or another MCP client, following Softr’s setup docs, then ask the assistant to create tables, add a custom block or draft a workflow. It acts with your own permissions and spends no AI credits. Review the result in Softr Studio before publishing.

Tips to get better results

• Start on Softr Databases for new projects. You avoid Airtable and Sheets rate limits.
• Model your user count before choosing a plan. List every client contact and staff member who will log in, split them into Team and Client users, and price the add-ons.
• Write the Co-Builder prompt like a spec. Name the tables, user groups, who sees what, and the pages you want.
• Test permissions with two fake clients. It is the only reliable way to prove that data does not leak between accounts.
• Take a snapshot before big changes. Snapshots are manual at the time of writing, so make one before a migration or a large AI edit.
• Use MCP for bulk edits. Building through Claude or ChatGPT costs no AI credits, so save your monthly credits for Ask AI and agents your users run.
• Keep one app per audience. A separate client portal and internal tool are easier to secure than one app full of visibility rules.
• Set the theme early. Fix logo, colours and fonts before detailed layout work.

Limitations and common problems

• App-user costs creep up. Every new client contact with an outside email is a Client user, and add-ons are billed monthly. Deactivate people who no longer need access, since deactivated users do not count.
• Basic is too limited for most portals. It keeps Softr branding and has a hard cap of 5 Team and 5 Client users with no add-ons. Plan on Pro for anything client-facing.
• External data sources have their own limits. Airtable and Sheets bring record caps and rate limits; busy apps belong on Softr Databases or SQL.
• AI features stop when credits run out. Ask AI and Database AI Agents pause until the monthly reset or a credit add-on. The editor keeps working.
• No native mobile apps. Business adds an installable PWA with push notifications; we could not find App Store or Google Play publishing at the time of writing.
• Enterprise gates key security features. SSO, SCIM, audit logs, Snowflake and BigQuery all need the custom-priced plan.

Alternatives

• Glide - no-code apps built on spreadsheets, strong for mobile-first internal tools.
• Airtable Interfaces - front ends inside Airtable itself, enough if every user already has an Airtable seat.
• Noloco - portals and internal tools on Airtable and SQL data, the closest like-for-like alternative.
• Bubble - full custom web apps with more design and logic control, and a steeper learning curve.
• Retool - internal tools aimed at developers who are comfortable with SQL and JavaScript.

If you mainly need AI agents and automations rather than an app with logins, look at our MindStudio guide. For team project management, see monday.com, and for an all-in-one business management system for service companies, see Vea. Browse more options in our productivity tools directory, and if you plan to drive the AI Co-Builder or Softr MCP from Claude or ChatGPT, our guide on how to write better prompts applies directly.

Verdict

Softr is a strong choice for agencies, operations teams and small businesses that need a secure, branded app on top of their data and do not want to hire developers. The AI Co-Builder gets you to a working draft quickly, and Softr Databases and Workflows remove the need for a separate stack. Start on the free plan or the Business trial and build your real portal before paying. Most client portals will land on Pro, so count your Team and Client users first, because that, not the plan price, decides the bill. Skip Softr if you need native mobile apps, highly custom design, or SSO without an Enterprise contract.