AlternativesUpdated

Best Softr Alternatives in 2026

Softr builds client portals and internal tools on its own databases or on Airtable and Google Sheets, and counts the people who sign in: 5 on Free, 10 on Basic at $25 a month and 60 on Pro at $119. If you need more users, your own code or a different kind of app, here are six alternatives.

By the Fabricate teamWe make Fabricate5 min readPrices checked
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Fabricate CloudFabricate
Fabricate Cloud for one app: its database, form responses, keys and secrets, and accounts for its visitors
An app's database, form responses, keys and visitor accounts in Fabricate Cloud. Real Fabricate screens, shown with sample data.

Key takeaways

  • Softr builds portals and internal tools on its own databases or on Airtable and Google Sheets, and counts app users: 10 on Basic at $25 a month billed monthly.
  • Glide and AppSheet build team apps from spreadsheets; Knack counts records, not users; Airtable and Retool suit teams working in the data.
  • Fabricate builds a web app with its own database, and the people who sign in are not counted. Building and previewing are free; publishing is on Pro and Max.

Why Are People Looking for Softr Alternatives?

  • App Users Are Counted

    Free covers 5 app users, Basic 10, Pro 60 and Business 130; more users cost extra each month from Pro.

    Fits: Fabricate

  • Records and Workflows Have Limits

    Softr Databases hold 5,000 records on Free, 50,000 on Basic and 500,000 on Pro, and workflow actions run from 500 a month on Free to 10,000 on Pro.

  • Custom Code From Pro

    Custom code and API connectors start on Pro, at $119 a month billed monthly.

  • AI Credits Reset

    Each plan includes AI credits a month, from 5 on Free to 100 on Business, and unused ones do not roll over.

Compare at a glance

Fabricate beside Softr, feature by feature.

  • Builds From a Description
    Fabricate
    Yes
    Softr
    With its AI Co-Builder, or in the editor
  • People Who Sign In
    Fabricate
    Not counted
    Softr
    5 on Free, 10 on Basic, 60 on Pro, 130 on Business
  • Data
    Fabricate
    The app's own SQLite database
    Softr
    Softr Databases, Airtable, Google Sheets and more
  • Workflows
    Fabricate
    Written into the app when you ask
    Softr
    Built in, with monthly workflow actions
  • The Code
    Fabricate
    On Pro and Max
    Softr
    Custom code and API connectors, from Pro
  • Paid Plans From
    Fabricate
    $25 a month
    Softr
    $25 a month
Number 1

Fabricate

We make this

Best for: Apps people sign in to, not priced per user

Builds a web app from a description, for your team or your customers: the screens, the app's own SQLite database, sign-in and the server code. The people who sign in to a published app are not counted as users or seats. Building and previewing are free; publishing is on Pro and Max.

Checks before you publish

Fabricate's security check on an app: one problem to fix and two quality warnings, each with a Fix in chat button
Each finding comes with a Fix in chat button. A real Fabricate screen, shown with sample data.

What it does well

  • Apps for customers or staff
  • The app's own database
  • No price per person who signs in
Paid plans from
$25 a month
350 credits a month on Pro
Free plan
60 credits
A month, to build and preview
A live app
Pro and Max
Publishing is on paid plans

See the plans

How to Move a Softr App to Fabricate

  1. 1

    Export your tables

    Save each table from Softr Databases or Airtable as a CSV file, and list the screens, roles and rules the app has.

  2. 2

    Describe the app

    The screens, who signs in, who can see and change what, and the steps each record goes through.

  3. 3

    Ask for an import page

    Ask for a page, behind your own sign-in, that adds the rows of each CSV file to the app's own database.

  4. 4

    Test it in the preview

    Sign up, save and edit data, and check who can see what, before anyone else does.

  5. 5

    Put it online

    On Pro, one press of Publish gives it its own address to share, after the same browser check.

Chat

Fabricate's chat on a phone: the owner asks for opening hours and a note about cardamom buns, and Fabricate says what it changed and that it used 5 credits

Your app

The same bakery app in Fabricate's Your app view on a phone, now showing Open today 7am - 3pm above its menu
Asking for a change in chat, then trying the app. Real Fabricate screens on a phone, shown with sample data.

The other Softr alternatives

What each one does well, and the kind of project it suits best.

  1. Number 2

    Glide

    Best for: Team apps from a spreadsheet

    Builds business apps for your team with an AI agent, from a prompt, a spreadsheet, a document or an image, on one database per project. The free plan builds but publishes no apps; Basic, at $25 a month, publishes 2.

    • Starts from a spreadsheet
    • An AI agent builds the app
    • Apps for your team

    Where Glide beats Fabricate

    If the app is for your own team and starts from a spreadsheet, Glide is built around that, and it shows a mockup on sample data to approve first.

    From $25 a monthGlide alternatives

    Sources: glideapps.com/pricing (opens in a new tab), checked ; Glide docs: what is GlideOS? (opens in a new tab), checked ; Glide docs: data (opens in a new tab), checked

  2. Number 3

    Knack

    Best for: Database apps for many users

    A no-code builder for online databases, portals and internal tools, hosted by Knack. Starter is $59 a month for 20,000 records and 3 apps, and Pro $130 for 50,000 records, at the regular monthly price; app users are not counted on any plan.

    • Online databases
    • App users not counted
    • Portals and internal tools

    Where Knack beats Fabricate

    If many people sign in to a database app and you want a price by records rather than by user, Knack counts records, not users.

    From $59 a monthKnack alternatives

    Sources: knack.com/pricing (opens in a new tab), checked ; knack.com (opens in a new tab), checked

  3. Number 4

    Airtable

    Best for: Teams that work in the records

    A database that looks like a spreadsheet, with interfaces, forms and automations on top. Free covers up to 5 editors and 1,000 records per base; Team is $24 per seat a month, billed monthly, and read-only collaborators are free.

    • Grids, boards and calendars
    • Interfaces and forms
    • Free read-only collaborators

    Where Airtable beats Fabricate

    If your team mostly works in the records themselves, sorting, filtering and editing in grids, Airtable is built for that, and read-only collaborators cost nothing.

    From $24 per seat a monthAirtable alternatives

    Sources: airtable.com/pricing (opens in a new tab), checked ; Airtable support: Airtable plans (opens in a new tab), checked

  4. Number 5

    Retool

    Best for: Tools over your own database

    Builds internal tools over databases and APIs you already run, and its builder now makes an app from a description too. Team is $12 a month per builder and $7 per internal user, billed monthly, and Free covers up to 5 users.

    • Your databases and APIs
    • Builds from a description
    • Internal tools

    Where Retool beats Fabricate

    If the data lives in your own database or behind APIs, Retool connects to it where it is.

    From $12 per builder a monthRetool alternatives

    Source: retool.com/pricing (opens in a new tab), checked

  5. Number 6

    AppSheet

    Best for: Google Workspace teams

    Google's no-code platform for apps and automations over Google Sheets and other data. Starter is $5 per user a month, Core $10 and Enterprise Plus $20, and every person who signs in needs a license.

    • Google Workspace
    • Automations
    • Desktop and mobile

    Where AppSheet beats Fabricate

    If your team works in Google Sheets and Workspace, AppSheet turns those sheets into apps where the data already is.

    From $5 per user a monthAppSheet alternatives

    Source: about.appsheet.com/pricing (opens in a new tab), checked

Softr and its alternatives: portals on your data, or an app with its own

Softr turns data into portals and internal tools: you describe the app to its AI Co-Builder or lay it out in the editor, on Softr Databases or on Airtable, Google Sheets and other sources. User roles, forms and workflows are built in.

Its plans count app users, records and workflow actions. A client portal for 40 clients on Basic needs Pro, at $119 a month billed monthly, for 60 app users; Business raises that to 130.

Glide and AppSheet are closest for team apps on a spreadsheet. Knack prices by records and does not count users. Airtable is for teams that work in the records themselves, and Retool for tools over a database you already run.

A Fabricate app keeps its data in its own database and is not priced by the people who sign in. The backend is written into the app's own code: server routes in a Durable Object on Cloudflare Workers, with its own SQLite database.

Frequently asked questions

How much does Softr cost?
Free covers 5 app users. Billed monthly, Basic is $25 a month for 10 app users, Pro $119 for 60 and Business $395 for 130; billed yearly they are $19, $99 and $329 a month.
What counts as an app user on Softr?
Anyone who can sign in to an app you built, counted once across all your apps. Builders in your workspace can be added as app users without counting toward the limit.
Does Fabricate charge for each person who signs in?
No. The people who sign in to a published app are not counted as users, seats or licenses. Fabricate's plans price the credits that build the app and, on Pro and Max, the AI inside it; Pro is $25 a month.
Can I keep my data in Airtable?
With Softr, yes: its apps sit on Airtable and Google Sheets directly. A Fabricate app keeps its data in its own database, so you bring the records across once as CSV files.
Can I bring my data across?
Export your tables as CSV files, then ask Fabricate for an import page, behind your own sign-in, that adds the rows to the app's own database. Views, forms and rules are rebuilt from your description, not copied.

Sources

The pages this guide quotes, each with the day it was read.

  1. softr.io/pricing (opens in a new tab), checked
  2. Softr docs: AI Co-Builder (opens in a new tab), checked
  3. glideapps.com/pricing (opens in a new tab), checked
  4. Glide docs: what is GlideOS? (opens in a new tab), checked
  5. Glide docs: data (opens in a new tab), checked
  6. knack.com/pricing (opens in a new tab), checked
  7. knack.com (opens in a new tab), checked
  8. airtable.com/pricing (opens in a new tab), checked
  9. Airtable support: Airtable plans (opens in a new tab), checked
  10. retool.com/pricing (opens in a new tab), checked
  11. about.appsheet.com/pricing (opens in a new tab), checked
  12. fabricate.build/pricing, from our live plans

About this guide

Written by the Fabricate team. Fabricate is our product, so it is first on this page and marked "We make this". Each tool, ours or not, says who it suits best.

Each tool's card lists the pages we read about it and the day we read them. We compared the tools from their own pricing pages and documentation, not by signing up for them. Spotted something out of date? Write to info@fabricate.build.

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