Buyer's guideUpdated

Best Client Portal Software

Five tools compared on what a client portal needs: what each client sees and sends you, invoices and payments, who you pay for, and the price.

Fabricate is ours, so every other pick says where it beats Fabricate, and each tool's price comes with the page we read it on.

By the Fabricate teamWe make Fabricate6 min readPrices checked
Client portal
A client portal made with Fabricate: client workspaces with milestones, a project roadmap and a deliverables checklist
Made with FabricateA new app usually takes about 20 to 35 credits.
A client portal made with Fabricate, shown with sample data.

The short answer

Also good: Dubsado for a yearly price, Softr for a portal on Airtable or Google Sheets.

  • Top pick · we make this

    Fabricate

    Best for a portal built around you

    Describe your service in plain words. Fabricate builds the portal, its records and the client sign-in, and you change it by asking.

    From $25 a monthThe details on Fabricate
  • All-in-one

    SuiteDash

    Best for one price with everything in

    An all-in-one business platform with a client portal, contracts and e-signatures, client onboarding, projects and white label, sold at one price rather than per user.

    From $19 a monthThe details on SuiteDash
  • Client management

    HoneyBook

    Best for proposals to payment

    Client management for service businesses: proposals, contracts, invoices and payments, scheduling and a client portal, with unlimited clients.

    From $29 a month, billed yearlyThe details on HoneyBook

Key takeaways

  • Fabricate builds a client portal around your own service, where each client sees only their own, and it does not count the clients who sign in. Building and previewing are free; publishing is on Pro and Max.
  • SuiteDash sells a portal with contracts, onboarding and projects at one price for unlimited users, from $19 a month.
  • HoneyBook runs proposals, contracts, invoices and a client portal, from $29 a month billed yearly.
  • Dubsado is billed by the year, from $335, with unlimited clients and client portals.
  • Softr builds portals on data you keep in Airtable or Google Sheets, with app users capped by plan.

Compare at a glance

How each portal is shaped, who you pay for, and the cheapest paid plan.

  • FabricateWe make this
    Shaped around
    Your own service, from your description
    Invoices and payments
    Stripe Checkout into your own account, on Pro and Max
    Who you pay for
    Clients not counted
    Paid plans from
    $25 a month
  • SuiteDashAll-in-one
    Shaped around
    Its own toolkits, switched on
    Invoices and payments
    Invoicing and billing
    Who you pay for
    One price, unlimited users
    Paid plans from
    $19 a month
  • HoneyBookClient management
    Shaped around
    Proposal to contract to invoice
    Invoices and payments
    Invoices and payments
    Who you pay for
    Unlimited clients; team members capped
    Paid plans from
    $29 a month, billed yearly
  • DubsadoClient management
    Shaped around
    Forms, contracts and workflows
    Invoices and payments
    Invoices and payments
    Who you pay for
    Unlimited clients
    Paid plans from
    $335 a year
  • SoftrNo code
    Shaped around
    Your Airtable or Google Sheets data
    Invoices and payments
    Not part of what we read
    Who you pay for
    App users capped by plan
    Paid plans from
    $25 a month

Each tool's cheapest paid plan as its own pricing page showed it on October 26, 2026: billed monthly where the page offers it, otherwise as the page bills it. Fabricate's figures come from our live plans.

How we compared

We compared the five tools on what a client portal needs: whether each client sees only their own, whether it fits how you work, invoices and payments, who you pay for and the price. For the other four we read their pricing pages and documentation on October 26, 2026, and each one's section lists the pages we read. We did not sign up for them for this guide.

Fabricate is ours. It comes first here because it builds the portal around the business's own service, and where another tool is the better pick, its section says so.

What we looked for

  • Each client sees their own

    Does a signed-in client see only their own work, files and invoices?

  • Fits how you work

    Is the portal shaped around your service, or around the tool?

  • Invoices and payments

    Can clients see what they owe and pay it?

  • Who you pay for

    Does the price grow with every client or staff member who signs in?

  • Price

    What does the cheapest paid plan cost, and how is it billed?

Top picks for 2026

Number 1

Fabricate

Top pickWe make this

Best for: A portal shaped around your service

Describe your service and what each client needs to see and send you, and Fabricate builds the portal: updates and milestones, approvals, uploads, and invoices with a pay button, behind a sign-in where each client sees only their own. Clients join with an invite code you give them, and the people who sign in to a published portal are not counted as seats. Building and previewing are free; publishing is on Pro and Max.

Client portal

A client portal made with Fabricate: client workspaces with milestones, a project roadmap and a deliverables checklist

Checks

Fabricate's security check on an app: one problem to fix and two quality warnings, each with a Fix in chat button
A client portal made with Fabricate, shown with sample data.

What it does well

  • Built around your own service
  • Each client sees only their own
  • No price per client who signs in

Watch out for

  • Emails to clients about updates are not built in
  • Documents for clients to download are not built 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

Build a client portal

Number 2

SuiteDash

All-in-one

Best for: Everything for a service business in one place

An all-in-one business platform with a client portal, contracts and e-signatures, client onboarding, projects and white label, sold at one price rather than per user. START is $19 a month, THRIVE $49 and PINNACLE $99, after a 14-day free trial.

What it does well

  • One price, not per user
  • Contracts, onboarding and projects too
  • White label

Watch out for

  • A lot of tools to set up
  • Shaped around its own toolkits

Where SuiteDash beats Fabricate

If you want a portal, contracts, onboarding and projects from one company at one flat price, SuiteDash has them ready to switch on.

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

Number 3

HoneyBook

Client management

Best for: Freelancers and creative services

Client management for service businesses: proposals, contracts, invoices and payments, scheduling and a client portal, with unlimited clients. Starter is $29 a month billed yearly; Essentials is $59 billed monthly, or $49 yearly, for up to 2 team members.

What it does well

  • Proposals, contracts and invoices
  • Client portal on every plan
  • Unlimited clients

Watch out for

  • Starter is shown billed yearly only
  • Team members are capped below Premium

Where HoneyBook beats Fabricate

If your work runs from proposal to contract to invoice, HoneyBook does that path out of the box, with a client portal on every plan.

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

Number 4

Dubsado

Client management

Best for: Service businesses that bill by the project

Invoices, payments, contracts, proposals, forms, scheduling and client portals for service businesses, billed by the year: Starter is $335 a year and Premier $525, both with unlimited clients, after a 21-day free trial of Premier.

What it does well

  • Unlimited clients
  • Workflows on Premier
  • A 21-day free trial

Watch out for

  • Priced by the year
  • One lead capture form on Starter

Where Dubsado beats Fabricate

If you would rather pay once a year for client management with portals included, Dubsado starts at $335 a year with unlimited clients.

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

Number 5

Softr

No code

Best for: A portal on data you already keep

Builds client portals and internal tools from a description with its AI Co-Builder, on Softr's own databases or on data you keep in Airtable or Google Sheets. Its Free plan covers up to 3 builders and 5 app users; Basic is $25 a month, and each plan caps the app users who sign in.

What it does well

  • Client portals on your own data
  • Sits on Airtable or Google Sheets
  • Builds from a description

Watch out for

  • App users are counted against the plan
  • Softr branding stays until Pro, at $119 a month

Where Softr beats Fabricate

If your client records already live in Airtable or Google Sheets, a Softr portal can sit on them directly.

Sources: softr.io/pricing (opens in a new tab), checked ; Softr docs: AI Co-Builder (opens in a new tab), checked Fabricate vs Softr

What a client portal built with Fabricate looks like

From this one description Fabricate builds the client sign-in, each client's own projects and invoices, and your page of every client, in an app with its own database; publishing it is on Pro and Max.

Change any word first

Build free. No card needed.

Our verdict

For a small business that wants a portal shaped around its own service, where each client signs in to see their own updates, approvals and invoices, Fabricate is our pick, and we make it. You describe the portal in plain words, and nobody who signs in counts toward the price. Putting the portal online is on Pro and Max.

SuiteDash comes second for everything in one place at one flat price. HoneyBook and Dubsado suit service businesses whose work runs from proposal to invoice, and Softr suits a portal on records you already keep in Airtable or Google Sheets.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best client portal software for a small business?
It depends on how you work. For a portal shaped around your own service, with no price per client, Fabricate, which we make. For a portal, contracts and projects at one flat price, SuiteDash. For proposals, contracts and invoices in one path, HoneyBook or Dubsado. For a portal on records you keep in Airtable or Google Sheets, Softr.
Can I build my own client portal?
Yes. Describe your service, what each client needs to see and send you, and who signs in, and Fabricate builds the client portal and shows it working in a preview. To change something, you ask in the chat. There is no code to write or read.
Do clients only see their own information?
In a portal built with Fabricate, yes. Each record is tied to the client it belongs to, and the portal shows a signed-in client only their own. Ask for invite codes so that only the clients you choose can create an account, and sign in as two test clients to check.
Can clients pay invoices in the portal?
On Pro and Max, the app can take card payments through Stripe Checkout, paid into your own Stripe account, which you connect under More > Payments. Ask for a pay button on each invoice; once Stripe confirms the payment, the invoice is marked paid. Fabricate takes no share of what you are paid; Stripe charges its own card fees.
Do I pay for every client who signs in?
Not on SuiteDash, HoneyBook or Dubsado, which have unlimited clients, or on Fabricate, which does not count the people who sign in to a published portal. Softr caps the app users on each plan.
Does a portal built with Fabricate email clients when something changes?
No. Emails and notifications about updates are not built in, so clients see what is new when they sign in. On Pro and Max, the live portal sends the emails that confirm an address and reset a password.

Sources

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

  1. suitedash.com/pricing (opens in a new tab), checked
  2. honeybook.com/pricing (opens in a new tab), checked
  3. dubsado.com/pricing (opens in a new tab), checked
  4. softr.io/pricing (opens in a new tab), checked
  5. Softr docs: AI Co-Builder (opens in a new tab), checked
  6. fabricate.build/pricing, from our live plans

About this guide

Written by the Fabricate team. Fabricate is our product, so the guide marks it, and each pick, ours or not, says who it suits best.

Each tool's section 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.

What should your clients see?

Describe your service in plain words. Fabricate builds the portal, and you change anything by asking.

Build free. No card needed.