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Overview
Softr.io is a NoCode platform for building web applications and web sites using an Airtable database. Softr lets you build applications for a myriad of use cases, such as client portal, marketplaces, e-commerce applications and workflow management systems. Even simple marketing web sites can be built using Softr. The key benefit to using Softr is that it lets you include dynamic data from an Airtable database. There’s also a low learning curve that makes it easy to get started. Softr.oi was founded in 2019 by Mariam Hakobyan and Artur Mkrtchyan. It is relatively new, similar to Stacker, Glide and Adalo. They recently raised $13.5M to grow their solution.
Softr Use Cases
Softr supports a large range of use cases such as the following.
- Client portals
- Online Marketplaces and Directories
- Online Free & Paid Communities
- General Websites
- Internal Tools
- Membership Websites
- Online Course Sites
Softr.io Editor
The Softr editor is easy to use and provides an interface that will be familiar to people who have some experience in NoCode tools. The editor lets you change the layout for mobile, tablet and desktop so that your app will be responsive. It is highly configurable and lets you either start from scratch or use a template to get a jump start.
Education and Community
Softr has comprehensive documentation along with a library of video guides. They also have a Softr community forum.
Community
Softr runs a Discourse forum that allows for people to get help and learn more about building applications. With only a couple hundred users it is one of the least active of the popular NoCode web application builders. However, Softr is one of the easier NoCode web application tools to use so this may be more of a function of people needing less help.
Documentation
Softr has comprehensive documentation that is laid out in an easy-to-consume manner. They also have a section for video guides that contains highly detailed videos from the experts and explains how to use their tool.
Mentoring
This site (NoCode Guides) was built to help people find NoCode Softr developers who can help them with either one-on-one personalized help or by hiring a developer to do their project for them.
Pricing
Softr has a very generous free plan that even lets you use your own domain. However, it does require that you have the Softr branding. All of the paid plans include a 30-day free trial.
Integrations
Softr supports integrating with external systems using Integromat and Zapier. Softr also hosts an API that gives you access to things like managing users. Since the data used by Softr resides in Airtable you can also use the Airtable API to perform additional management of the data.
Templates
Softr.io has a large directory of templates that users can select and instantly edit to create their websites or portals in minutes. The categories include websites, landing pages, client portals, marketplaces, and more. Templates are available for all the types of websites, portals, and web apps that Softr is focusing on. You can open a template, preview it, use it and see all the features there are in the template before choosing it to edit.
Paid Options for Building on Soft.io
There are numerous freelancers and agencies that specialize in Softr and can build your web site for you. Softr itself maintains a directory of experts as does this site which includes a section for Softr developers.
Apps Built with Softr.io
The following are some web sites and applications that have been built using Softr.
Shared-C
Shared-C is a freelance marketplace that let’s you hire C-level executives, CEO and entrepreneures for par-time freelance work.
Boats by Owners
Boats By Owners is a marketplace to buy and sell boats!
Sea Launch
Sea-Launch helps you discover NFTs before their launch or minting date so that you can get your hands on one quickly.
Hawkr
Hawkr is a food delivering service that let’s customers order homemade food.
Limitations
While Softr is very powerful and easy to use its simplicity comes with some drawbacks.
- You are limited by the data in Airtable, which currently is 50,000 records.
- You need to potentially maintain two subscriptions, one for Airtable and another for Softr.
- Softr is not as extendable as something like Bubble which allows for creating plugins.
- There is a smaller community of people using Softr than other more popular NoCode tools.
Alternatives
There are several alternatives to Softr.
- Stacker is a NoCode tool for building applications using data from Google Sheets, Airtable and Salesforce.
- Glide: Glide is an app builder for creating progressive web applications which look like apps but run in a web browser.
- Bubble: The most popular NoCode web application builder is Bubble which lets you create responsive web applications. There are also 3rd party solutions that help you create native applications from your Bubble sites.
- Adalo: Using Adalo you can build both web based and native application that will run on Android and iOS devices.
Summary
Softr was founded in 2019 and is a relatively young product when compared to a platform like Bubble. However, it’s definitely punching above its weight and offers a powerful and easy to use solution for building web sites and applications. With its recent Series A funding it will likely be a serious contender to Bubble in the years ahead.
The following table summarizes this Softr.io review.
| Criteria | Result | Details |
| Use Cases | Web apps, Website | Softr.io can be used to create marketplaces,client portals, portfolio websites, listing websites and other landing pages etc. |
| Offers Free Tier / Trial | Yes | Softr has a free tier that lets you use your own custom domain but displays the Softr branding on it. |
| Community | 2/5 | Softr.io has a community but it’s less active than competitors like Bubble and Glide. |
| Educational Resources | 5/5 | Softr provides detailed educational resources both in written and video formats. |
| Extendable Via Code | Yes | While Softr lets you add custom code blocks to include custom HTML, CSS and JavaScript it is more limited than something like Bubble where you can build actual plugins in JavaScript. With that said, that’s not necessarily a bad thing as more constraints make the Softr platform easier to use. |
| Template Ecosystem | 3/5 | There is a decent-sized template directory that users can select. |
| API | 5/5 | Softr hosts an API for managing things like users and you can also use your Airtable API to change the data in that system. Additionally, there are Zapier and Integromat integrations. |
| Freelance Developers and Agencies Specializing in Tool | Yes | There are some freelancers and agencies offering Softr development services. |
| Founding Date | 2019 | Mariam Hakobyan and Artur Mkrtchyan |