Softr IO : Full Review, Testing, and Presentation (2024)

What is Softr?

Softr, founded in 2019 by Mariam Hakobyan and Artur Mkrtchyan, is a no-code development platform that allows you to quickly create websites, customer portals and internal applications without skills in coding.

With over 100,000 users in 180 countries and 50,000+ apps created, Softr grew rapidly, raising $13.5 million in Series A in 2022.

Softr is distinguished by:

• Its native integration with Airtable and Google Sheets. Softr makes it possible to transform Airtable data into interfaces, without requiring technical skills, while offering real-time updates and seamless integration.
• 500 predefined blocks for quick creation of a web application
• An average time to market of 30 minutes for a simple application
• Great feedback from the users of this tool

Primarily targeting SMEs, startups and independent creators, Softr promises to reduce development time by up to 70% compared to traditional methods.

Awarded “Product of the Year” at the No-Code Awards 2022, Softr recently introduced AI features for content generation, strengthening its position as an innovator in the field of no-code development.

Softr features

1. Creation of no-code websites

Softr is a platform that revolutionizes the creation of websites for non-technical users. Its interface has an intuitive drag-and-drop feature that allows to quick start, even for beginners.

With over 200 predefined building blocks, creating sites is a breeze. Users can fully customize CSS fonts, colors, and styles according to their needs.

Strengths:

• Automatic responsive design to facilitate navigation on any device (computer, mobile phone)
• Possibility to add HTML/CSS/Javascript custom code
• Page Load optimisation (average PageSpeed score of 90+)

2. Database integration

Softr shines with its ability to easily integrate databases, ideal for data-driven businesses. The platform offers a native connection with Airtable, Google Sheets, and HubSpot, SQL and monday.com.

Softr allows you to turn Airtable data into beautiful interactive interfaces without coding skills and with real-time updates and seamless integration.

Real-time data sync ensures your data is always up to date. Server-side filtering and sorting, combined with auto-paging, to manage large amounts of data.

Advanced features:

• Dynamic forms for data collection
• Managing relationships between tables (one-to-many, many-to-many)

3. Authentication and user management

Security is at the core of Softr. The authentication system supports registration and login with Google, Facebook or email/password.

Role and permission management allows you to create up to 10 custom roles and have full control over access to different parts of your site.

Key features:

• Customizable user profiles
• Email verification with password reset
• Administration portal for user management

4. E-commerce features

Softr has simple but effective e-commerce features for small online stores. Users can create product catalog, manage cart and integrate payments with Stripe.

Real-time inventory management and automatic calculation of taxes and shipping costs makes daily store management a breeze.

Advantages:

• Integration of shopping carts
• Customizable invoices and receipts
• Competitive transaction fees (2.9% + $0.30 per transaction with Stripe)

5. Automations and workflows

Softr automates repetitive tasks so SMEs can be more productive. With Zapier integration, you have access to 3,000+ integrations to create workflows without code.

Event based triggers to automate actions like sending emails or updating data. Webhook support for advanced users to create custom integrations.

Limits to note:

• 100 tasks per month for free plan
• Unlimited tasks in paid plans

6. Analysis and reports

Softr has powerful tools to monitor your site performance. The analytics dashboard shows you traffic, conversions and user behavior in real time.

Also, reports are fully customizable and can be exported to CSV for further analysis. Native integration with Google Analytics and Facebook Pixel is a bonus.

Key features:

• Retention of analytical data for 12 months
• Intuitive visualizations of performance data

7. SEO and marketing

Softr takes SEO seriously. The platform allows full customization of meta titles and descriptions for each page for better search results.

The auto generated XML sitemap makes it easy for search engines to crawl your site. Configurable 301 redirects to manage your site structure.

Other marketing advantages:

• Automatic image optimization
• Integration of Open Graph tags for optimized sharing on social networks

8. Performance and security

Hosted on AWS with a global CDN, your site will load fast everywhere in the world.

Each site has a free SSL (Let's Encrypt) and daily automatic backups for your data.

Performance guarantees:

• Integrated DDoS protection
• GDPR compliance with data storage option in Europe
• 99.9% guaranteed uptime (SLA for Business and Enterprise plans)

9. Collaboration and project management

Softr makes teamwork easy with its advanced collaboration features. Users can invite collaborators with different levels of access to control permissions.

Comments and annotations on site elements for better team communication. Version history to go back to a previous version when needed.

Collaboration tools:

• Development, staging, and production environments
• Publishing workflow with approval (Business and Enterprise plans)

10. Support and resources

Softr is committed to providing quality support to its users. One detailed documentation and an extensive library of video tutorials are available to help users get the most out of the platform.

The active community of more than 50,000 members offers a valuable space for exchange and mutual support. For more direct support, live chat support ensures an average response time of 5 minutes.

Additional resources:

• Weekly webinars
• Customized training (Business and Enterprise plans)
• Library of 500+ templates and sample projects
• Regular updates with two major new features per month

In conclusion, Softr offers a complete suite of functionalities adapted to various needs, from the creation of simple websites to complex applications with user management and advanced automations. Its no-code approach combined with powerful tools makes it an attractive solution for a wide range of users.

Softr pricing

Softr has plans for every user, from hobbyists to pros. Here’s the breakdown.

1. Free Plan: Try Risk Free

For beginners and personal projects, this plan lets you try the basics of Softr without committing to anything.

Features:

• 1 free project
• 100 records per database
• 500 monthly visitors
• Softr domain included

This plan is perfect for testing or small personal projects, but Softr branding is visible.

2. Starter Plan: Freelance

€29/month (annual commitment) for freelancers and small businesses who manage multiple projects.

Highlights:

• 3 projects per user
• 5,000 records per database
• 5,000 monthly visitors
• Custom domain without Softr branding

This plan is more flexible and perfect for small professional projects.

3. Professional Plan: Growing Teams

For expanding agencies and startups, this plan is €79/month (annual commitment).

Features:

• 10 projects
• 50,000 records per database
• 50,000 monthly visitors
• User authentication, payments, 3rd party integrations
• Priority support

For teams that need advanced collaboration and analytics.

4. Business Plan: Large scale projects

€199/month (annual commitment) for large businesses and high growth applications.

Features:

• Unlimited projects
• 500,000 records per database
• 500,000 monthly visitors
• Admin API for full customization
• Dedicated account manager

This plan is great for complex and large projects.

5. Enterprise Plan: Custom for large companies

Custom pricing for large companies with specific security and customization requirements.

Perks:

• Unlimited (projects, registrations, visitors)
• Custom SLA
• 24/7 support
• Customized onboarding

This plan is fully custom for large companies.

In summary, Softr has plans for every situation, from personal projects to large business applications. Each plan is a balance of features and price so you can choose the one that suits you best.

Alternatives to Softr

Here is an overview of the best alternatives to Softr in 2024, each with its own advantages and particularities.

1. Bubble: The platform for complex web applications

Bubble stands out as the ideal solution for developers who want to create sophisticated web applications with advanced back-end features.

Key differences:

• Further customization of the backend and application logic
• Better scalability for large applications

Pros

• Flexibility to build SaaS applications Complete
• Marketplace of 5,000+ extensions, offering vast integration possibilities
• Complete control over business logic and complex workflows

Cons

• Higher learning curve than Softr, suitable for users with some technical expertise
• Longer development time for complex applications

Pricing

Here are the different prices of Bubble:

• Free: Basic plan with limited features
• Personal: $29/month
• Professional: $115/month
• Production: $475/month

2. Stacker: Quickly create applications based on data

Stacker excels at creating applications quickly from existing databases.

Key differences:

• Easy integration with external databases, offering simple data management
• Less flexible than Softr in terms of design, but faster for deploying internal applications

Pros

• Better integration with tools like Airtable for data-driven projects
• Build data-based applications faster without the need for heavy development

Cons

• Less customization for complex user interfaces
• Less suitable for websites or consumer applications

Pricing

Here are the various Stacker prices:

• Starter: $79/month
• Growth: $179/month
• Business: $417/month

3. Webflow: For visually sophisticated websites

Webflow is for designers looking to create visually complex websites with advanced CMS features.

Key differences:

• Advanced design: More control over design and animations, perfect for creative websites
• Robust CMS: Content management system more developed than Softr's
• Native integration of documents, videos or automatic image compression | Avif and Webp
• Native SEO features

Pros

• More control over HTML/CSS for experienced designers
• Advanced e-commerce features, ideal for online stores

Cons

• This app is less suitable for functional web applications requiring complex interactions or business logic
• Higher learning curve for non-technical users

Pricing

Here are the different Webflow prices:

• Starter: $14/month
• Basic: $23/month
• CMS: $39/month
• Business: $79/month

In conclusion, the choice between these alternatives will depend on your specific needs. Bubble is ideal for complex applications, Stacker for fast deployment based on existing data, and Webflow for visually sophisticated websites. Evaluate your technical skills, your available development time, and the requirements of your project to make the best choice.

Conclusion

Softr is now a major player in the no code development space. Its popularity proves it meets the needs of many users, from beginners to experts.

Pros:

• Easy to use : Softr’s interface lets you build web apps in no time, even if you have no experience.
• Airtable sync : Instant update is a big plus for Airtable users.
• Speed : Softr apps are generally fast.
• Scalability : Payment options let you go from a small project to a business app.

Cons:

1. Fewer customization options than Webflow
2. Too dependent on Airtable, which might not be for everyone
3. Some advanced features not as detailed as on other platforms like Bubble

Softr is great for small to medium sized businesses, start-ups and solo creators. It’s a good fit for many projects.

But for very specific requests or big changes, Bubble or Webflow might be a better choice. And you should also consider the limitations for very complex apps.

In short, Softr is a good middle ground for pros. That’s why many users and why it’s growing in the codeless space.