Top Softr alternatives

Mariam Ispiryan • Published on Nov 22, 2022 • 9 min read

There are a lot of tool options (and more every day) within the no-code/low-code market, and it’s important to take the time to see the ways in which each product shines. This piece focuses on comparisons between Softr and three of its closest alternatives, paying special attention to each product’s use cases, integrations, language availability, and security as leading indicators for how any given piece of software fits within its target ecosystem.  


Stacker

  • Stacker is built for business, and it’s meant to facilitate business operations like CRMs and project trackers.


Glide

  • Glide lets you produce applications without needing to know Airtable, and is a solid choice if you’re going to be importing your application data from Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel. 


Webflow

  • Webflow is about the kind of gorgeous design that can be achieved if you are technically minded and have the time to put in to learn a deep tool. 


Let’s dive into the comparisons.



Table of Contents


  1. Stacker
  2. Glide
  3. Webflow
  4. Softr
  5. Selecting the right no-code web app builder for you


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Stacker

Stacker homepage

Stacker is your tool of choice for when you’re trying to grow away from using Excel spreadsheets as if they were databases. Because you can sync it with Airtable and Google Sheets, it’s a fantastic way to share that data in a more digestible, visual way. It allows you to control who sees what data, and it allows you to help the people seeing it to understand it better.


 

Stacker Use Cases


Because Stacker is all about business as a base, its functionality is limited to strictly business-facing tasks. 

  • External & Internal apps
  • When your focus is simply creating a custom front end that makes the information you’re trying to convey easier to assimilate, internal vs. external focus isn’t that relevant. Having said that, Stacker is great with assigning permissions for data views, portals for CRM, and many other data-driven front-end apps. 
  • Design Flexibility & Customization
  • Stacker is purely about communicating data, and as such, is lacking on the design side. It also lacks responsive design, which is critical to success in mobile applications. 


You can find a more detailed comparison in our Softr vs Stacker overview.



Integrations


Recognizing when it’s time to rebuild the wheel, and when it’s time to leverage the brilliance of other products, is the whole point of integrations. Stacker is light on integrations for larger application purposes, but strong on the data importing front, which just makes sense, as a business-focused application. 



Language


Stacker supports the English language only. Localization and internationalization are not options. 



Security


From a security perspective, it’s good to be aware of the fact that Stacker duplicates and stores your data, and that comes at a cost — speed, and potential data loss. If you change data, it can take 15 minutes for that change to be effective. Imagine talking to someone and having to wait 15 minutes for the reply.


Stacker uses EC2, Simple DB, and Amazon S3, but it’s unclear where their data is being processed, and whether they adhere to local data privacy regulations. 



The bottom line


Given its templates to help you get started, using Stacker to make your business communications more interactive, more precise, and more audience-specific is a strong choice.

Softr Stacker
Pricing
Free tier

Basic - $49/month

Professional - $139/month

Business - $269/month
No free tier

Starter - $59/month

Plus - $149/month

Pro - $290/month

Enterprise - custom rate
Customer support Live chat support at all levels; onboarding and priority chat support at Business level. Only community support available for free tier, no human support until you reach the Enterprise tier.
Data sourcing Airtable, Google Sheets Airtable, Google Sheets
Integrations 32 different integrations. Get more information here. Zapier; Salesforce; Stack Reaction; Documint; QuickBooks; HubSpot.

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Glide

Glideapps features

Glide is easy, and for a lot of businesses, this sells it hands-down. But easy comes at the cost of creativity and also depth. The same way anyone can use Word but no one can design a beautiful layout using it, Glide allows you to do a limited amount of things really, really quickly, in a templated and repeatable fashion. 



Primary Use Case


Another interesting difference is the mobile experience. With Softr, you can draw data from multiple sources into one app, and you can create both a portal or internal tool and then turn that into a mobile app with one click. With Glide, each of those operations has to be separate, which isn’t as smooth an operation as it could be, and detracts a little from the overall allure of “easy.” Ultimately, though, learning Airtable is probably more time-consuming than multiple process steps.


Glide offers user and single-role level permission for simple use cases, but for most businesses, this is not enough — you'll need more complex setups such as multiple roles, and others that Glide will not support.


And finally, record limits are a thing. For smaller, simpler apps, you can get away with Glide’s 50,000 record limit.



Integrations


There’s a correlation between depth of integrations, and simplicity, so of course, Glide, maintaining its supremacy in the simplicity market has a minimum of integrations. It’s enough to get you going, but not enough for sustained growth in complexity or design for your apps. 



Security


Glide uses Google Cloud Platform (GCP), with all processing done in the US. Payment information is processed through Stripe, who is PCI-DSS certified. Glide also submits to regular routine penetration testing. But if you’re concerned not about the security of the Glide application itself but of the security of the applications you’re building with Glide, only the most basic provisions are made. Glide does not have Advanced User Groups, nor secure conditional filters on data sets.



Language


Glide supports 40 different languages in localization and internationalization.


  

The bottom line


Glide is a great tool if you need your apps to be built for speed, not for comfort. Its templating means you can be up, running, and app-enabled really quickly. But that also presupposes that you’re not going to be looking for advanced customization or design in your apps any time soon.


If you’d like to read a more in-depth comparison, please check out our Softr vs. Glide review.

Softr Glide
Pricing
Free tier

Basic - $49/month

Professional - $139/month

Business - $269/month
No free tier

Pro - $99/month

Business - $249/month

Enterprise starting - $799/month
Customer support Live chat support at all levels; onboarding and priority chat support at Business level. Community and email support with Pro tier, Business tier adds onboarding, Enterprise adds engineering.
Data sourcing
Airtable

Google Sheets
Airtable

Google Sheets

Excel files in Microsoft OneDrive or SharePoint
Integrations 32 different integrations. Get more information here. Zapier, Tiller Money, Google Analytics, Make.

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Webflow

webflow no-code web app builder

Primary Use Case


Webflow is pretty much Glide’s diametric opposite. Where Glide is all about smooth sailing, If you are a designer either at heart or by trade, and you think that messing around with Figma or Photoshop is a fun way to spend your time, you will love Webflow. So much customization! And just like Figma or Photoshop, Webflow takes some onboarding, but you get out of it what you put in. So to continue the metaphor, Softr is more like Canva; designed for you to be able to create well quickly. If you have time for the learning curve that Webflow requires, you’re going to love the results you get out of it. 



Integrations


The Webflow library of integrations is truly stunning. And it’s because of this library that Webflow can focus purely on design and leave all other functionality to third parties. It’s a great strategy but increases the amount of onboarding you need to do in order to make clean choices about inclusion in your own building.



Security


Webflow uses AWS, and stores encrypted PII in its cloud. They also use third-party subprocessors. 



Language


Webflow supports any supported language on the web, which means your localization and internationalization will be supported on Webflow-created sites.



The bottom line


Webflow should be thought of as a better way to make websites, and as such, it’s an entirely focused tool. If you’re only focused on creating high-fidelity websites, you are designing forward, and you have the months it will take to learn the tool, then Webflow is a great choice for you.  


If you are non-technical or don't have months to learn a new tool and favor high function over high fidelity, you can get a client portal or an internal tool up and running in a few hours with Softr.

Softr Webflow
Pricing
Free tier

Basic - $49/month

Professional - $139/month

Business - $269/month
Free tier

Basic - $14/month

CMS - $23/month

Business - $39/month

Enterprise - custom rate
Customer support Live chat support at all levels; onboarding and priority chat support at Business level. Customer support via email, with a 48-hour SLA, customer forum, and Webflow University for courses and training.
Data sourcing
Airtable

Google Sheets
 Figma
Integrations 32 different integrations. Get more information here. 258 integrations. Get more information here.

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See how easy it is to automate and run your business on Softr, for free.

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Softr

softr no-code web app builder

The real, foundational difference between Softr and literally anyone else is the democratization of the app development process. It’s great to specialize in business apps, or in simplicity, or in amazing design specificity, but just like with Legos, if you have the blocks, you can make anything. That’s the kind of flexibility that comes into play as the dynamics of your business change. Softr is not a tool you are going to outgrow. 



Omnidirectionality


Just like you can build anything with Lego, Softr doesn’t presume to know all of your potential use cases. Softr lets you create client portals, internal tools, marketplaces, online communities, resource directories, websites – anything you can imagine – without code. Which means that as your business and its requirements change, Softr stays right there with you, letting you create what you need to keep moving forward. 


Softr’s templates help accelerate time to launch that first version, in the same way that a lego manual helps you create complicated designs fast, which means that your overall app development process is even more automated and streamlined.


Whether you want to use any of Softr’s extensive set of templates, or you want to be a Master Builder and go freeform, Softr accommodates you.



Security


While security can be a little overwhelming to think about, it’s absolutely necessary to consider when you’re choosing your tools. Softr maintains data processing within the EU (and therefore under the strict guidelines of the GDPR), and maintains its AWS datacenter in Germany. It is SOC 1, SOC 2, and ISO 27001 certified. 


Different application uses, audiences, and deployments will require different levels of security, but at default, Softr displays the strongest controls upfront. As different states in the US and different regions globally develop security and privacy regulations, you’ll want to watch this space to ensure that the data run through your tools remains compliant. 



Language


We live in a mobile and diverse world, and language support can be a relevant piece of your decision making. Through its Weglot integration, Softr supports any supported language on the web, allowing you to localize and internationalize any app you create. 



Creativity  


As a business decision-maker, it’s of course very important to think about cost, speed, and everything we’ve mentioned above. But in addition to all the bottom-line considerations, we’d like to make a case for the sheer fun of creating apps in Softr. The secret sauce to why Softr is the most loved no-code tool (as voted by G2 users against all categories!) is that because it makes app development more like building with Legos, it brings joy and creativity to what used to be a high-pressure, no-fun, high-expense business task. And whose business isn’t improved by a little fun? 



The bottom line


If what you want is an app that looks great and feels like it was designed by a top designer, is fluid and fast, and can be put in front of both your employees and customers, then go for Softr.

Join 200,000+ companies and creators

See how easy it is to automate and run your business on Softr, for free.

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Selecting the right no-code web app builder for you


When it comes to no-code web app development, there are many factors and variables that might influence your decision and in the end, the best web app builder will depend on your specific needs and goals.


But with pricing, ease of use, and features of a platform are always going to be taken into consideration. In this article, we reviewed 6 of the most popular web app builders out there to make the search for the perfect web app builder easier for you. 

Before making your choice, remember that the majority of your finite energy, time, and money should be going towards developing your business, and not towards conquering a steep learning curve.

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