Softr vs Noloco: Which One Should You Choose in 2026?
Checked September 26, 2026, with both pricing pages set to monthly billing. Based on published pricing, not a hands-on build. Jet Admin publishes this comparison and operates in the no-code space — read the "Where Jet Admin fits" section with that in mind.
These two are the closest comparison in the client-portal category — both build portals on Airtable-style data, both aim at operations teams rather than developers. But they meter completely different things, and the gap is stark: Noloco's $79 plan allows 1,000 active clients and 25,000 records. Softr's $119 plan allows 50 client users and 500,000 records.
One is built for many people looking at a little data. The other for fewer people working through a lot. Establish which you are and this decides itself.
At a glance
| Softr | Noloco | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | $0 — up to 3 builders, 5 app users, 5,000 records, 500 workflow actions | $0 — unlimited team seats, 50 active clients, 2,000 records |
| Paid entry | Basic $25/month ($19 annual) | Build $79/month ($65 annual) |
| Basic/Build users | 1 builder (+$6 each), 5 team + 5 client users | 10 team seats (+$6 each), 1,000 active clients |
| Basic/Build records | 50,000 | 25,000 (+$25 per additional 25,000) |
| Higher tiers | Pro $119 ($99), Business $395 ($329) | None published — Enterprise is a custom quote |
| Pro/Business clients | 10 team + 50 client (extra from $1); 30 team + 100 client (from $2) | 1,000+ on Enterprise |
| Pro/Business records | 500,000; 1,000,000 | Unlimited on Enterprise |
| Free trial | Free plan is ongoing | 14 days, full Build features, no card |
Sources: Softr pricing and Noloco pricing, both checked September 26, 2026.
The client-count gap is the story
Softr charges for the people who log in. Basic gives 5 team plus 5 client users. Pro gives 10 plus 50, with additional client users from $1 a month. Business gives 30 plus 100, with extras from $2.
Noloco's Build plan includes 1,000 active clients flat. Its free plan includes 50 — ten times what Softr's free plan allows in total, and as many as Softr's $119 Pro tier.
Work through a realistic portal. You serve 300 clients. On Noloco that's Build at $79, inside the included allowance. On Softr you're past Business's 100 included client users, paying $395 plus 200 extra users at $2 — roughly $795 a month. That is a ten-fold difference for the same portal.
This is the single most decisive fact in the comparison, and it is why "which is cheaper" has no general answer.
The record gap runs the other way
Invert it. You serve 20 clients but the portal sits on 400,000 records.
Softr Pro at $119 includes 500,000 records and 50 client users — comfortable. Noloco Build includes 25,000 records, with additional blocks of 25,000 at $25. Reaching 400,000 means 15 extra blocks, about $375 on top of the $79 base.
So the platforms are almost mirror images. Noloco is generous with people and tight with data. Softr is generous with data and tight with people.
Where else they differ
Team seats. Noloco's free plan includes unlimited team seats and Build includes 10 at $6 for each additional. Softr meters builders separately and tightly: 1 on Basic, 2 on Pro, 3 on Business, at $6, $12 and $24 for extras. If several colleagues need to edit the portal, Softr's builder pricing adds up faster.
Tier granularity. Softr publishes four tiers, so you can step up gradually. Noloco publishes Free and Build, then Enterprise on a quote. That's simpler, but it means growth past Build's limits is a sales conversation rather than a plan change.
Workflow actions. Softr meters these — 500 a month free, 2,500 on Basic, 10,000 on Pro, 25,000 on Business. Noloco's published plans lead with AI credits (30 a month plus 5 daily on Free, 250 on Build) rather than an action count. If your portal is automation-heavy, check how each counts before committing.
Trying it. Softr's free plan runs indefinitely at small scale. Noloco's free plan also runs on, and it adds a 14-day full-feature Build trial with no card. Noloco's free tier is the more useful of the two for a realistic pilot, mostly because of the 50-client allowance.
Which should you choose?
Choose Noloco if your portal serves many external clients — dozens to hundreds — and the underlying dataset is modest. The 1,000-client allowance on a $79 plan is the strongest value in this category, and unlimited team seats on free makes evaluation easy.
Choose Softr if your data is large, your client count is small or stable, or you want finer tier steps as you grow. Its 500,000 and 1,000,000 record ceilings are well beyond what Noloco includes without add-ons.
Do the two-number check first. Count your expected clients and your expected records, then read both pricing pages against those two figures. In most cases one platform is obviously cheaper and it isn't consistently the same one.
Where Jet Admin fits
Jet Admin overlaps with both, so treat this as an interested party's account.
Both Softr and Noloco meter the people who use what you build — Softr tightly, Noloco more generously. Jet Admin includes unlimited users on every plan and meters AI credits for generating apps instead, which changes the shape of the question when your client count is the binding constraint.
Where both win outright is when your data lives in Airtable and you want a portal on it quickly. Jet Admin connects to a database or API rather than being one, and if Airtable is your system of record a purpose-built Airtable portal builder is less machinery.
Frequently asked questions
Which is cheaper?
Depends entirely on client count. At 300 clients Noloco Build is about $79 against roughly $795 on Softr Business with extras. At 400,000 records and 20 clients, Softr Pro at $119 beats Noloco Build plus record add-ons at roughly $454.
Does Noloco have a free plan?
Yes — $0 with unlimited team seats, 50 active clients and 2,000 records, plus a separate 14-day Build trial that needs no card. Older comparisons claiming Noloco has no free tier are out of date.
How many people can build on each?
Noloco: unlimited team seats on Free, 10 on Build with extras at $6. Softr: up to 3 builders on Free, then 1 on Basic, 2 on Pro, 3 on Business, with extras at $6, $12 and $24.
What happens when I outgrow Noloco's Build plan?
Records extend in 25,000 blocks at $25. Beyond the plan's other limits you move to Enterprise on a custom quote, since nothing is published between Build and Enterprise. Ask about that step before you depend on it.
Which connects to more data sources?
Both centre on Airtable, with support for other databases and tools such as HubSpot. If a specific source matters, confirm it directly — this is the kind of detail that changes quietly.
Can I move between them?
Your data usually stays where it is, since both read Airtable or a database rather than owning it. What you rebuild is the portal: pages, permissions, workflows. That's real work but not a data migration.
Count clients, then count records
Two numbers settle this. How many external people will log in, and how many rows sit behind them?
Many clients, modest data: Noloco, comfortably. Few clients, large data: Softr. If both are large, price Softr Business with client add-ons against a Noloco Enterprise quote and make them compete.
And if the client count is what's driving the bill, check what a platform with unlimited users costs before committing to per-client pricing at all.