The best client portal software for agencies, compared.
Client portals are how small agencies stop the 'where's the latest file?' Slack threads. The market splits into three camps: SaaS portals you operate (SuiteDash, Copilot), all-in-one suites (HoneyBook, ManyRequests), and DIY builders (Softr, Notion, Airtable). Here's a fair look at each, with what we'd pick for which agency.
How we picked
Each tool below is judged against the same four lenses. Pricing is the headline plan as of 2026 - always check the vendor for the current rate.
- Built for agencies (not solo freelancers or enterprises)
- Real per-client isolation - not 'a guest seat on a workspace'
- Honest pricing - flat or transparent, not 'contact us'
- Actually published / live - no waitlist-only tools
SuiteDash
Best for: Agencies that want a feature-shelf all-in-one and are happy to configure it themselves
Pricing: From $19/month, scaling fast as you add features
- Wide feature set - CRM, invoicing, project tracking, file sharing in one
- White-label on higher plans
- Established, mature product
- Steep learning curve - you configure most of it
- Many agencies hit the limits of generic forms and templates
- Per-feature pricing climbs quickly
Copilot (formerly Portal)
Best for: Modern-feeling agency portals with a polished client UX
Pricing: Around $39/month per user, plus add-ons
- Clean, modern client UX out of the box
- Good module ecosystem (billing, messaging, files)
- Solid white-label experience
- Per-user pricing means cost climbs with team size
- Customization beyond modules is limited
- Configuration still required to land it well
ManyRequests
Best for: Productized agencies running a request-board workflow with clients
Pricing: From $99/month, by request volume
- Built specifically for productized agencies
- Strong client request management out of the box
- Includes billing + project workflow
- Workflow is opinionated - fits requests-based agencies, less for others
- Limited customization of the client experience
- Pricing climbs with volume
HoneyBook / Bonsai / Dubsado
Best for: Solo creatives and very small studios that want an all-in-one suite
Pricing: From ~$19-39/month per user
- All-in-one (contracts, invoices, portal, scheduling)
- Strong for solo creatives running a few clients
- Easy to land at small scale
- Built for freelancers, not agencies - strains with a team and a client roster
- Branding leaks the platform's chrome
- No real team operations layer
Outgrown HoneyBook / Bonsai / Dubsado? When custom beats it →
Softr / Notion / Airtable
Best for: Agencies that want to build their own portal on a no-code canvas
Pricing: From free, scaling with seats and records
- Total flexibility - design every screen yourself
- Cheap at small scale
- Reuses tools your team may already know
- You build, maintain and upgrade the portal forever
- Branding limits without paid tiers
- Per-record / per-seat pricing climbs as you grow
Or have it built and run for you
If none of these fit how your firm actually works, we can build a portal around your own apps and look after it on a monthly plan. It runs on your own accounts, so you own it. This is what we built and still run for our own agency, Fame.
And where Forge fits in this list.
Forge is the option for agencies that want a finished client portal, not a portal builder. Forge builds custom software for people businesses - agencies, accountants, lawyers, consultants, recruiters. We design, build, brand and look after a portal shaped to your agency, on your domain, connected to the tools you already use. Each client logs into their own separately-isolated, separately-branded space. There's no canvas to learn, no template to maintain, nothing technical to configure. It's a different kind of purchase from the software above: a monthly run plan (from $2,000) with the first build included, so it only makes sense if you'd rather pay a team to build it and look after it than set up and maintain a tool yourself. It runs on your own accounts, so you own it. If you want the working tool rather than the means to build it, that's the gap Forge fills.
Common questions
What is client portal software?
A web app where your clients log in to see their deliverables, files, invoices and updates from your agency - rather than chasing the team across email and Slack. Good portal software does this branded as your agency, with strong per-client isolation.
Do I need separate portal software per client?
No - one tool should provide a separately-isolated, separately-branded portal per client. That's the standard agencies should expect. Solo-suite tools (HoneyBook, Bonsai, Dubsado) often share one workspace across clients, which is fine for freelancers and constrained for agencies.
What's a fair price for client portal software?
For a small-to-mid agency expect $50-200/month all-in. Watch for per-seat charges that climb with team size, and per-record or per-feature pricing that scales with the client roster. Flat per-agency pricing is the friendliest model as you grow.
Should I build my own portal in Notion, Airtable or Softr?
If you're optimising for cost and you genuinely have time to design, maintain and upgrade the portal indefinitely, yes - they're flexible. If you want a finished, branded portal that scales with you, a managed product is usually the better trade-off after the first ~5 clients.
Done comparing? Let us build it for you.
Forge builds custom software for people businesses - agencies, accountants, lawyers, consultants, recruiters - and rolls it out, training your team so people actually use it, then looks after it on a monthly plan. It starts with a 2-week ops audit.