Softr gives you the builder. Forge delivers the finished portal.
Softr is a no-code builder you operate yourself - good if you want a canvas, painful if what you want is a working client portal. Forge picks the right tool for your agency, builds it, brands it, hosts it and runs it. You answer a few plain questions; we ship the finished thing.
no code · we run the infrastructure · flat monthly pricingForge isn’t an app builder. It’s the managed internal-tools team for your agency.
Softr nails the no-code builder. Forge owns the agency tool.
Softr is a strong no-code builder. If you want a blank canvas, time to learn the editor, and the ongoing maintenance of an app you operate, it's a solid pick.
But most agencies don't want a builder - they want the portal. They want each client logging into a branded space that just works, with the agency owner spending zero time configuring it, zero time fixing it when it breaks, and zero time chasing the limits of an Airtable backend. Forge starts from the tool you actually need - a client portal, a status page, a time tracker - builds it shaped to your work, and runs every piece of infrastructure behind it. Nothing to maintain.
Built for agency owners, not builders.
Opinionated presets, not a blank canvas
You don't want to describe an app from scratch - you want the right one. Forge gives you a catalog of agency tools (client portals, status pages, time tracking), set up by answering a few plain questions.
Fully managed - zero tech tax
Hosting, database, domains, secrets, updates - all on infrastructure we own and run, that your clients never see. You never connect a service, watch a meter, or redeploy anything.
Built for your whole client roster
Forge is designed around the agency-to-client relationship: a separate, branded, separately-tracked tool for each client - not one app at a time.
It gets better after launch
Every tool ships with usage analytics you can share with clients to prove value, and a feedback channel that quietly improves it - without you lifting a finger.
Flat, predictable pricing
One monthly subscription covers the AI and the hosting. No credits to burn, no usage meter to watch, simple to expense.
Improves for everyone, automatically
Because tools are built from structured presets, feedback from one agency improves the preset for all of them. The whole catalog gets better over time.
Forge vs Softr
| Forge | Softr | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it's for | Agency owners who want the working tool | People who want to build the tool themselves |
| You start from | A catalog of agency presets, set up by a few plain questions | A blank canvas - design every screen, decide every field |
| Who runs it | We do - hosting, database, branding, updates | You configure, brand, host (Softr), maintain, and upgrade |
| Backend | A managed Postgres database per tool, fully isolated | You connect Airtable, Google Sheets or HubSpot - and hit their limits |
| When the workflow changes | Ask in plain English - we update and republish | Open the builder, rebuild, re-test, redeploy |
| Pricing model | Flat monthly - no usage limits, no per-tool plans | Tiered by features, with limits on apps, users and submissions |
Glossary & calculators
Free agency concepts and tools from Forge - plain-English definitions and instant calculators.
Compare other tools, see Forge in action.
The Softr alternative your agency can actually hand off.
Pick a tool, answer a few plain-language questions, and we build, host and run it for you. No code, no infrastructure, nothing to maintain.