aws.amazon.com/s3

If you're building **custom client portals** (where customers log in) or **internal dashboards** (for your team), the best platform depends on how much customization you need, who will maintain it, and whether you're integrating with existing tools. Here's how the leading options compare. | Platform | Best for | Coding required | Client portal | Internal apps | Scalability | |---|---|---:|---:|---:|---:| | [Retool](https://retool.com/) | Internal business tools | Low | Limited | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | High | | [Softr](https://www.softr.io/) | Client portals & membership sites | No | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | | [Bubble](https://bubble.io/) | Fully custom web apps | No/Low | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | High | | [Glide](https://www.glideapps.com/) | Mobile-friendly business apps | No | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | | [WeWeb](https://www.weweb.io/) | Modern frontends with APIs | Low | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | High | | [Appsmith](https://www.appsmith.com/) | Open-source internal tools | Low | ⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | High | | [Budibase](https://budibase.com/) | Self-hosted business apps | Low | ⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | High | | [Microsoft Power Apps](https://www.microsoft.com/power-platform/products/power-apps) | Microsoft-centric organizations | Low | ⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Enterprise | ### Best for client portals If clients need to: - View project status - Download documents - Submit requests - Pay invoices - Communicate with your team - Track deliverables I'd recommend: **1. [Softr](https://www.softr.io/)** - Fastest to launch - Great authentication - Works well with Airtable, Xano, HubSpot, and other data sources - Excellent for agencies, consultants, accountants, and legal firms **2. [Bubble](https://bubble.io/)** - Almost unlimited flexibility - Build workflows, messaging, calendars, approvals, and payments - Better if the portal is a core product rather than a simple add-on **3. [WeWeb](https://www.weweb.io/)** - Modern UI - Connects to virtually any backend API - Good for companies expecting to grow into a more sophisticated application --- ### Best for internal dashboards For employee-facing systems like: - CRM - Operations dashboard - Scheduling - Inventory - Reporting - Workflow automation The top choices are: **Retool** - Widely used by startups and enterprises - Connects to SQL databases, APIs, Salesforce, Stripe, HubSpot, and more - Extremely fast to build with - Excellent permissions and component library **Appsmith** - Open source - Strong for engineering teams - Self-hosting option - Similar philosophy to Retool **Budibase** - Great balance between internal tools and lightweight business applications - Easy CRUD interfaces - Supports automation and self-hosting --- ### Best backend combinations Many businesses separate the frontend from the backend: - WeWeb + Xano - Bubble (all-in-one) - Softr + Airtable - Retool + PostgreSQL - Glide + BigQuery - Retool + Supabase - WeWeb + Supabase This approach gives you more flexibility as your business grows. --- ### If you're an agency building portals for clients A popular modern stack is: - **Frontend:** WeWeb or Bubble - **Backend:** Supabase or Xano - **Automation:** [n8n](https://n8n.io/) or [Make](https://www.make.com/) - **Authentication:** Built into Supabase or Xano - **Payments:** [Stripe](https://stripe.com/) - **Storage:** [Supabase](https://supabase.com/) or [Amazon S3](https://aws.amazon.com/s3) This combination can support portals with documents, messaging, invoices, task tracking, and role-based access. ### Recommendations by business size - **Solo consultant or small service business:** Softr - **Growing agency (5–50 employees):** Retool for internal operations, Softr or WeWeb for client portals - **Software-like client experience:** Bubble - **Enterprise or IT-heavy organization:** Retool or Microsoft Power Apps - **Open-source and self-hosted:** Appsmith or Budibase If you share your industry (for example, accounting, marketing agency, MSP, construction, healthcare, legal, or field services), I can recommend the stack that tends to work best for that specific type of service business. [Retool](https://retool.com/) [Softr](https://www.softr.io/) [Bubble](https://bubble.io/) [Glide](https://www.glideapps.com/) [WeWeb](https://www.weweb.io/) [Appsmith](https://www.appsmith.com/) [Budibase](https://budibase.com/) [Microsoft Power Apps](https://www.microsoft.com/power-platform/products/power-apps) [n8n](https://n8n.io/) [Make](https://www.make.com/) [Stripe](https://stripe.com/) [Supabase](https://supabase.com/) [Amazon S3](https://aws.amazon.com/s3) | Platform | Best for | Coding required | Client portal | Internal apps | Scalability | |---|---|---:|---:|---:|---:| | [Retool](https://retool.com/) | Internal business tools | Low | Limited | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | High | | [Softr](https://www.softr.io/) | Client portals & membership sites | No | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | | [Bubble](https://bubble.io/) | Fully custom web apps | No/Low | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | High | | [Glide](https://www.glideapps.com/) | Mobile-friendly business apps | No | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | | [WeWeb](https://www.weweb.io/) | Modern frontends with APIs | Low | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | High | | [Appsmith](https://www.appsmith.com/) | Open-source internal tools | Low | ⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | High | | [Budibase](https://budibase.com/) | Self-hosted business apps | Low | ⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | High | | [Microsoft Power Apps](https://www.microsoft.com/power-platform/products/power-apps) | Microsoft-centric organizations | Low | ⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Enterprise | ### Best for client portals If clients need to: - View project status - Download documents - Submit requests - Pay invoices - Communicate with your team - Track deliverables I'd recommend: **1. [Softr](https://www.softr.io/)** - Fastest to launch - Great authentication - Works well with Airtable, Xano, HubSpot, and other data sources - Excellent for agencies, consultants, accountants, and legal firms **2. [Bubble](https://bubble.io/)** - Almost unlimited flexibility - Build workflows, messaging, calendars, approvals, and payments - Better if the portal is a core product rather than a simple add-on **3. [WeWeb](https://www.weweb.io/)** - Modern UI - Connects to virtually any backend API - Good for companies expecting to grow into a more sophisticated application --- ### Best for internal dashboards For employee-facing systems like: - CRM - Operations dashboard - Scheduling - Inventory - Reporting - Workflow automation The top choices are: **Retool** - Widely used by startups and enterprises - Connects to SQL databases, APIs, Salesforce, Stripe, HubSpot, and more - Extremely fast to build with - Excellent permissions and component library **Appsmith** - Open source - Strong for engineering teams - Self-hosting option - Similar philosophy to Retool **Budibase** - Great balance between internal tools and lightweight business applications - Easy CRUD interfaces - Supports automation and self-hosting --- ### Best backend combinations Many businesses separate the frontend from the backend: - WeWeb + Xano - Bubble (all-in-one) - Softr + Airtable - Retool + PostgreSQL - Glide + BigQuery - Retool + Supabase - WeWeb + Supabase This approach gives you more flexibility as your business grows. --- ### If you're an agency building portals for clients A popular modern stack is: - **Frontend:** WeWeb or Bubble - **Backend:** Supabase or Xano - **Automation:** [n8n](https://n8n.io/) or [Make](https://www.make.com/) - **Authentication:** Built into Supabase or Xano - **Payments:** [Stripe](https://stripe.com/) - **Storage:** [Supabase](https://supabase.com/) or [Amazon S3](https://aws.amazon.com/s3) This combination can support portals with documents, messaging, invoices, task tracking, and role-based access. ### Recommendations by business size - **Solo consultant or small service business:** Softr - **Growing agency (5–50 employees):** Retool for internal operations, Softr or WeWeb for client portals - **Software-like client experience:** Bubble - **Enterprise or IT-heavy organization:** Retool or Microsoft Power Apps - **Open-source and self-hosted:** Appsmith or Budibase If you share your industry (for example, accounting, marketing agency, MSP, construction, healthcare, legal, or field services), I can recommend the stack that tends to work best for that specific type of service business.