If you’re a small company looking to build a client portal or internal tool, it can be challenging to find the budget and resources to allocate a developer to that small project. As a result, over 600,000 people, including project managers, HR employees, and marketing professionals, have been utilizing Softr’s no-code app builder to build tools themselves.

Organized as an interface on top of Airtable, the popular enterprise database product, Softr is announcing significant product changes for 2025.

Customers are no longer restricted to Airtable for data storage. They can now utilize any third-party database to store and manipulate data, ranging from user-friendly solutions like Google Sheets and Notion to developer-centric databases like PostgreSQL, MySQL, and MariaDB.

“As we expanded, we noticed that many companies did not have any data storage in place. It was all manual paperwork, pen and paper, emails, and spreadsheets,” said Mariam Hakobyan, co-founder and CEO of Softr.

“The other challenge was that data was scattered across multiple tools, with some portion of the data contained in HubSpot, some in Google Sheets, and some in a SQL database. Our goal was to create a single source of truth where users can build apps on top of their scattered databases to perform specific operational tasks,” she added.

This new data-agnostic strategy is accompanied by a new app-building experience. Softr provides a set of predefined blocks that users can drag and drop to build pages with lists, charts, forms, tables, and similar elements. There are also new AI features to aid in building the app.

Given its focus on internal tools and portals, Softr has also developed a permission system. For example, you can create two user groups, allowing clients to only submit forms and view specific data, while employees can view and edit all data across all clients.

“In the no-code space, Softr is known for being one of the easiest to learn. It often comes up as one of the top five tools for starting a no-code journey due to its simplicity and ease of use. This is intentional, as we aim to enable everyone, regardless of their technical background, to build a tool,” said Mariam Hakobyan.

Softr plans to introduce workflows and tables in the coming months, allowing users to utilize the platform without relying on a third-party data store. Although some clients have existing data in a Google Sheets or Notion account when they try out Softr, these features will be beneficial for new sign-ups.

“If you have data, then great, you can integrate with your app. If you want to build an app that is not based on a database, then we also have the solution for you,” said Mariam Hakobyan.

Softr has adopted a freemium strategy and relies primarily on word of mouth for sales. With over 600,000 sign-ups on the platform, the company currently has around 5,000 paying customers.

As a reminder, Softr raised a $13.5 million Series A round in 2022 with FirstMark Capital leading the investment. Despite not having a sales team, the company has been capital-efficient and is nearing profitability, with Mariam Hakobyan stating, “We are almost profitable.”

The company’s founders are based in Berlin, and its 45-person team is spread across 15 countries.

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