Caspio vs Claris FileMaker (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Claris FileMaker grades higher than Caspio: 2.4 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Claris FileMaker grades higher on the free plan and features. They get the same grade on value for money, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Caspio
Low-code platform for database-driven web apps
Claris FileMaker
Low-code platform for custom database apps on desktop, iOS and web
Which one is for you
Pick Caspio if
- Fits if you build portals for outside users and don't want to pay per person
- Makes sense if you need compliance options like a HIPAA-style edition
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you are one person or a small team, as the floor is $270 a month on annual billing
- Tight if you grow, since Team stops at 5 app authors and 250K records
- Watch out: onboarding is a separate fee, $600 for Jumpstart or $1,800 for Enterprise Onboarding
- Watch out: SMS and some extensions use credit-based billing
- Watch out: the free trial length isn't stated
Pick Claris FileMaker if
- Fits if your business runs on a process no ready-made app fits and you'll build your own
- Works for teams of 5 or more split between Macs, Windows PCs, iPhones and iPads
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you're a team of two or three, as team licences start at 5 users and are billed annually
- Not for you if you just want a spreadsheet or a ready-made tracker, because here you build the app first
- Pricey if you want Claris to do the hosting, at $22 a user for 3 apps and 2 GB, or $45 for Cloud Max
- Skip it if Android matters, as there's no native app and Android users get the browser
- Watch out: Remote Backup and Standby Server are paid add-ons, and Remote Backup isn't offered on FileMaker Cloud
How we grade them
| 2.0GPACaspioFair | 2.4GPAClaris FileMakerFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | DTeam is $270 a month on annual billing ($300 monthly), with no per-user fee. For five people that is $54 each, against $12 in the middle of spreadsheet tools, and one person pays the same $270. | DThe cheapest way in is $17.50 a user a month billed annually, for 5 users or more, and you host it yourself. That's well past the $9.99 middle and the $13.00 dear quarter in this category, and the 5-user floor makes it $1,050 a year minimum. Claris hosting is $22, or $45 for Cloud Max, and a single Pro licence is $625. |
| Free plan and trial | DThere is a free trial but its length isn't stated on the pricing page, and whether it needs a card isn't stated either. No free plan. | CNo free plan. What you get is a 45-day trial with full access to the platform and no credit card. After that it's a paid licence or nothing. |
| Features | BVisual app builder, automation, identity management, a REST API and webhooks, and a compliance edition. Nothing is missing from the core job on the listing, though heavier use pushes you to a dearer plan. | AIt covers the whole job and does what rivals don't: drag-and-drop layouts, a Script Engine with triggers and server-side scripts, add-ons for charts, calendars and kanban, and one app that runs natively on desktop and iPhone as well as in a browser. Add the Data API, OData and live links to Oracle and SQL Server. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. It is a web app where the work is building the app, so there is a learning curve. | CNo rating on record, and this isn't something you open and start typing into: you design the layouts and write the scripts first, then roll the app out to people. The cheapest plan also means running FileMaker Server on your own infrastructure. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with Zapier, Stripe, PayPal, HubSpot and Slack links and a REST API. No desktop or phone app is listed. | BNative on Mac, Windows, iPhone and iPad, in Safari, Chrome or Edge through WebDirect, with the Data API, OData, ODBC, JDBC and Claris Connect. There's no native Android app, so Android users get the browser, and that's what holds it to a B. |
| Best for | database apps and portals with unlimited users | building your own business app for Mac, Windows and iPhone |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Caspio and Claris FileMaker. How we grade
Price against what you get
Caspio starts at $270 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Claris FileMaker starts at $17.50 a month for each person and scores 3.0.
Claris FileMaker scores higher and starts $252.50 a month lower. Of the other spreadsheet and database tools on the chart, 7 score higher than Caspio for less, and 2 score higher than Claris FileMaker for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Claris FileMaker is self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Caspio also covers no-code and forms.
- Claris FileMaker also covers workflow automation and reports.
At a glance
| Caspio | Claris FileMaker | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $270 per month, billed annually ($300 billed monthly) | $17.50 per user / month, billed annually (FileMaker Server Starter, 5+ users) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | Free trial, length not stated on the pricing page | 45-day free trial with full access to the platform, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Made by | Caspio, Inc. | Claris International Inc. |
| Price read from | caspio.com | claris.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Caspio
- Team allows 5 app authors and 250K records; heavier use needs Business at $540 a month on annual billing.
- Pricing is USD by default; the page also shows other currencies.
- Onboarding is a separate one-time fee: Jumpstart $600 or Enterprise Onboarding $1,800.
- SMS and some extensions use credit-based billing.
Claris FileMaker
- There is no free plan: after the 45-day trial, team licenses start at 5 users and are billed annually.
- FileMaker Cloud Starter is limited to 5 to 10 users, 3 apps and 2 GB of data storage per user per year, with no upgrades.
- Native clients cover Mac, Windows, iPhone and iPad; other devices reach apps through a web browser with FileMaker WebDirect.
- Remote Backup and Standby Server are paid add-ons for FileMaker Server; Claris says Remote Backup is not available for FileMaker Cloud.
Key features
Caspio
- Visual app builder
- Build forms, reports, charts, calendars and search pages and deploy on your own site or Caspio hosting.
- AI tools
- Caspi, the AI app builder, chat agent, AI workflows and an MCP server for ChatGPT and Claude.
- Automation
- Triggered actions, scheduled tasks and import and export jobs, with run limits that rise by plan.
- Identity management
- Directories, two-factor authentication for end users, SAML in and out, and custom email templates.
- REST API and webhooks
- REST API, Zapier and webhooks with monthly integration call allowances: 500K on Team, 1M on Business.
- Compliance edition
- A HIPAA and compliance edition on separate infrastructure with a signed BAA, from $500 a month on a 1-year term.
Claris FileMaker
- Drag-and-drop app design
- Layouts are built with design tools and built-in templates, and prebuilt add-ons drop in charts, calendars, kanban boards and activity timelines.
- Script Engine
- Predefined script steps, script triggers and calculation functions automate workflows and data processing without a traditional programming language, including scripts that run on the server.
- Cross-platform clients
- Apps open in FileMaker Pro on Mac and Windows, in FileMaker Go on iPhone and iPad, and in Safari, Chrome or Microsoft Edge through FileMaker WebDirect.
- Cloud or self-hosted
- FileMaker Cloud runs on AWS and backs up data changes every 20 minutes, keeping backups for 30 days. FileMaker Server hosts the same apps on an organization's own infrastructure.
- APIs and external data
- The FileMaker Data API and OData expose app data to other services, ODBC and JDBC are supported, and live two-way connections reach MySQL, Oracle and Microsoft SQL Server.
- AI integration
- Scripts and APIs connect apps to AI services to automate tasks, analyze data and generate content. FileMaker 2026 added Google Gemini as a provider and semantic search enhancements.
Plans
Caspio
Team$270
per month, billed annually ($300 billed monthly)
Unlimited app users, 5 app authors, 250K records, 50 GB files, chat support and 100 DataPages.
Business$540
per month, billed annually ($600 billed monthly)
Unlimited authors, 1M records, 100 GB files, chat and phone support, 200 DataPages, custom domain.
EnterpriseCustom
2M+ records, unlimited DataPages, 2-hour ticket response and governance features. Sold through sales.
Claris FileMaker
FileMaker Server Starter$17.50
per user / month, billed annually; 5 to 99 users
Self-hosted: FileMaker Pro, Go and WebDirect for every user, up to 3 on-premise servers and 5 active Claris Connect flows.
FileMaker Cloud Starter$22
per user / month, billed annually; 5 to 10 users only
Hosted by Claris: 3 apps, 2 GB of data storage per user per year with no upgrades, and 5 active Claris Connect flows.
FileMaker Server Max$22
per user / month, billed annually; 5 to 99 users
Self-hosted and bought through sales: the same client access on up to 3 on-premise servers, with 50 active Claris Connect flows.
FileMaker Cloud Max$45
per user / month, billed annually; 5 to 99 users
Hosted by Claris: 256 apps, 6 GB of data storage per user per year with upgrades available, and 50 active Claris Connect flows.
FileMaker Pro single license$625
per license; no billing period is shown in the Claris Store
A single FileMaker Pro license for an individual who does not need to share data with others. An Upgrade option exists for owners of FileMaker Pro 2024 or later.
Ways to pay less
Caspio
- Annual discount
Save 10% with annual billing
The pricing page lists a 10% saving for paying annually: Team $270 and Business $540 a month.
- Nonprofit
Extra discounts for nonprofits
The pricing page mentions extra discounts for nonprofits and qualifying countries; the amounts are not shown there.
Claris FileMaker
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Caspio or Claris FileMaker?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Caspio starts at $270 per month, billed annually ($300 billed monthly), and Claris FileMaker starts at $17.50 per user / month, billed annually (FileMaker Server Starter, 5+ users). One is priced for each person and the other is not, so which costs less depends on how many of you use it.
Which has a free plan, Caspio or Claris FileMaker?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither Caspio nor Claris FileMaker has a free plan. Both have a free trial.
Which platforms do Caspio and Claris FileMaker run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Claris FileMaker lists macOS, Windows and iOS apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.