---
title: "Claris FileMaker Software Pricing, Alternatives & More 2026 | Capterra"
description: "With the help of Capterra, learn about Claris FileMaker Software - reviews, pricing plans, popular comparisons to other Database products and more."
source_url: "https://www.capterra.com/p/162784/FileMaker/"
page_type: "product"
language: "en"
---

# 

 Claris FileMaker Software Review 2026: Features, Integrations, Pros & Cons

Last updated on August 26, 2026

Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team.

[Description](#description)[Use cases](#use-cases)[Alternatives](#alternatives)[FAQs](#faqs)[Features](#features)[Pricing](#pricing)[Integrations](#integrations)[Support](#support)[Reviews](#reviews)

Claris FileMaker

## What is Claris FileMaker?

Join the 50,000+ companies that trust Claris FileMaker to create stunning database solutions. With drag-and-drop simplicity and built-in templates, you can create custom solutions to manage contacts, track inventory, organize projects, and improve collaboration. FileMaker apps integrate with other platforms to help you build a complete database management system. Get a 45-day free trial.

## What is Claris FileMaker used for?

[Database](https://www.capterra.com/database-management-software/)[Application Development](https://www.capterra.com/application-development-software/)[CRM](https://www.capterra.com/customer-relationship-management-software/)

Top alternative

Featured

Overall rating

Based on 208 user reviews

Reviews sentiment

Positive

84%

Neutral

12%

Negative

4%

Starting price

$16.5

Per User, Per Month

Free trial  
available

Free version not included

Capterra Shortlist charts the highest-rated and most popular products...

Our "Best of" badge program showcases products with the highest ratings...

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Do you work for Claris FileMaker?[Manage this product listing](https://digitalmarkets.gartner.com/get-listed/claim-bx?url=http://www.claris.com&name=Claris FileMaker)

Rating Breakdown

4.3

+−

Features4.3

Value for Money4.0

Ease of Use4.1

Customer Service3.9

Rating Breakdown

4.3

Features4.3

Value for Money4.0

Ease of Use4.1

Customer Service3.9

## Claris FileMaker Reviewers Verdict

Updated August 2026

AI summary

-   Claris FileMaker suits small businesses and teams seeking to build and manage custom internal apps without rigid templates.
-   Users most consistently value its approachable development environment, flexible form creation, and strong database management tools that support both low-code and advanced use.
-   It enables teams to centralize records, automate workflows, and quickly adapt systems to evolving business needs.
-   Reviewers note pain points like higher pricing, a learning curve for advanced features, occasional lag, and limited built-in security.
-   It fits best for organizations prioritizing customization and adaptability, but buyers with tight budgets or strict security needs may want to weigh alternatives.

## Compare with a popular alternative

Capterra selects software alternatives based on relevant features, verified user reviews and user interactions. Placement may be influenced by client status.

### Claris FileMaker

4.3 (208)

VS.

[4.6 (2,243)](https://www.capterra.com/p/146652/Airtable/reviews/)

Starting Price

$16.5

Per User, Per Month

Starting Price

$20

Per User, Per Month

Free Trial

Free Version

Pricing Options

Free Trial

Free Version

Ease Of Use

4.1 (208)

Ease Of Use

4.4 (2,213)

Value For Money

4.0 (163)

Value For Money

4.5 (1,542)

Customer Service

3.9 (150)

Customer Service

4.4 (1,317)

## Claris FileMaker alternatives

[4.4 (333)](https://www.capterra.com/p/157262/QuickBase/reviews/)

Starting price

$35.00

Per User, Per Month

Pricing Options

Free Trial

Free Version

User Rating

91%

of reviewers

rated it above 4 stars

[4.7 (153)](https://www.capterra.com/p/143607/kintone/reviews/)

Starting price

$24.00

Per User, Per Month

Pricing Options

Free Trial

Free Version

User Rating

95%

of reviewers

rated it above 4 stars

[4.6 (6,108)](https://www.capterra.com/p/147657/monday-com/reviews/)

Starting price

$9.00

Per User, Per Month

Pricing Options

Free Trial

Free Version

User Rating

94%

of reviewers

rated it above 4 stars

Highest Rated

[MongoDB](https://www.capterra.com/p/127374/MongoDB/)

[4.7 (473)](https://www.capterra.com/p/127374/MongoDB/reviews/)

Starting price

Contact vendor for pricing

Pricing Options

Free Trial

Free Version

User Rating

99%

of reviewers

rated it above 4 stars

[Learn More](https://www.capterra.com/p/127374/MongoDB/)

[View all alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/162784/FileMaker/alternatives/)

## FAQs about Claris FileMaker

Overview

### What problems does Claris FileMaker solve?

Claris FileMaker solves disconnected spreadsheets, paper-based workflows, duplicate data entry, and rigid off-the-shelf software by letting teams quickly build custom databases and apps for CRM, invoicing, inventory, scheduling, project tracking, and field operations. Small businesses, operations teams, researchers, and internal developers benefit most from faster process changes and cross-platform deployment.

Answer based on 127 reviews

Overview

### Which roles and teams benefit most from Claris FileMaker?

Claris FileMaker benefits business owners, executives, IT managers, developers, and operations teams that need custom database apps without heavy coding. Leaders use it to track performance and streamline processes, while technical teams build workflows, automate data entry, and support project, office, and production management across departments.

Answer based on 208 reviews

Overview

### What company size and industries is Claris FileMaker built for?

Claris FileMaker is built mainly for small businesses across varied industries, with 79% of reviewers from small companies and Information Technology and Services the top sector at 9%. It also serves midsize businesses at 12% and enterprises at 9%, with notable use in Computer Software and Education Management at 7% each.

Answer based on 208 reviews

Features and Usability

### What are the key features of Claris FileMaker?

Claris FileMaker includes core database management features like relational databases, customizable forms, reporting, and data import/export. Its differentiators are a built-in developer environment with scripting and no-code tools, plus cross-platform deployment for web, desktop, and iPad/iPhone apps. Reviewers also frequently mention inventory management and contact management.

Answer based on 95 reviews

Pricing

### How much does it cost and what fees or limitations are included?

Claris FileMaker starts at $16.50/user/month for the annually billed On-Premise plan with 5-99 users. Cloud Essentials costs 21/user/month for 5-10 users, while Cloud Standard is 43/user/month for 5-99 users. A free trial is available. Reviewers call pricing reasonable for custom apps, but smaller teams cite high buy-in and added support or change costs.

Answer based on 31 reviews

Integrations

### Which third-party tools and platforms does Claris FileMaker integrate with?

Claris FileMaker integrates with Microsoft Excel and Bubble, and supports over 40 integrations overall. Official connectors extend to Google Drive, Google Sheets, Google Calendar, HubSpot CRM, DocuSign, and AWS Lambda, covering spreadsheets, cloud storage, scheduling, CRM, e-signature, and developer workflows.

Answer based on 25 reviews

Getting Started and Support

### How easy is it to onboard and train a team on Claris FileMaker?

Claris FileMaker is generally quick to onboard for end users, especially with templates and basic navigation that nontechnical staff can learn fast. It offers in-person training, live online sessions, webinars, documentation, and videos. Admins, developers, and teams building custom workflows often need more time, initial training, or outside help.

Answer based on 29 reviews

Getting Started and Support

### What customer support options does Claris FileMaker offer, and how do users rate the experience?

Claris FileMaker offers email/help desk, FAQ/forum, knowledge base, phone support, and chat. Users often describe support and community resources as quick, helpful, and rich in documentation, with some issues resolved fast. Others report inconsistent experiences, including difficulty getting direct answers, unhelpful troubleshooting, and frustration around billing or complex technical problems.

Answer based on 19 reviews

Security

### How does Claris FileMaker handle data security and access control?

Claris FileMaker uses strong security in a secure, server-encrypted environment that keeps data protected while accessible to employees. Reviewers also highlight reliable, stable server operation. Limits noted include minimal native login customization, potential security gaps with custom dummy-account logins, and costly per-user licensing for broader external access.

Answer based on 13 reviews

## Features

AI summary

Based on 2,764 Database reviews

Capterra reviewers highlight these as the top features buyers look for in database software:

-   **Secure Data Storage** (**55%** of reviewers rated this feature as critical)
-   **Data Storage Management** (**52%**)
-   **Backup and Recovery** (**55%**)

Claris FileMaker includes **Data Storage Management** and **Backup and Recovery**, helping teams organize information efficiently and restore records when issues occur. However, it does not offer **Secure Data Storage**. Instead, it provides other important capabilities that reviewers also value, including **Search/Filter** (**45%**) and **Access Controls/Permissions** (**42%**). These features help businesses find data faster and manage who can view or update records, allowing teams to maintain better oversight and day-to-day control of their database workflows.

Data Storage Management

4.1 (25)

64.00% of 25 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important

Manage and store data in a database

Backup and Recovery

4.0 (20)

65.00% of 20 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important

Create backups and provide methods to recover deleted/lost data

Search/Filter

5.0 (6)

83.33% of 6 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important

Search and filter data across systems to locate required information by entering keywords or certain criteria

Access Controls/Permissions

4.3 (30)

73.33% of 30 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important

Define levels of authorization for access to specific files or systems

Database Conversion

4.3 (12)

50.00% of 12 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important

Transformation of data from one format to another

Data Replication

3.7 (12)

33.33% of 12 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important

Process of copying and storing data in more than one site or node

Claris FileMaker 102 features

### All Features
- Access Controls/Permissions: Define levels of authorization for access to specific files or systems
- Agile Methodologies: Iterative project Management approach that involves technologies such as Kanban, Scrum, XP, APF, XPM and more
- API: Application programming interface that allows for integration with other systems/databases
- Application Management: Track, manage and store the applications of potential future members, customers or candidates
- Audio File Management: Supports audio files
- Backup and Recovery: Create backups and provide methods to recover deleted/lost data
- Batch Processing: Software's ability to perform similar action on multiple similar files simultaneously
- Billing & Invoicing: Create, manage, and send invoices or bills to customers
- Budget Management: Forecast, allocate funds, organize financial resources and report & analyze project's income and expenditure
- Business Process Automation: Helps automate and manage information, tasks, and procedures by establishing routines and patterns associated with processes
- Calendar Management: Track and manage schedules and meetings via an integrated calendar
- Calendar/Reminder System: Notifications/alerts for upcoming events or tasks
- Charting: Manage patient documentation describing all clinical interactions, diagnoses, procedures, medications, etc.
- Client Portal: Private online space that lets businesses securely share documents and provide information access to clients
- Code Development: Create code from scratch
- Code Editing: Edit code that has been previously created for product development.
- Collaboration Tools: Provides a channel for team members to share AI models, media files, communicate, and work together
- Collaborative Development: Work with others within one platform/system on the application development process
- Compatibility Testing: Preview how the app will display on multiple device types and operating systems
- Contact Database: Centralized database of stakeholders and their contact information such as names, address, phone number etc.
- Contact Management: Manage, organize, and store contact information
- Content Management: Handles digital content throughout its lifecycle, from creation and storage to distribution and archiving
- Content Publishing Options: Facilitates online authoring and publishing of the content
- CRM: Built-in customer relationship management (CRM) capabilities or integration with a third-party CRM system
- Custom Development: Development of custom software, web apps, mobile apps, etc.
- Customizable Branding: Add customized logos and colors to align with company branding
- Customizable Fields: Customize data fields to support various needs and use cases
- Customizable Forms: Customize contracts and forms to collect specific information
- Customizable Templates: Pre-designed layouts that can be customized to match preferences and requirements
- Data Dictionary Management: Stores definitions of the data elements and their relationships (metadata) and how they are retrieved for the user
- Data Import/Export: Import and export data to and from software applications
- Data Migration: Move from one database to another, or upgrade the version of database software being used
- Data Modeling: Conceptual model of how data items relate to each other
- Data Replication: Process of copying and storing data in more than one site or node
- Data Storage Management: Manage and store data in a database
- Database Conversion: Transformation of data from one format to another
- Debugging: Detect and remove errors
- Deployment Management: Manage the processes involved when making the application ready for use
- Design Management: Collaborate on creating a product by sharing and adjusting designs through a shared portal
- Design Templates: Create designs using pre-built templates or customize them with flowcharts, mindmaps, wireframes, network diagrams and org charts
- Document Classification: Assign categories, labels, tags, or attributes to documents for organization, search and storage
- Document Management: Store, manage, and track all electronic documents in a centralized location
- Electronic Forms: Digital forms that are shared and accessed online
- File Sharing: Public or private sharing of digital files such as documents, audio/video, images, and more
- For Developers: For the intention to be used by developers
- Forms Automation: Automate repetitive tasks such as filling out information or creating certain types of forms
- Forms Creation & Design: Create and design new forms from scratch using templates and design tools, or scan and convert existing forms into the system
- Full Text Search: Search for specific words or phrases within a document or database
- Gantt/Timeline View: Visual representation of project's schedule, sequence and duration of tasks, benchmarks and dependencies
- Graphical User Interface: A visual way of interacting with an application or operating system using items such as windows, icons, and menus
- Graphical Workflow Editor: Create, design and modify the flow and processes of tasks in a project
- Idea Management: Create, collect, discuss, improve, and evaluate insights or alternative thinking before starting projects
- Image Editing: Edit, touch up, and convert images for publishing
- Integrated Development Environment: An application for source code editing, compiling, and debugging
- Integrations Management: Identify which applications need to exchange data and enable these data connections
- Interaction Tracking: Track interaction history by documenting conversations for contacts
- Issue Management: Identify and respond to unexpected problems or failures (ie. "negative events")
- Iteration Management: Planning out the structure and duration of repetitive intervals of time dedicated to specific tasks during the development cycle
- Kanban Board: Visualization tool to organize and optimize tasks and track their status at every stage of workflow
- Lead Management: Store information about leads or contacts and track, manage and nurture them throughout the sales process
- Milestone Tracking: Monitor task progress and planned accomplishments to better manage project status
- Mobile Access: Access software remotely via mobile devices
- Mobile Development: Development of applications for mobile devices
- No-Code: Drag and drop/visual interfaces that allow non-tech users to build without writing code
- Percent-Complete Tracking: Level of completion within a task
- Performance Analysis: Monitor and analyze the performance and status of a server or system/application
- Performance Monitoring: Monitoring and measurement of relevant metrics to assess the performance of IT resources
- Portfolio Management: Overview of all programs that help compare initiatives, align projects with strategic goals and identify risk
- Pre-built Templates: Pre-defined templates within a library for common cases such as contracts, websites, emails, and more
- Prioritization: Arrange tasks based on the level of priority or urgency
- Process Modeling & Designing: Visually identify, define, and map all details and relationships surrounding business process models and elements
- Project Management: Plan and coordinate all the resources, costs and time needed to execute assignments
- Project Planning/Scheduling: Defining the project's scope, deliverables, schedules, resources, budget, critical path, dependencies and constraints
- Project Workflow: Create, manage, or update project workflows.
- Prospecting Tools: Tools designed to streamline the process of lead generation and management for sales teams
- Relational Database Management: Database management based on relationships between data
- Reporting/Analytics: View and track pertinent metrics to find patterns and gain insights from data
- Reporting/Project Tracking: Track task progress, milestones, delays, or other key information and generate reports on them for evaluation
- Requirements Management: Enables creation, management, and tracking of product requirements & features during product production/development
- Resource Management: Process of planning, scheduling and executing the optimal and effective use of human capital across projects
- Risk Management: Process of identifying, evaluating, mitigating, addressing and reporting on potential risks or uncertainties
- Role-Based Permissions: Set & manage permission levels based on user roles and restrict access to only authorized individuals
- Rules-Based Workflow: Automates and streamlines business processes by creating a sequence of predefined rules and actions that govern the flow of work
- Sales Pipeline Management: Pipeline view and tracking lead status
- Search/Filter: Search and filter data across systems to locate required information by entering keywords or certain criteria
- Segmentation: Group leads or contacts based on their specific characteristics
- Shared Contacts: Share contacts with other applications like Gmail and CRM
- Software Development: Development of software programs
- Task Management: Create, manage and track all task activities and progression
- Template Management: Create, save, and re-purpose templates for emails, forms, etc.
- Templates: Sample files or documents that could be customized as needed or used as is
- Testing/QA Management: Checking for errors to prevent quality issues and maintain the integrity of the product/service as per set standards
- Text Editing: Edit text as needed
- Third-Party Integrations: Set up connections to third-party platforms to improve business processes
- Time & Expense Tracking: Log and record hours worked and costs spent to assist in billing and invoicing
- Traditional Methodologies: Sequential approach (i.e. Waterfall) in which users break down and plan an entire project before the launch
- Version Control: Track revisions and updates made to files and navigate between different versions
- Video Support: Supports various video file formats
- Visual Modeling: Use visual elements such as pre-built blocks and/or shapes to assemble a model or design
- Web App Development: Development of applications that are delivered over the internet through a browser
- Web/Mobile App Development: Create/edit commerce applications for mobile devices and/or web
- Workflow Management: Create, design and manage workflows for repetitive tasks

---

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Features

4.3 (208)

4.3

Based on 208 reviews

## Pricing

Value for money

4.0 (163)

Free Trial

[View pricing plan details](https://www.capterra.com/p/162784/FileMaker/pricing/)

On-Premise

$16.50

Per User,Per Month

It includes:

-   3 On-Premise Servers
-   2 GB Outbound Data API Usage
-   5-99 Users
-   Clients
-   Compute Facility Varies With Number of Users
-   Monitoring
-   Security
-   Support

Cloud Essentials

$21.00

Per User,Per Month

It includes:

-   2 GB Outbound Data API Usage
-   2 GB Storage/User/Year
-   5-10 Users
-   Clients
-   Compute: 2 CPU/8gb
-   Hosting Limit: 3 Apps
-   Monitoring
-   Security
-   Support

Cloud Standard

$43.00

Per User,Per Month

It includes:

-   125 App Hosting Limit
-   2 GB Outbound Data API Usage
-   5-99 Users
-   6 GB Storage/User/Year
-   Clients
-   Compute Facility Varies With Number of Users
-   Monitoring
-   Security
-   Support

Value for money

4.0 (163)

4.0

Based on 163 reviews

## Integrations

[

Google Drive](https://www.capterra.com/p/161425/Drive/)[

Slack](https://www.capterra.com/p/135003/Slack/)[

Trello](https://www.capterra.com/p/211559/Trello/)[

Jira](https://www.capterra.com/p/19319/JIRA/)[

WordPress](https://www.capterra.com/p/131687/WordPress/)[

Asana](https://www.capterra.com/p/184581/Asana-PM/)[

Google Sheets](https://www.capterra.com/p/169718/Google-Sheets/)[

Microsoft Teams](https://www.capterra.com/p/168668/Microsoft-Teams/)

Connect with a Capterra advisor for a free 15-minute consultation

Get a personalized software list aligned to your business needs with guidance from our expert advisors. Our team has helped 1 million+ businesses like yours find options that fit their needs.

## Support, customer service and training options

Customer Service

3.9 (150)

Support

-   Email/Help Desk
-   FAQs/Forum
-   Knowledge Base
-   Phone Support
-   24/7 (Live rep)
-   Chat

Training

-   In Person
-   Live Online
-   Webinars
-   Documentation
-   Videos

Deployment

-   Web
-   Android
-   iPhone/iPad

Typical users

-   Freelancers
-   Small businesses
-   Mid size businesses
-   Enterprises

Customer Service

3.9 (150)

3.9

Based on 150 reviews

## User reviews

Overall rating

4.3

Based on 208 reviews

Filter by rating

5(111)

4(64)

3(25)

2(4)

1(4)

Mentioned topic

Sorted by most recent

Brendan R.

Service Manager

Computer Hardware

### "The ultimate platform for building custom, business solutions"

4.0

Overall Rating

4.0

4.0

Ease of Use

4.0

4.0

Features

5.0

5.0

Customer Service

5.0

5.0

Likelihood to Recommend

8/10

July 31, 2026

FileMaker has been the core engine of our business operations for years. It bridges the gap between off-the-shelf software and a completely custom-coded application, giving us total autonomy over our data. While it demands a serious investment in time, setup, and maintenance, the payoff is a powerful, tailormade system that grows right alongside your business.

Pros

The unmatched flexibility and control it gives you to build completely bespoke solutions is the platform's biggest strength. Instead of forcing our business to adapt to rigid, pre-packaged software, FileMaker lets us build exact workflows, custom user interfaces, and specialized databases that match how our team actually operates. The recent platform updates—especially native PDF handling, cleaner developer tools, and improved server reliability—have made building and maintaining custom solutions smoother than ever.

Cons

It is definitely not a plug-and-play app. There is a steep learning curve, and building a robust, well-structured system requires significant developer expertise or a dedicated internal resource. Furthermore, licensing and hosting costs can compound quickly as your team or database scales.

Review source

Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication.

AN

Anonymous User

Office Manager

Professional Training & Coaching

### "Great Tool"

4.0

Overall Rating

4.0

4.0

Ease of Use

5.0

5.0

Features

5.0

5.0

Customer Service

5.0

5.0

Likelihood to Recommend

8/10

April 30, 2026

Overall, I’m satisfied with Claris FileMaker. It’s a highly customizable and capable platform, but the cost can add up quickly with licensing, upgrades, and cloud services, especially for a growing business. The value is there if you’re using it to its full potential, but it’s definitely an investment. The transition from a physical server to the cloud was not seamless and required time and support from our developer to get everything working properly. Since completing the move, performance and reliability have improved, and we’ve experienced fewer disruptions. While deployment was a bit of a challenge, the end result has been a more stable system.

Pros

What I like most about Claris FileMaker is its strong customization capabilities and data management functionality. It allows us to tailor the system to fit our specific business needs. The platform also provides a solid level of security, which is important for managing sensitive business data. Customer support has been helpful when needed, and working with a developer has made it possible to fully customize and optimize the system for our workflows.

Cons

One of the main challenges has been occasional database lag. We recently increased our cloud processing capacity, which has helped improve performance, but some lag still remains. A portion of this is likely tied to the level of customization in our system, and we’ve been working with our developer to address it. It would be helpful if there were more built-in API options or customization templates to streamline development and improve overall efficiency.

Review source

Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication.

Elizabeth L.

PRODUCT MANAGER

Retail

### "Claris FileMarker - yes!"

5.0

Overall Rating

5.0

5.0

Ease of Use

5.0

5.0

Features

5.0

5.0

Customer Service

5.0

5.0

Likelihood to Recommend

10/10

January 28, 2026

Claris FileMaker is a powerful low-code platform that makes it easy to build, deploy, and scale custom database apps.

Pros

Very flexible and customizable with strong database tools, fast development, cross-platform access, and solid integration options.

Cons

Pricing can be high for small teams, and advanced features require time to learn and may need technical expertise.

Review source

Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication.

KK

Kris K.

Owner

Alternative Medicine

### "Hightly recommend Filemaker"

5.0

Overall Rating

5.0

5.0

Ease of Use

5.0

5.0

Features

5.0

5.0

Customer Service

5.0

5.0

Likelihood to Recommend

10/10

September 25, 2025

Filemaker was amazing in that it let us have exactly what we wanted and nothing more. We could make interactions work our way rather than a generic way that appeased the masses.

Pros

It made making our own application simple. We could build exactly what we wanted without the extra.

Cons

The hosting part was a bit clunky. We opted for remote hosting which helped, but it was still not ideal.

Review source

Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication.

OJ

Olen J.

Executive Director

Non-Profit Organization Management

### "Filemaker is worth the investment"

5.0

Overall Rating

5.0

5.0

Ease of Use

5.0

5.0

Features

5.0

5.0

Customer Service

5.0

5.0

Likelihood to Recommend

10/10

June 16, 2025

I have been using Filemaker since version 1 in the 1980's when I was learning database design at university. The company has been gradually and systematically improving the product, adopting the best practices and technology. The price point has remained appropriate considering the value. Many of our solutions were started 30 years ago, and work just as well, or even better today. We also add new solutions and making processes more efficient on a daily basis. The point is that the investment in Filemaker for the past 30 years at this company has been completely worth the cost. For example, using Filemaker to automate our processes in our small company saves the cost of at least 3 employees out of 12. That is a 25% reduction in payroll for using Filemaker. There is a broad base of other companies and users that provide training, tutorials, and plug-in products that there is virtually nothing you cannot do.

Pros

Filemaker is completely customizable, they incorporate all the latest technology and best practices. For the past 30 years it has been a stable platform which is consistently improving.

Cons

When the API returns the record id for a newly created record, it would be valuable to also return the uuid.

Review source

Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication.

Chiara G.

Pm

Non-Profit Organization Management

### "Great tool for related database "

5.0

Overall Rating

5.0

5.0

Ease of Use

5.0

5.0

Features

5.0

5.0

Customer Service

5.0

5.0

Likelihood to Recommend

10/10

April 19, 2025

I like very much the tool as it's easy to learn, it doesn't need deep coding knowledge and it's very user-friendly. The community is great as you can find a lot of documentation and information to use it.

Pros

Ease of use, very intuitive and user-friendly and allows you to create a related database easily and quickly

Cons

Visual elements are not responsive with window size

Switched from

[Microsoft Excel](https://www.capterra.com/p/176574/Excel/)

In order to create related database and the ease of use of crm and contacts

Alternatives considered

[Microsoft Access](https://www.capterra.com/p/233275/Microsoft-Access/)

Reasons for choosing Claris FileMaker

Ease of setting up and deployment of the tool

Review source

Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication.

TW

Todd W.

Vice President

Real Estate

### "Perfect for our use."

4.0

Overall Rating

4.0

4.0

Ease of Use

3.0

3.0

Features

4.0

4.0

Customer Service

4.0

4.0

Likelihood to Recommend

8/10

January 8, 2025

Has worked great. Able to get out of it what we need.

Pros

It works perfect for our uses. Integrates excellent

Cons

Complicated for the laymen user, but with some experience it's fine.

Review source

Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication.

TS

TED S.

CFO

Law Practice

### "Using FileMaker"

3.0

Overall Rating

3.0

3.0

Ease of Use

3.0

3.0

Features

2.0

2.0

Customer Service

2.0

2.0

Likelihood to Recommend

4/10

January 3, 2025

The system seems to be outdated and the support was insufficient

Pros

Flexibility of tracking costs and medical specials.

Cons

Cumbersome with regards to creating separate settlement memos.

Review source

Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication.

OL

Osmund Lind I.

CEO and Chairman

Commercial Real Estate

### "30 years of joy"

4.0

Overall Rating

4.0

4.0

Ease of Use

5.0

5.0

Features

4.0

4.0

Customer Service

3.0

3.0

Likelihood to Recommend

8/10

December 16, 2024

This is perhaps an unusual review, based on 30+ years with FileMaker. As Editor-in-Chief of Australian Macworld, I used it to drive a Macintosh Products Guide describing all the thousands of software and hardware available to Mac users. It was a formidable project published in print by us annually. Apple at the time had tried to build its own, first in HyperCard of all things, but asked us nicely if they might borrow ours. Since then I have used FM for many purposes both privately and in business, primarily because you can have a new ad hoc database up and running in one day. Flexibility is its main advantage, combining search and report output in almost any combination you want. Example: for the Product Guide we first entered data for each product in appropriate fields, then exported the entire set tab-delimited to a text editor, performed advanced manual and automated editing using UNIX-based and GREP scripts, imported the (huge) and now textually clean file back into FM, then used report functions to re-export it with formatting codes for each field to a professional typesetting machine that could print 100 magazine pages without modification. That began in late 1980s long before FM became relational. Today and with FM of the 2020s, I often ask people why they use a spreadsheet where FM gives them better summaries and overviews. I gave up on accounting software for invoicing and built it in FM because there I could tie it to non-accounting to data, notes and full data on real estate properties, contracts, reminders and so forth, all available in one place. In a broadband company, we could track disparate sets of data on thousands of customers, from IP addresses and routers to subscription and invoicing data. With the same tool we could run the technical network and take care of the financials. Then, here is an oddball: For my sailing yacht I built an “inventory” db of permanent stores and current provisions. Clickable images of the interior allowed us to click on a cupboard and see what it contained, or vice versa we could find the location of a spanner by clicking on it. Food supplies were automatically updated as we consumed or purchased, and based on dietary tables it could calculate how many days they’d last. Travel logs were of course also implemented and timestamped. The point of these examples is not that it can be done, but that FM is so intuitive that you are tempted to use it. Numbers, text, images, sounds, web URLs, mail, who cares – they can all find their space. A Swiss Army knife. FM has limitations in large corporations, but for smaller work groups it is efficient, self-explanatory, and something we found invaluable: non-programmers on staff were triggered and motivated to learn more and contribute to developing. Some even became developers themselves.

Pros

Versatility and rapid development. It motivates non-professional staff.

Cons

Pricing policy. Sometimes slow to integrate with industry standards; the Filemaker Go solution works but is clumsy.

Review source

Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication.

SB

Sylvain B.

RSI

Biotechnology

### "Filemaker est devenu un élément central dans notre entreprise"

5.0

Overall Rating

5.0

5.0

Ease of Use

5.0

5.0

Features

5.0

5.0

Customer Service

0.0

0.0

Likelihood to Recommend

10/10

August 2, 2024

Pros

La simplicité d'utilisation et la vitesse à laquelle on peut sortir une application personnalisée et qui réponds forcément à nos besoins.

Cons

Le prix et la politique tarifaire. Aussi, ils poussent à utiliser la version Cloud qui ne réponds pas aux besoins (et charges) d'une utilisation en locale.

Review source

Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication.

[View all Reviews](https://www.capterra.com/p/162784/FileMaker/reviews/)

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