--- title: Claris FileMaker Reviews meta_title: 'Claris FileMaker Reviews 2026: Details, Pricing, & Features | G2' meta_description: Filter 578 reviews by the users' company size, role or industry to find out how Claris FileMaker works for a business like yours. aggregate_rating: rating_value: 4.5 review_count: 578 scale: '5' date_modified: '2026-08-09' parent_category: name: Rapid Application Development (RAD) url: https://www.g2.com/categories/rapid-application-development-rad --- # Claris FileMaker Reviews **Vendor:** Claris **Category:** [Workplace Innovation Platforms](https://www.g2.com/categories/workplace-innovation-platforms) **Average Rating:** 4.5/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 578 ## About Claris FileMaker Make tech work for you, not the other way around. The Claris platform is uniquely suited to help businesses like yours build, test, and rapidly iterate customized, integrated solutions faster and more efficiently than any other platform on the market. Unlike other software applications out there that are too lightweight and not customizable or too complex and rigid, Claris is flexible enough to meet your specific and evolving needs. Organizations just like yours — whether they’re SMBs, nonprofits, or educational institutions — use Claris apps to help them run their business the way they want and thereby significantly boost productivity and efficiencies across the board. Learn more — www.claris.com ## Claris FileMaker Pros & Cons **What users like:** - Users find Claris FileMaker incredibly **easy to use** , simplifying form design and data collection for various tasks. (9 reviews) - Users value the **flexibility** of Claris FileMaker, enabling seamless cross-platform development and custom app deployment. (8 reviews) - Users love the **easy creation** capabilities of Claris FileMaker, enabling rapid development and deployment of ideas and features. (7 reviews) - Users value the **seamless integration capabilities** of Claris FileMaker, enhancing workflow across various applications and platforms. (7 reviews) - Users appreciate the **customizability** of Claris FileMaker, enabling seamless adaptations to meet evolving business needs efficiently. (6 reviews) - Users appreciate the **flexibility and ease of customization** in Claris FileMaker, enabling tailored solutions without extensive programming. (6 reviews) - Users value the **seamless integration** capabilities of Claris FileMaker, enhancing efficiency and workflow across various platforms. (6 reviews) - Automation (5 reviews) - Customization Options (5 reviews) - Ease of Learning (5 reviews) **What users dislike:** - Users find the **learning curve steep** , often requiring assistance to navigate complex features and layouts effectively. (4 reviews) - Users struggle with **navigation difficulties** , finding it hard to manage layouts and references in Claris FileMaker. (3 reviews) - Users find **cost issues** with Claris FileMaker, citing charges for API transactions and high costs for broader use. (2 reviews) - Users find **database limitations** challenging, especially with older templates and concerns over speed in complex applications. (2 reviews) - Users find **difficult customization** challenges in Claris FileMaker due to complex layout and field management issues. (2 reviews) - Users find the **pricing structure too high** for small businesses, particularly when scaling with more users. (2 reviews) - High Complexity (2 reviews) - Limited Customization (2 reviews) - Limited Features (2 reviews) - Users feel the **missing features** in Claris FileMaker limit their ability to fully utilize the product's potential. (2 reviews) ## Claris FileMaker Reviews ### 1. My expirience with filemaker **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Pankaj C. | Sr. Android Developer, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** May 21, 2021 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** Very easy to develop the app in a very short time. A single app can work on laptops, devices, browsers, and tablets. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** Filemaker does not provide any solution to run the application on android. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** In the native application, several developers are required to develop the APIs, Web frontend, and app frontend. But in FileMaker, only a single developer can do all the parts. ### 2. 10+ Years experience using the platform **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** James G. | Director, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** June 21, 2021 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** Easy level of entry, complete set of tools for RAD development. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** Diificult entry price point. Scalabality is not great over 100+ users. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** If the price point is right for you, the platform can pretty much do anything you want. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** All sorts of CRM/ERP/Stock Control solutions ### 3. Easy to use if you have the time to invest **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Becky T. | Accounting, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** August 10, 2021 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** How customizable the program is, you can create a database for just about anything. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** The only con with this app is the licensing price. Small businesses could have difficulty justifying the cost of creating/customizing their own database and hosting and licensing. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** I have used for inventories and as a crm. ### 4. Conflicted **Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Rebecca J. | Exectuive Administrator **Reviewed Date:** June 10, 2021 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** Genuine database program. Completely customizable **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** Cost, rude customer support, lack of options for smaller biz or individuals **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** Unlimited customization and very user friendly ### 5. FileMaker - Low Code Development Software **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Dave D. | Information Security Manager, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 15, 2020 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** FileMaker is an extremely versatile, user/developer friendly, and comprehensive platform. Although FileMaker was originally a simple database, over the past three decades, it has become a full development platform. With a fundamental database skillset, you can create simple solutions in a fairly short amount of time. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** The development interface could use a face-lift, but that doesn't impact the overall usefulness or design within the platform. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** I've used FileMaker for many decades as a tool to help with data manipulation, internal IT apps, and back-office type functions. The value of FileMaker is the quick-turn, low-code solutions you can create and provide quick value to your organization. ### 6. Great useful and customizable software. **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Sunny F. | QA Specialist at Software, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** August 25, 2020 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** I love this software fundamentally because it is highly customizable, the system is quite easy to configure to adapt to all the existing processes that a company contains internally, mentioning that the modernizations that are made to the environment of each Claris Filemaker user, is totally fast, underlining that new functions can be added with incredible flexibility, highlighting that it maintains open standards for a fantastic information gathering. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** This program can be frustrating when entering data in several fields, slowing down the work in significant quantities according to the development attracting losses, more annoying when it comes to companies that are characterized by having a high and fluid performance and performance when it comes to exercise the labor margin, being an inconvenience that requires an update, to solve these failures that the system currently presents, mentioned that Filemaker can be difficult to use. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** It is ideal for companies that acquire teams with members in a number considered as medium, or considerable, that do not work with such an extensive staff, if you need to create applications to attract as many customers as possible, including the option to sell these product that can become fully customizable, in every aspect that contains these schedules, acquiring recommendation rights for multiple companies, both for small and medium, Filemaker is the best to take into account in your main list to implement. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** We use this software with an essential objective, which allows us to satisfy all our concerns in relation to the operation of Claris Filemaker, and this is that it allows us to create different and numerous applications in a fast and incredible way, offering us totally unique tools throughout the cloud, which allows us to carry out the work in a very adequate and simple way, mentioning that the products we make with this program are completely configurable to our environment. ### 7. Totally customizable database solution **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Food & Beverages | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 25, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** I like the ability to customize it in any way I see fit. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** Filemaker doesn't seem to talk to a lot of other software systems. We can integrate our email system, but we can't tie it into our PO database system or digital asset management system **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** Be prepared to pay for development if you are not using an out of box solution. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** We have reduced the amount of hours it takes to process new jobs and track them. We have added the ability to track status through the history of the project. The requestors now can see where their jobs are at at any given time. ### 8. Analysis and reduction in order of company information. **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Martin G. | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 20, 2020 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** The FileMaker Platform is a system that we use in companies in order to improve capabilities and reduce the amount of information by synthesizing the databases with the possibility of having the necessary information, we are happy because the tools worked very well and are very comprehensive and attractive. analyze day by day to keep only what is necessary. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** I have no problems with the service, I find it very complete and also its service is very updated, very optimized, it offers security, which is what you are looking for. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** I have no problem with the system, it is widely used and good services. Support is always attentive to any situation, it worked correctly and I recommend it because also its tools are useful and easy. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** It is a very attractive system and it solves the problems in the database, thus reducing the amount of information that we had, such as projects, jobs, invoices, among others, it was necessary to reduce everything and save time and money, that is why The FileMaker Platform worked and made strategies to to be able to improve and speed up this type of process synthesizing all the information. ### 9. I like FileMaker **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Irene R. | Web Designer and Developer, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** July 22, 2020 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** I like being able to design my own relational database with forms and managing all my home stuff this way. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** Sometimes designing a form takes time to line things up or to change things. Sometimes it is hard for me to build the relational part between files. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** If you do not have time or budget to hire a database expert and just want something off the shelf, this is for you **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** I keep track of everything home and business: all invoices, all assets. all customers, all my website coding, notes when I am in school, and notes about reseach and projects. ### 10. The fastest way to solve your business problems **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Robert W. | Sales & Marketing Director, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 24, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** FileMaker is by far the simplest way of solving your business workflow problems. If you are constantly inventing ways to improve your business, reduce administrative tasks, or provide better customer service, then FileMaker is ready to help. We can quickly create web apps for our customers to interact with us such as the appointment booking system we recently deployed with FileMaker WebDirect. It accesses data from Apple's GSX global service systems using their API and simplifies the task of booking appointments for our customers online. When we needed to track our new Managed Service offering for schools using iPad and Mac, we took a couple of days and wrote a whole new system. It tracks renewals, emails documents to customers, give us management information and reports and a whole lot more. And this cost very little in terms of time to build, and cost us no extra money in licensing. We would not have been able to find anything else to do this so quickly. I could go on... **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** While creating simple apps is...simple, you will need to invest some time in getting to know the scripting and database design to get the most from it. Anyone who is familiar with basic scripting will have no trouble in learning these skills and the rewards are huge. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** We use FileMaker for CRM, customer quotations, invoicing, inventory management, retail POS, HR systems, purchase orders, data driven parts of our web site. Everything. And Filemaker integrates with the other systems we use e.g. Amazon Marketplace, Slack, ZenDesk, Apple's GSX systems, Amazon Web Services and more. It is the centre of our business and saves us time and money every day. ### 11. Technological innovation platform **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Graphic Design | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 24, 2020 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** Increases market presence FileMaker helps me to facilitate my business in growing by maintaining customers because of the better documentation needed. FileMaker has got a higher customer satisfaction score .This helps to keep more customers because their needs are fullfied as per what they require . Filmmaker is very easy to adjust this helps me as a graphic designer to interface with ease , hence more friendly . **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** FileMaker requires uses who are licensed in oder to access data which is expensive to get a license . Thought FileMaker is the best and it does not disappoint . **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** FileMaker will aid in empowering problem solvers because it dynamic in the field of innovation and sharing of the database. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** FileMaker has got one of the best documentation . This helps me to get customers with ease due to good quality work that it produce. FileMaker helps in innovation and sharing. It facilitate new ideas that one acquire from exchange with the emerging technologies . ### 12. FileMaker Platform User For 20 Years **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Food & Beverages | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** August 07, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** Ease of use and flexibility. Building even complex business logic into a FileMaker app is relatively straightforward. Current version layout tools allow for highly functional interfaces for users. Integration with other platforms and data sources is for the most part straightforward, and greatly improved over past versions. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** License model is changing towards monthly fees, and costs have been going up over the last few versions. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** A solution based on the FileMaker platform runs my employer’s business, from order management, production scheduling, to inventory management. ### 13. Good program could use more updates **Rating:** 3.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Melinda S. | Correspondence Specialist, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** November 23, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** It can be used company wide to help us connect product information. I like that exports can be pulled with ample information on our products to allow us to stay up to date and see what needs completing. There are multiple options and tools to use within it. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** It tends to freeze and close out a lot in the Middle of working. It’s also tedious to open additional screens. It also causes a bit of a hassle when not all styles are shot, it won’t load correctly. I wish there were a few more “extra” features like the ability to zoom into photos or open additional screens without going directly into a product. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** Make sure it connects to your vpn for remote use **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** We’re using it to connect with our other office and stay updated on what is live and shot and things we need accomplished. It allows us to maintain, correct and create all in one program. ### 14. Relational Databases for all skill levels. **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Stef B. | Sole Proprietor, Real Estate, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 13, 2017 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** I've been a user of Filemaker on and off since it's early days as a Claris product. The number one pro in my opinion is the ease in which you can start using Filemaker Databases. The templates out of the gate are well built, have a nice UI and give you the freedom to make them yours easily. Beginners can use the templates to get a taste for the Filemaker development structure while not having to climb a steep learning curve to get an app or database off the ground. Deployment is one click for simple web use and a few more clicks to deploy on a hosted solution like Amazon Web Services. For the expert user, complex systems can be made in a shorter amount of time and a GUI can be in place at the same time. Single developer and teams can all just in can create some thing truly functional and efficient. The ease of use allows you to really create what you wanted not what you are able to achieve due to a learning curve. Help is readily available in the forums and through their customer support. I have received database files as example of how to fix a problem I was having. They really go the extra mile to get you up and running fast. There is a vast library of plug-ins from third party vendors that close the gap on development time. Days if not weeks of time can be saved with one plug-in. They don't come cheap so be sure you need it. There is are also a multitude of free add-ons and plug-in to add functionality to your databases. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** Licensing is a little steep for a small business or single user. The add-ons are also a bit pricey. When looking at the cost to develop, you really need to budget and make sure you only buy what you need. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** If you have a lot of data and need to make use of it fast, Filemaker is perfect. Easy set up and getting started takes an hour or less. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** Reducing the time it takes to make a complex database for short term use or as a bridge between two applications. ### 15. Lowest Cost Custom Development Platform Available **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Keith L. | Chief Financial Officer, Computer Software, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** August 30, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** Cost to maintain is certainly a big consideration however the fact that no matter what we seek to do with it, the platform's capabilities never tell us "nope, you can't do that." For those people who appreciate the value of having an easy to manipulate and robust featured custom development platform, I don't know of a more capable and quite frankly more fun piece of software to use. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** If there was one thing I could say that I don't like about it is having to explain to other IT professionals why I am using software that is 30 some odd years old. I usually respond that it never disappoints and has constantly been evolving and integrating the latest technology so it always remains relevant. With each annual release, comes another tool or efficiency I can use in my business or my customer's businesses. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** It is easy to be lured by a lot of the low cost, off the shelf SaaS software out there but they all only do a few things well and you invariably have to string a bunch of them together which leads you to a cobbled together mess. FileMaker can be implemented as a central data point to coordinate the workflow between all those endpoints and if budget allowed could even act as the entire end to end solution that runs the department or business. Nothing is cheap or easy and if you want to differentiate yourself, then you have to invent more efficient and better ways of doing business - and having a well supported Innovation Platform like FileMaker Pro in your tool box is a powerful asset to have. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** End to end business workflow. From sales lead, to CRM/customer management, to estimation, to project management/fulfillment, time tracking, purchase orders, licensing, asset management, reporting, marketing, orders, shopping cart, integration with 3rd party software and services like QuickBooks, Outlook/Exchange, Docusign, EventBrite, DropBox, AWS, Authorize.net credit card processing, integrate with hardware devices like biometric scanners, RFID, deployment on the desktop, in a browser and mobile devices. Pretty much anything anybody could ever want, we have done with FileMaker Pro. ### 16. Pretty and Powerful: the Result of Databases Built in FileMaker Pro **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Jeff H. | Data and Project Coordinator, Information Technology and Services, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 16, 2015 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** FileMaker is one of the oldest pieces of database-building software around. Its longevity has a lot to do with its delicate balancing of powerful data organizing and intuitive interface building. The app is easy to transition into if you already have a background in database terminology, and building a custom interface takes very little work at all. It has become one of those tools where if a certain feature doesn't exist, the solid foundation of the app allows for custom abilities to be built into it. There are multiple versions of FileMaker Pro, but for small business or home needs the regular version will work just fine. However, spending the extra money for FileMaker Pro Advanced can really improve your workflow with features such as the Database Design Report, where you can have a comprehensive document that outlines every part of your database. Also, using Developer Utilities can enable features like encryption and saving the database as a standalone app. While technical support is costly, there is a huge community of users and support all over the internet. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** While the UI tolls are comprehensive and specific, some shortcuts would be appreciated with current design standards. it is a rather cumbersome task to build a navigation menu or a series of buttons when you have to configure each and every one of the buttons when needing to make a minor change. If you build an app through FileMaker, it will always feel one step behind because most of the innovation occurs long after they become popular elsewhere. Even though FileMaker Go is free and can access databases using peer-to-peer technology, you have to buy another license of FileMaker in order to access a database on another computer. The application is not cheap, and the pricing structure for Server seems too expensive for most. Those familiar with doing SQL queries will be disappointed by the lack of a query feature. There are plenty of third-party mods that add this feature quickly. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** If you need to build something pretty for those intimidated by data mining, but require the power of a standard database, FileMaker is a perfect balance. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** I maintain a database that organizes data for a department at an ivy league university. The data is coming from old paper files decades old. I am also designing an interface that is to be used by beginner, intermediate, and pro computer users, so customization is key. FileMaker has made it so easy for me to build features requested by my colleagues, and the quick ability to encrypt the information is super important for a higher education setting. ### 17. Simply powerful software **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Richard C. | President, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** August 30, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** FileMaker provides the greatest amount of power with the least amount of complexity. Most folks don't understand how FileMaker can shine in the face of large, complex systems. We are able to integrate with virtually all database systems and use REST connectivity to integrate with a large family of online service offerings. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** I wish there was a client available for Android like there is for iOS. Although we are able to provide system access to Android clients via FileMaker's awesome Web Direct interface via a browser. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** Helping a large creative services company manage projects, people resources and time sheet events. Helping a Fortune 500 retailer manage their supply chain and approval processes. Helping a large auction house manage consigned items and arranging auction events. Helping a research organization in Africa collect, organize and report on AIDS research data. And so much more. ### 18. Putting things all in one place . . . **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Ken C. | Owner, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** August 07, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** I like the integration among my various platforms (MacOS, iOS (phone/tablet), Windows) and the overall consistency of the interface regardless of platform. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** The only dislike I can think of, and it's not really fair to call it a dislike, is that I had to (at least at some level) learn an additional way of working with things. But FileMaker made that process as painless as I could ever have hoped for, so not really a dislike. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** Jump in with both feet . . . it's a lot easier than you think, and way capable! **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** I was looking for a way to consolidate all the various other platforms I was using to track attendance at training seminars I conduct, and to then roll–over those records into billing and follow–up contact information once the attendees have returned into their own production environments. It gave me one place to track it all without needing to remember to go to my spreadsheets for billing, contacts to retype contact demographics, separate tracking on payments, etc. ### 19. Bare bones for basic student/school database **Rating:** 2.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Christopher K. | Campus Minister, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 25, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** I like that I can pull up a great deal of information on an individual or group of students. This software allowed me to better organize several school programs, much better than I could with an Excel workbook. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** It's pretty ugly. I'm sure that has a lot to do with the administrator's choices, but the layout is very Windows 95. The system also crashed a fair amount of the time. And it is not very intuitive. Working in a school with several people not as familiar with tech, it takes a lot of training for some people to understand the basics. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** This program was a very basic way to organize an enormous amount of data for our school programs. I understand it was a much lower cost than a typical CRM. It was also easy to access this across various platforms (iPad, PC), which further helped collaboration. ### 20. Graphic Design Support **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Dominick S. | Graphic Design Instructional Support, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** August 01, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** Easy to use interface. Very adjustable for graphic designers because we like everything to look good. Plus it's an Apple subsidiary and our graphic design department has over 200 iMacs and all GD faculty have MacBook Pros. I have a personal paid version at home as well. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** Need better documentation on how to set up a relational database. I still have problems. I would like to see a monthly subscription because I have missed the upgrade and had to pay full price after 15 years of using Filemaker. The Filemaker Go is a little hard to get to work with our IT guys blocking things, faculty would rather use numbers in iCloud or Google drive so it's been a fight to keep it. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** It's the best database software I've ever used. You can make several layouts using the same data. Love it. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** I have so many uses I can't go into it all. I would like to have all our faculty use Filemaker Go but I need some suggestions and training. ### 21. The golden tool box for small business. **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Joseph L. | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** July 31, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** Almost any business process can be made easier and quicker with Filemaker in your business tool box. Relatively quick learning curve, no server needed to develop, tons of support, cross platform. Server setup available, easy to setup. Large community of help and documentation to assist in problem solving. Forgiving very stable platform. Very well thought through design you can tell the people at filmmaker do their jobs trying to squeeze every tool need for almost every situation. Almost unlimited creations between scripts and functions. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** No native calendar tools. It is lacking in this area because with calendar building tools the platform now could fit and finish the other 50% of the businesses out there. Almost any service needs calendars for scheduling, doctors office's, rentals etc. Calendar tools could be designed like the charting module. Depreciated run time tools. Updates coming faster than you can use them. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** We recently developed a Tax Office Manager solution for a super busy tax and financial services office with over 5000 clients which automated almost every processes from appointments to check in to tracking documents through the whole process and cut the staff needed to run the front from 3 to 2 thanks to the Filemaker Software and Server. It does 10 times what their previously used off the shelf software did at half the price. Plus we can custom upgrade as their needs arise every year. They are very pleased. We are in the final stages of developing a inventory and tracking solution that can be used for almost any small business on the desktop and iPad. ### 22. Filemaker Review **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Dane T. | VP of Sales, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** July 30, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** Filemaker is a great way to manage a large amount of data while being able to cusomize how you do it. It is very user freindly and has a fairly low learning curve. All it takes is some basic database knowledge and the rest is fairly straight forward. There are many different ways you can use Filemaker as well from CRM to sales tracking to calandering. It really does have it all (well mostly all). **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** Publishing to the web is not very robust. Users without licenses can access the data base via the web however is is slow and a little clunky. The web interface is also different and takes some time to get use to. I would love to see the ability to create an actual data website using FM. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** If you have large amounts of data that needs to be shared with in your office, Filemaker is the solution for you. It is very simple to learn and easy to use and quick to impliment. It only takes one person to manage and upkeep the records but everyone in the office can easily access the data they need in a timely fashion. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** We manage a massive number of clients and companies along with their sales orders. We also track all of our leads and listings with Filemaker. We have discovered that we are able to also manage and send email campaigns effectively. Allowing for more inter department cohesivness. ### 23. Comprehensive Workplace Innovation Platform **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** David S. | Developer, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** July 31, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** I like the user interface coupled with the ease of sharing one's app in several different ways. Also, Apple and several of its partners offer great training and support for FileMaker. The times I have called customer support they have always been able to help me with my issue. I called once on FM Server and I was up and running in less than a few hours. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** I have used several database programs going back to DBase II up to Access. Making the transition to FileMaker was not as straight forward my previous experiences. However, the effort is well worth it. Regardless, I would encourage anyone involved in workplace innovation to give FM a go. It is a terrific platform for development. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** Take advantage of the many examples offered by FileMaker and its support affiliates. Also of Lynda's training courses. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** I am creating a church member information solution and a wine and liquor database. The ability to share the app is a key reason for me to use Filemaker as well s the excellent support. ### 24. The Filemaker Experience **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Craig C. | V.P. Information Technology, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** July 30, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** Filemaker offers a simple and easy to use interface allowing us to quickly develop and deploy solutions over multiple platforms. Absolutely love the ability to get apps or updates out to our fleet of iPads is seconds. Filemaker server is also very simple to manage and maintain. Pretty much set it and forget it. The backups have never disappointed us. Upgrades are a breeze also. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** Editing tools could use some improvement particularly in the area of scripting. iPad / Iphone orientation lock removed. Sometimes we want the screen to be locked to portrait or landscape. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** If you have ever been in a frustrating position of not being able to find an application to fit your needs Filemake is probably the answer. I was skeptical and uncertain and first but give it some time and you will be glad you did.. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** Process improvement from A-Z. Filemaker has been a major time saver in the area of conception to production. Paired with Filemaker Go we are able to deploy powerful solutions to our field operations including time management and payroll. ### 25. User friendly software **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Marcia R. | Gallery Manager, Gemologist, Jewelry Appraiser, Translation and Localization, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** November 13, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** Filemaker keeps me organized. I love having the ability of creating fields and customizing the software. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** I wish I could have a correlation between my customers and inventory. For example, if I add a field to put a client number on inventory and also on current jobs, I wish I could search for the client and have the inventory and repair windows also open records related to that client. This may be possible but I don’t know how. So I end up having to do 3 different searches if I am trying to get all the information I have on pst clients... **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** I highly recommend it. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** I keep my records up to date. I constantly create new views and layouts in order to make every task a success. ### 26. FileMaker allows me to create solutions that grow **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** James B. | FileMaker Developer, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** July 30, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** FileMaker Platform provides a mature, flexible, & growing platform for creating a wide variety of powerful solutions to improve business sharing & processes. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** Requires an upfront commitment and vision that non-users are sometimes slow adopt. They often haven't heard of it or know what FileMaker Platform can do, how it can address business inefficiencies, and how easy it is for them to build even simple solutions. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** Join the FileMaker Community for help. There are many knowledgeable users who generously respond & contribute. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** Project Management Portal giving PMs overview of accounting & other info for projects. Employee Portal for central, secure sharing of data between HR, Employees, & Managers. Laboratory Information Management System for tracking laboratory samples & testing. Construction Commissioning solution for creating check sheets, tracking progress, data collection on iPads & reporting. Many more solutions including numerous adhoc solutions. ### 27. My All-in-One tool for problem solving **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Volker K. | Principal, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** July 01, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** It is fast and easy to start but still allows for the most demanding solutions to be created in one place. The high level of integration of a robust database engine, automatically handling all multi user requirements, with a sophisticated interface generator (screen painter) is a huge time saver. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** For newcomers it is more expansive to learn and get proficient than other development platforms. still the fast pace in wich you still can get production ready results to start with makes up for that. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** If you have a genuine business problem involving any data handling, especially needing craphic representation and user interaction, give it a try. Getting rid of multiple notes, inaccurate Excel sheets or coordinating any information in a team, it is the way to go. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** Over the years we did almost everything you can imagine using computers. From writing a fast code generator in FileMaker to drive other more complex systems, different kinds of inventory systems, people administration and management and off course classic database storage solution, heavily exploiting the ease of integration BLOB objects, some of which can be displayed natively. It is very easy to integrate mobile users on any platform, especially iOS systems as natively supported. ### 28. My business would not be nearly as succesful without it! **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Don L. | Owner, Music, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** August 07, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** The ability to keep track of every customer detail and the communications I have with them. I can quickly search for common problems across my client base and help solve unusual problems. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** I would like to use FileMaker GO when I am on the road but I need the server version in order to do it. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** I am a one man company in the piano tuning and repair business. My clients are typically schools, churches & homeowners. I use a customized version of FM Starting Point running on FileMaker Pro 16. It was built to keep track of every client contact and every service work detail done for them. I provide them with a historical report which summarizes all work ever performed on their piano. The clients love it! ### 29. TOP SGBDR for non Transactional use EVEN for large deployment depending on your programmation **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Biotechnology | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 17, 2017 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** Management , creativity, evolution, web server solution Json language.....and Javascrip integration ! **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** Charts, histogram....can be improved . No slowing down while processing .....the faster is the better !! **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** Definitely in the right direction !!!! **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** PRM (telemarketing b to b solutions, CRM, ressources planning , margin /prices online calculation in CRM ...... ### 30. Filemaker Cloud **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Bob S. | Operating Manager, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** July 30, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** Great service from Filemaker. Responsive to any issues I have faced. The ability to have complete control of the code process has allowed me to create a solution that is ideal for our industry and easy for my employees to use. As ideas continue to come from my team it is easy to implement and deploy. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** Inability to write SQL update queries. (worked around through scripting). The process of running a script to update several items at a time is significantly slower. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** Inventory Management, Multi-vendor supply, Work Order Management, and Web Item Creation/Management. By getting the costs from several vendors in front of my purchasing team we have reduced costs and inventory dollars invested while improving customer service. The list continues to grow as continue to develop new solutions. ### 31. Claris FileMaker is the best tool to solve business problems **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Information Technology and Services | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** August 30, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** FileMaker is a versatile and powerful platform for organizing information and integrating with other web services and applications. It allows our company to deploy powerful mobile applications where all team members can share up to date information. We also have the power to incorporate information automatically from other web services. It is a rapid application development platform allowing developers to be low-code or pro-code as needed. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** I wish that more companies were aware of Claris FileMaker. I find that people who know about it, love it. Often I have to introduce them to the platform because they didn't know about it. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** If you are looking for an excellent tool to integrate your information, share it with co-workers and develop innovations for your business, FileMaker is an excellent choice. It is powerful, accessible and modern. Highly recommended. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** We deploy mobile applications with FileMaker to perform many services: medical equipment deliveries, trade show service support, truck deliveries, medical billing, financial modeling, gene sequencing analysis and more. ### 32. Rapid Development Tool **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Adrian B. | Privacy Officer (added to current Director role), Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 14, 2020 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** Integration with SQL and low-level coding. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** Filemaker's custom web-publishing is clunky. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** A multitude of bespoke applications have been created and whereas they solve unique business needs, their integration with our central system/s ensures that we have no data duplication. ### 33. Developer happy on FileMaker **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Gary S. | Owner, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** August 07, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** Constant evolution of the platform. FileMaker has constantly kept up with changing technologies and thus has stayed a strong and useful while competitors, such as Microsoft Access or Paradox, have faded or disappeared. For example, today there is an excellent API to serve FM data to other systems and an excellent tool to read from and integrate with other systems. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** Nothing! I make my living with FileMaker so I'm perhaps biased. I do wish they had maintained and improved their API for PHP. Today that is being replaced by the "Data API" and PHP can talk to it. Old systems will need to be updated. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** Use a virtual host as your server. I like Triple8 as a FileMaker hosting provider. Use the Annual Volume Licensing to always have the newest versions. FileMaker releases a new version every year that there a always usable, worthwhile improvements. Excellent online training is available from Productive Computing, Richard Carlton, Database Pros, and Lynda.com. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** Clients' businesses run better. They keep track of data and integrate with web services such as credit card processing or specialized services such as inventory and parts management services. ### 34. The Power of Control **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Michael B. | Consultant, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** August 07, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** With Filemaker, you get the ability to meet your specific needs, whatever the need for processing information. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** With more and more power, it's getting more complicated. Also, interfacing with outside systems is beyond the casual user. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** I once had a project where the company was using the Microsoft database system with two developers. I had used Filemaker, but left it up to them to go either way once they put together some simple sub-systems. They chose Filemaker even though they had to throw away years of experience. It is simple, elegant and it continually gets better with every new release. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** Personal finance, my son't business system. Benefits are staying on top of my personal finances. My son't business is flourishing partly because of a great Filemaker CRM system. My other son developed his own CRM system in Filemaker. It just makes so much sense to build a system that understands the unique needs of your business. ### 35. Outstanding App **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Steve K. | Owner, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** August 07, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** Easy to use. The entire work flow makes sense, and thus makes it easy to build databases. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** I'm very pleased with FileMaker. I suppose it could cost less. And I suppose the updates could contain more significant additions, which really applies to me. I'm sure uses with more complex systems welcome all the changes. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** I use FileMaker to make databases that are actually customized applications. These make my business more efficient and more effective. For example, I built a database to store poems. With it I have created collections of poems that became published works. I also use it to store articles, blog posts, contact info, passwords, and photo activity. ### 36. By far the best solution for databases on the Mac platform, and probably on any platform **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Gil P. | Owner, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** July 31, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** New features are constantly being added, and it supports AppleScript so it can be tied into other apps as part of a workflow. I have probably built over two dozen solutions for clients with FileMaker alone or combined with desktop publishing apps **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** The one thing that always irritates me is that there is no "undo" for actions that write to the database in the way that undo works in most Mac apps. Only some things can be undone, and you can't go back more than one instance of undo, unlike something like BBEdit or Photoshop where you can undo back almost as far as you want to go **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** If you are on the Mac platform, there is really no valid reason to consider anything else. Panorama is interesting but you are just not going to find so many available resources given the size of the FileMaker universe of users **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** I have replaced invoice generators and other billing systems, a circulation system, a way to desktop publish a directory of Web sites with one click (with AppleScript and QuarkXPress), my own accounting system for my business, a system that imports data and creates reports for medical equipment inspectors, a single-copy sales program that creates delivery slips and visually maps delivery routes, and lots more. ### 37. A very versital tool for everyone **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Brad S. | Solution Architect, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** July 31, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** I like how fast I can take an idea and implement it in a live environment. I also like the ease of Server installation these days, especially when coupled with AWS. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** Everything has its downside, and FileMaker is no different. While it's a wholly-owned subsidiary of Apple, it would be very nice if Apple treated it more visibly as such, increasing R&D into the product. Don't get me wrong, the feature set is rich, but sometimes things seem half-implemented on initial release. Other things are sometimes just overlooked, like the scripting/calculation interface being able to recognize declared variables when typing code. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** If you're just starting out, walk through the Lynda.com videos. It will get you up to speed very quickly. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** I have two vertical market solutions - one for glass & glazing companies, the other for developers themselves to handle projects & billing. I've helped deploy it to mom & pop embroidery shops, medium-sized insurance companies, and large-scale retailers. It really is a tool for every size business. ### 38. FileMaker Custom App for non-profit **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Debra T. | Communications Manager, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** July 31, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** FileMaker is very user friendly, especially for those without IT training. I have successfully created various custom applications without having to code. The training and support that FileMaker gives makes this possible, along with excellent UI. When I get stuck, I can call on customer support for help. I like that they are continually developing new templates. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** Nothing about the product. My only issue is that my IT department doesn't support it because they are not familiar with it. Some features are not available to me because I don't know how to add them. This includes automation. I will need a FileMaker developer's help with that. The templates that are for non-profits presume we are doing fundraising, which we are not, so that is not applicable and I have to remove those elements. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** If you are a PC user, don't be put off by the fact that FileMaker is mainly an Apple product, because they have a fully functional PC product. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** FieMaker manages complex data very well. I am able to quickly find records needed for telephone calls and other correspondence. I can store relevant information on various tabs in each record and quickly find it when needed. It is important in my work to maintain a record of what was said to whom in telephone calls and email correspondence, and I can easily flip over to the needed records. ### 39. FileMaker - a great tool for any business **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Doug J. | President, Computer Software, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** July 30, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** It is very simple to start with, yet very powerful to grow into. The interface is very easy for a beginner to use, but with some basic training you realize there is very little that cannot be accomplished with the platform. If there is a task that needs to get done, there is a way to do it in FileMaker. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** There is very little to dislike about FileMaker. In fact the only thing that comes to mind is that there are always new things to learn, or better ways to do things. This is really a good problem as it does force you to be constantly learning and expanding your knowledge. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** Get the software, dig in, and learn. It really is simple to start, and the more features you need, the more powerful it becomes! **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** Process automation, data accumulation, efficiency gains, accuracy improvements. Basically with a tool as flexible as FileMaker you can really improve any facet of a business by applying automation and systems consistency to it. ### 40. The best database software for small to business medium business **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Computer & Network Security | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 25, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** I started using filmmaker that I really began understand how to databases work although filmmaker is very powerful it create to beginners in a way that no other software does the ability to group how databases function how to build them how to maintain them and how to develop a section for yourself or others is understand I learn databases with filemaker and that has helped me understand how SQL work and how databases in general work all this to say that the thing I like the most about filmmaker is how easy it was to learn along with how powerful it is to develop in I can make something small for myself **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** I don't really have anything I can remember that was irritating to me that I thought should be done differently **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** it's a lightweight program that doesn't use much memory even for a database with thousands of pages so it can move quickly and Sort easily I'm still discovering functionality years later that I didn't know existed but happy with what I have already figured out ### 41. FileMaker, simple to use, powerful to create **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Scot L. | Sr. Systems Analyst, Ranching, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** August 07, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** When I first opened FileMaker over 25 years ago, I was abot to create a quotations system for the Computer store I worked for in less than 10 working hours. Within a short time after that, we has a system that was used by over 20 sales people and that had over 3 million separate SKUs (part number) that could be easily searched. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** It is so powerful and evolving that it is a challenge to stay on top of it all. Of course, that is a description of the computer industry and another good thig about FileMaker is that you don't HAVE to stay on top of everything to be able to continue creating great applications. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** FileMaker is very easy to use yet a powerful development tool . **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** Doing complex reporting with FMP is much simpler than with other products I have tried. ### 42. Perfect Specific Help for Individual Opportunities **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Douglas C. | President, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** July 31, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** The instructor walked through the steps to organize a new format to provide easy use and ability to merge several databases into a single template. Additionally left some time for our questions - which were all answered. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** Nothing to dislike - The products are fairly intuitive and flexible providing information that is easy to access and use. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** Obtain the program and templates - learn all of the possibilities to organizing and creating opportunities to be more productive. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** With such flexible databases that are shared we all can revise and improve on a regular basis. This has helped us to track and maintain records, contacts, projects and events. ### 43. Best customizable database software **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Matt T. | Director of Information Systems, Information Technology and Services, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 24, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** FileMaker's learning curve is more forgiving than other comparable databases, but there is still a depth to be able to do advanced custom solutions including API integrations, while keeping an easy interface for solving problems. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** Would be nice to have a linux version for server. In the meantime our Windows server is working great. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** Attend their DevCon conference, it is a great way to get up to speed on features of the platform and collaborate and problem solve with other users of the software. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** We are using this in the print industry for managing all of our artwork, inventory, and CRM needs. ### 44. Triple the Gross and Half the Expense **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Thomas B. | FileMaker Pro Solutions Alliance Member | A Workplace Innovation Platform Developer, Professional Training & Coaching, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** August 11, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** The ease of use combining power with flexibility allowing for powerful custom solutions tailored for business needs. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** FileMaker Pro support has been spotty over the 20 years I have used it. This last year I had a great experience with their support and hope it continues. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** Worth a close look **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** One of my clients in the travel industry has been with me for 18 years. Over that time we have tripled his gross and cut his expenses in half by streamlining his operation with a custom FileMaker solution. The owner says that FMP made it all possible. ### 45. FileMaker Users for Years **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Marcus W. | Office Manager, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** August 07, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** The best part of filmmaker is the simplicity of the software.We use it for Database purposes and although many softwares have database features, many don't offer the simplicity or the friendly userbility in the way FileMaker does **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** The only bad part is having to upgrade every so often, but the upgrade isn't too expensive. My office had to updagrade after 4 years of using FM version 12. No complaints otherwise **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** No recommendations at the moment. We use this program mainly for database purposes **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** The Database is most helpful. We have a client database that has been used since 2011 and Excel became too much of a hassle. FM has simplified that problem with ease. Even upgrading doesn't disrupt or corrupt the file. ### 46. Versatile Powerful User-Friendly **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Ted P. | Executive Director, Non-Profit Organization Management, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** August 15, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** It remains the best software of any kind I have ever used. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** With major FM Pro upgrades, I have to reload the files on the server. This is tedious and not intuitive. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** It's the best choice if you are looking for a user-friendly, versatile database solution. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** We create bar coded picture ID's for each of our clients. Each time they enter our facility, they scan in. Each time they get a meal, they also scan. And they do this for other services in the building. We also keep track of all case management services they get. We have been doing this since 2012. We have a small staff and we did it all in-house without an IT Manager. ### 47. Excellent relation database creator for business management **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Mike L. | Managing Director, Marketing and Advertising, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** July 29, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** Logical, simple and consistent UI, with the flexibility that a relational database provides for cross-managing numerous inter-related admin tasks, that would otherwise require different task-specific apps, either for Mac or Windows. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** The version I have doesn't make it particularly easy to integrate email functionality with other common database tasks - adding this ability would greatly expand its power. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** Their annual (UK) user group meetings are both well organized and highly informative **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** I use it to create a multi-function information management system that combines customer and media information with tasks specific to each project. Its clear visual simplicity makes it easy for non-expert users within our organization to locate the information they need to work on different aspects of each project, thus saving both time and resources. ### 48. Great tool for management system **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** David L. | engineer, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** May 21, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** FileMaker is a great tool to help you grow your business. It lets you create your own database system to solve any problem you can imagine. You can create custom apps for any business necessity and share information in any device at any time. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** Sometimes it is hard to integrate FileMaker with other systems, but they are adding a lot of functionality to it. And you can do a lot more each year they update it. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** Great for doing your own solutions and really easy deployment. You can create a prototype in minutes and start solving problems with very little programming experience. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** System administration like customer information/communication, invoicing. We do mailing, stock control, accounting reports, and a lot more. ### 49. I've used FileMaker since 1986 and still love it. **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Jed H. | Business Manager, Accounting, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** July 30, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** The relative ease of use. You can do so much without "programming" **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** The server licensing is still confusing. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** I've used it to create: - forms solutions. Long before Acrobat it was a way to create fillable form templates. - voter databases... I created a solution that can be used with FMP mobile to canvas voters at their doors - a participant database for a leadership training firm, that tracks participants, course attendance, test results, clients, coaches, etc - restraint database for a child welfare agency that tracked incidents where young people had to be restrained by staff. The database was designed to surface problem staff and youth who were likely to need interventions. ### 50. Fast customization **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Antonio Di L. | Sales assistant, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** February 05, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** The FileMaker Platform is simply powerful software for creating custom apps that work seamlessly across iPad, iPhone, Windows, Mac, and the web. Rapidly deploy custom apps. You can make your customized software quickly. Is the easier tool you can use for your own business. Layout interface very clean and user friendly. The multi-portability platform permits to access by every devices. With little prior experience, you can create custom apps for Tracking volunteer data Managing mailing lists Maintaining donor information Managing grants and funding Creating and managing surveys The FileMaker support page offers a knowledge base, forums, product documentation, and a phone number for help with issues like installation and registration at no charge. You can purchase support packages for technical issues and troubleshooting from this page. The FileMaker 17 Platform is not compatible with files created in versions earlier than 12. You can convert files from previous versions with FileMaker Pro 17 Advanced. FileMaker Pro and FileMaker Pro Advanced include scripting capabilities and a variety of built-in functions for automation of common tasks and complex calculations. Numerous steps are available for navigation, conditional execution of script steps, editing records, and other utilities. FileMaker Pro Advanced provides a script debugger which allows the developer to set break points, monitor data values and step through script lines. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** The price. I think FileMaker is very expensive. I don't think to upgrade every year is too much. I would like to go again to the FileMaker DevCon but it is very expensive. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** FileMaker is a very useful tool to manage your own business. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** I created an ERP data base and user-friendly layout to insert datas or consult reports real time. I solved administration problem and manage work flow. ## Claris FileMaker Discussions - [Can I create a correlation between inventory and customer database?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/can-i-create-a-correlation-between-inventory-and-customer-database) - 4 comments, 1 upvote - [What is the best way to integrate with Google Calendar?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/13940-what-is-the-best-way-to-integrate-with-google-calendar) - 1 comment, 1 upvote - [Hello how easy is it to apply for help with framework coding in our files?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/12192-hello-how-easy-is-it-to-apply-for-help-with-framework-coding-in-our-files) - 2 comments, 1 upvote - [What is FileMaker Licensing for Teams?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/licensing-for-teams) - 1 comment, 1 upvote - [Sending the same message to a found group.](https://www.g2.com/discussions/33205-sending-the-same-message-to-a-found-group) - 1 comment - [View Claris FileMaker pricing details and edition comparison](https://www.g2.com/products/claris-filemaker/reviews?page=3&qs=pros-and-cons§ion=pricing&secure%5Bexpires_at%5D=2026-08-12+11%3A03%3A59+-0500&secure%5Bsession_id%5D=58a693b2-79b5-4014-b359-43d645c7b15e&secure%5Btoken%5D=0a4f9da670c1016e88813fa1270ea780e8769fc29632757d7d3aa7265d2ee8a0&format=llm_user) ## Claris FileMaker Integrations - [Apple Mail](https://www.g2.com/products/apple-mail/reviews) ## Claris FileMaker Features **Additional Functionality** - Continuous Integration - Drag & Drop - Backup and Recovery - Multiple Programming Languages Supported - Continuous Deployment - Code Development - For No-Code Development - Version Control - Configurable Workflow - Graphical User Interface - For Low-Code Development - Activity Dashboard - Generative AI - UI Prototyping - Source Control - Software Development - API - Data Import/Export - Web App Development - Custom Development - Code Repository Integration - Data Security - Mobile Development - Access Controls/Permissions - Game Development - Collaboration Tools - Application Security - Alerts/Notifications - Automated Testing - Integrated Development Environment - Offline Access - Debugging - AI Copilot - Reporting/Analytics - Compatibility Testing - Pre-built Templates - Third-Party Integrations - Data Modeling - Customizable Branding - Data Visualization - Code Editing **Administration** - Application Deployment - Native Deployment - Data Security - Access Control - Scalability - Lifecycle Management **Functionality** - Ease of Use - File Management - Multi-Language Support - Customization - Straight-Out-the-Box Functionality - Help Guides - Patching & Updates - Workflow Management - Change Management - Deployment Management - Performance Management - Compliance Management - Lifecycle Management - Task Management - Document Management - Database Support **Application Design** - UI Code Extending - Programming Code Extending - Customized Branding - Application Templates - Configurable Workflow - Rules-Based Workflow - Project Workflow - Customizable Templates **Automation** - Workflow Automation - Workflow Mapping - Real-Time Updates **Data Control** - Data Migration - Data Synchronization - Data Security - Real-Time Data - Data Aggregation and Publishing **Development** - Application Templates - UI Code Extending - WYSIWYG Editor - Collaborative Development **Publishing** - Application Deployment - Platform Compatability - Lifecycle Management - Mobile Access - Deployment Management - Project Management - Integrations Management - Template Management - Application Management - Document Management - Workflow Management - Iteration Management - Requirements Management - Calendar Management - Task Management - Forms Management **Agentic AI - Low-Code Development Platforms** - Adaptive Learning - Natural Language Interaction - Proactive Assistance **Additional Functionality** - Custom Development - Audit Trail - AI-assisted Development - Collaborative Development - Document Storage - Approval Process Control - Alerts/Notifications - CRM - Access Controls/Permissions - Third-Party Integrations - Drag & Drop - Reporting & Statistics - Monitoring - Real-Time Reporting - Customizable Reports - Performance Monitoring - Version Control - Database Support - Data Import/Export - Graphical Workflow Editor - Visual Modeling - Business Process Automation - AI Copilot - Activity Dashboard - API - Data Visualization - Generative AI - Customizable Forms - Customizable Fields - Web/Mobile App Development ## Top Claris FileMaker Alternatives - [Salesforce Headless 360 Platform (formerly Salesforce Platform)](https://www.g2.com/products/agentforce-360-platform-formerly-salesforce-platform/reviews) - 4.5/5.0 (3,771 reviews) - [Quickbase](https://www.g2.com/products/quickbase/reviews) - 4.5/5.0 (1,554 reviews) - [Zoho Creator](https://www.g2.com/products/zoho-creator/reviews) - 4.3/5.0 (155 reviews)