--- 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: '2026-08-04' 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. Fiemaker is the innovation platform that fits any workflow business needs. **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Eva Solà L. | Responsable de I+D+i, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 28, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** - The agility to bring value to our customers and users in really short sprints. - If you don't want silos, the latest filemaker API makes integration with any other services possible. - It's very easy to make public. - If you choose the annual renewal, each new version provides really good features. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** - To implement some cool UX/UI features, you need to adapt your database systems, such as calendars. - By default, it doesn't have any sync service, but with good engineers on your team, everything is possible ;) **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** As consultants, we have been involved in so many projects and areas: - Automation of administrative operations and reporting issues - Integration with other platforms - Optimization of operations in fieldwork - Tracking of issues, CRM status, etc. - If you believe in a customer-centric culture, there is no other platform that allows you to engage your users, bringing them value in short-term terms. ### 2. It empowers me to create **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Patrick M. | Investment Partner, Computer Hardware, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 27, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** Filemaker is an excellent platform with standard database concepts where I can create business solutions for any task. These solutions run on windows/mac/iOS and can extend to the web. Filemaker supplies other technologies for communicating so it always gives me a way to accomplish my goal. Resources are available so a developer can grow their ability. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** Changes to the licensing and complexity. However, it appears Filemaker is doing this to keep up with the changing software environment. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** Custom software exposes your business security far less than popular applications. Filemaker lets management decide on security/exposure issues. Popular applications let the end user decide on security/exposure issues. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** We develop several custom apps for cloud solutions with Filemaker. These apps are in construction and manufacturing. We manage jobs, schedules, employees, labor, invoicing, and more. These apps have increased efficiency for our clients in multiple areas. We also use Filemaker for most of our internal needs. CRM, subscription tracking, automatic billings, project management. ### 3. Makes my working life easier **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Junior N. | CEO, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 27, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** FileMaker delivers full working updates like clockwork, and keep being ready for the changes in the sounding IT world. The constant flow of new tools and options are crucial for my business. The change of the license structure recently, where it was changed to a "platform approach", is fantastic, and gives us so many new options. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** Server is not offered in a Linux. And a Android version is greatly missed. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** I feel that the product now is more like a SMB and upwards tool, covering most of our needs. Of course we still use online services (non FileMaker) as well. So we take the best from both worlds. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** I use FileMaker for all custom App needs we have, as well as our SaaS needs (with a few exceptions where we use readymade services). Especially after the new migration tools are available. The data api have basically given us the big toolbox we need to “talk” the the rest of the world. ### 4. The best software for creating databases **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Higher Education | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** July 31, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** I love how easy it is to start a database by merely uploading a csv file or using a template. This gives you a running start to getting your database up and running. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** I can't really think of anything, which is pretty good as I can usually think of something to add. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** Do yourself a favor and get this product. It will save your a lot of frustration in trying to piece something together will less robust software. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** I have been able to consolidate data from disparate systems which has allowed us to run our institutional compliance program without having to buy a learning management systems for one year, as we are instead using PowerPoint files to present the content, Microsoft Forms to test individuals and consolidating all the reported data using FileMaker. ### 5. The right tool for the job **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Andrew K. | Developer, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 25, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** I like how FileMaker is flexible so that I can deploy an app on desktop, mobile or web using shared code. I also like the ability to host databases on my own server so that I can have have excellent LAN performance as well as access to my database files. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** I would like to see more code portability between apps. It would also be great to be able to have alternate names for fields (ex: field labels) to speed up UI creation. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** Start with a small project or task and see how it works. The ability to modify on the fly with little effort is definitely a time saver over traditional development environments. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** We have looked at using alternate solutions to FileMaker for internal CRM, support, billing and other systems but the ability to connect disseparate datasources from FileMaker and MySQL together is truly a winner. We also like that power users can easily modify the app thru functionality tweaks without needing to engage development resources. ### 6. An app platform for your business method **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Ward B. | President, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 24, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** The FileMaker (FM) platform is the only no-code, low-code or pro-code platform with continues support over 30 years. While other CMS (think salesforce etc) can touch on some aspect of FM, these CMS forces a company to adapt the CMS work flow. FM adapt to your work flow, making your bussiness unique to the bussiness next door. As for CMS like app: With FM API and its ability to exchange data with other API, FM is uniquely positions to be the core app for your bussiness. For example with FM we take orders on-line , interface with PayPal, enter data to QuickBooks, notifying the companies users calendars about changes, and texting and emailing customers. Of course FM produces PDF, excel and print reports with a click. But why stop there? It is entirely possible to capture data live from a production process and control the next step in the process. Management can monitor the order production live and get notified when things go wrong. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** Filemaker offers a lot of value with each license. It is challenging for new companies to envision how valuable these licenses are. We we get called in to automate one part of the information flow, we quickly see that other aspects of the bussiness get automated once the company is committed to the FM platform. One app, becomes two apps, becomes a departmental app... finally one app for management to rule them all. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** Having worked with so many (new and hot) product (including open source) over the years, take in consideration that FileMaker is owned by Apple and has been around for 20 years. As you are going to invest in your own business, you will need that security that the company is going to be around for a while. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** We solve issues as information flow, approval processes, documentation archiving, invoicing, contact management, notifications, group texts and text exchanges with individual customers, payments, quickbooks entries, shipping labels, form printing, PDF books and of course reporting. The unique value is the low code to pro code environment. No other platform can as quick develop an app for a medium and even a small bussiness and continue to adapt for future bussiness and security needs. ### 7. Custom fit to meet your needs **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Stoddard H. | Sales Director, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 24, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** The ability to customize FileMaker to fit business needs without investing in someone else's logic. FileMaker puts control back into the hands of the business owner, at a time when we are all subject to big tech and the assumed needs of their user base. Every business is unique and requires software to help them better manage their operations as a whole. Having centralized and reliable data is a requirement in the digital age, something FileMaker has been providing without fail for years. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** The native FileMaker tools for hosting and collaboration have made major strides in the last couple of years. Excited for the continued growth and accessibility of the platform. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** The process of developing custom software involves assessing current business operations in a way that rarely takes place. That process can help you better identify your needs and determine what platform make sense from a value and benefit standpoint. The reason you would want to select FileMaker is their seniority in the custom software industry, the usability and reliability of the platform, and the vast number of people to collarbone on the customization component, including the ever-powerful FileMaker community. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** Whether it's managing the quote to cash process, handing complex inventory and resource types, or balancing budget and financials, we use FileMaker to support all area's of business across a diverse range of industry. We find most of our clients are not well served by "off the shelf" solution. Automating administrative and operations functionality has resulted in cost savings and increase revenue growth by the nature of designing, developing and implementing robust solutions for our client's needs. ### 8. Powerful and easy to use **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Sascha G. | CEO, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 24, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** The continuous development from desktop to iOS for many years is great. With every new programming you get even more desire to solve problems. You can quickly see what you have created. No matter if Mac, Windows or iOS the platform is very powerful. FileMaker helps with its functions to keep the quality of the application always optimal. There is a great community where plugins or training videos are available. There are user meetings and forums as well as tools to optimize code. FileMaker is great for beginners and professionals who want to get there quickly. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** Some new graphic elements would help with the layout design, but here you can build your own objects, which you can then reuse. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** Try it out. Use the training videos on the Internet. Use the community / forums. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** I have developed a sophisticated ERP system with it. Many manual processes have been eliminated. The users can concentrate more on real tasks. Word/Excel workarounds are no longer necessary when working with FileMaker. Many young developers learn with FileMaker to concentrate on the tasks of the customers (not the IT). ### 9. CEO **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Kevin H. | CEO, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 24, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** FileMaker provides incredible ROI for building rapid custom applications for the back office and mobile. In addition, allows you to integrate your custom FileMaker application with just about anything very well. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** We commonly extend the application to the web using the FileMaker Data API which is not RAD (rapid application development) but very powerful. Most people first think to you the WebDirect technology which is WYSIWIG publishing of layouts to web pages (very nice feature) but can be incredibly expensive for anonymous users and takes more hardware to deploy to a high peak user count while offering less customization ability since the code is automatically generated. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** If you are considering building a custom application for your company or to manage your back office better then you definitely need to give serious consideration to using FileMaker. The product has been around for over 30+ years and is stable with annual FileMaker Developer Conferences that have over 1,200 attendees each year. A strong and vibrant community of developers and consultants can help you build the application or train or you can have your internal team learn the platform quickly working with online resources or local trainers / consultants.. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** We build custom apps for customers using FileMaker and of course have built out our back office using FileMaker to manage and automate tasks. Every organization is unique and, in turn, needs a workplace innovation application to support its unique processes. Too often, we come across organizations that are using off-the-shelf software that forces them to adjust their workflow to fit the program’s one-size-fits-all system design. Other times, we see businesses using a combination of spreadsheets, email, paper files and accounting software that causes redundancies and a lack of transparency making it difficult to manage as the organization grows. With FileMaker you can innovate and automate most tasks incredibly well. ### 10. A strong platform for system development **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Carsten L. | CEO - Administrerende Direktør, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 24, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** The speed at which the FileMaker platform is progressing from year to year. The emphasis on the most modern and advanced technologies like REST and thereby the strong integration with other platforms. The fact that the development platform is so flexible that even large solutions can be expanded and modified to follow the need of our very demanding customers in an extremely competitive market (our solutions a used within health care, construction, insurance, international sales, etc.) Some of the best newer features like the advanced theme model and the new development environment with the Scriptworkspace and the enhanced UI for the calculation engine are great. However, the most important: The solid international team, the developer conferences (in the US and all over Europe and in Japan) and the progress of the product that shows that the needed resources are put behind the platform ... to ensure the future. Security is a topic that's central to us. Building solutions for health care, including patient journals, we rely heavily on FileMaker's heavy investment in securing the platform. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** Some time FileMaker is marketed as a tool for solving everything very fast: Forgetting the massive task you have to go through to make the crucial decisions to achieve the goal. Describing solving business problems as easy .... Some of the development tools could need upgrading, especially the relational diagram and the import function. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** While we do not hesitate to recommend FileMaker as the platform to develop your business solution, be it large or perhaps even very small, we strongly advice you to remember: Start by really understanding the business problem you want to solve and remember to innovate your business process rather than just replicating it with your new solution. If you do so you may really be in for a big win by choosing the Filemaker platform. Also: While I fully agree that you can build "low code" or even "no code" projects with FileMaker ... in most of our solutions this is not the case. FileMaker has evolved to become a real high end platform. You can build your first solution, the first viable product, within hours. But some solutions will take months to build. The point here is that the same task might have taken 3-5 time as long, and with a not so good result, with another platform. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** We are developing information- and administration solutions for Danish, Norwegian and international business. We are strongly recommending the use of standard tools and applications where they are the right solution for the task. Like Microsoft Dynamics AX/NAV/C5, Visma, e-conomic and other solutions for bookkeeping. When we performed the task of building a complete solution for the orthopedic industry we choose FileMaker as the development platform. We have done the same for building administrative solutions for publishers, insurance companies and large and small business with special requirements. FileMaker makes us able to enable real change management in an integrated process where the solution and the business process of the company emerge and change together in an organic process. The use of FileMaker is truly giving us the ability to innovate in the workflow and work process at our customers. ### 11. Great tool for data storing and organizing **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Facilities Services | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 26, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** FileMaker helps to organize, maintain and store current and closed work orders in an efficient and effective way. It helps to keep things organized and easy to find, which is a huge plus. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** The main interface can be intimidating at first, and is overwhelming to some, but once you get past that, it is a great tool. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** Explore the platform first before entering data. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** We were using FileMaker to store current and closed work orders and some of the bonuses of that us our billing department can use the same software for their day to day as us, which makes our company more fluid. ### 12. Great Product - but can be expensive! **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Online Media | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 03, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** This platform is absolutely amazing. I can't think of anything someone can't do with FileMaker. The flexibility and wide range of applications that can be made with this platform are by far my favorite parts. I can't really think of any limits this app has. It's perfect for so many industries. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** I wish the price was under 1/2 of what it was for the perpetual license, with the option of upgrades included in that price. For the $2000, it seems awfully questionable to not include at least upgrades with that price. Otherwise, I'm satisfied. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** It's expensive, but worth it. I wish they would lower the price. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** I use it both personally and professionally. The scope of just what I use FileMaker for is so broad, there's no way I could materialize it in this one review. It's helped both in the personal and professional uses. I will continue to use the app in all my business and personal ventures. ### 13. Advanced Calibrations, LLC **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Scott G. | President, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 29, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** We like the flexibility of our Filemaker solution. The layout is very clean and easy to use. We have been able to add and change things as we have progressed through the development stages. Whatever we want our solution to do, the developers find a way to make it happen. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** The time we have to spend to oversee the development of our software has been staggering. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** We have seen a benefit of time. Our solution has helped the collection of data in the field for our company go much faster. The data is organized in such a way that we are able to recall historical information with just a few clicks on the keyboard. We can now provide electronic data to our customers which they really like. We have developed a reminder system that helps keep our name in front of our customers. ### 14. FileMaker as backbone for our registration department **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Thierry B. | CEO, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 29, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** The speed where new components in our FileMaker database is developed, is incomparable. When we started developing our application together with Lesterius, we already had a solid base after just 3 days. At that time we already could save the information from our clients, create travels and contracts. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** At the start I wanted to develop myself our application. With FileMaker this is possible, but because of lack of time, I let someone else do it. Now I find it difficult to change something in my application, but I suppose this would be the same with another technology/application. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** All our customer information, contracts and travel information is saved in our FileMaker database. With this information we can extract all different reports and send automatic mailings. When we create new travels, we can add this to our website with just one click. ### 15. The best database for membership records **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** National Defender I. | Investigator/ Paralegal, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** August 09, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** I am able to sort by group, by payment, and reports are very easy to generate. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** There are times when I create a new layput, and the format of the layout doesn't show **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** This is the best venue for record keeping and managing association memberships and financials, esp. large membership databases **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** I like the fact that I can export files and information into Excel, which simplifies accessing emails and doing email blast using various programs such as MailChimp and Google gmail. ### 16. COULD NOT WORK WITHOUT IT **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Adrian V. | Service Operations Specialist, Research, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 24, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** The FileMaker Platform allows for rapid implementation and customization for very powerful and useful applications. With proper training this platform empowers organizations to create or improve tools that would otherwise take a lot of time and investment to create through other means. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** There is not much to dislike with this platform. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** Send your developers to proper training so they will know how to best create an application. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** We are able to rapidly create custom applications where there were weak or non-existent tools to use for our various organizations. Where the FileMaker Platform is being implemented we are seeing digital transformation in organizations that were stuck in the 80's with paper forms and very little automation. Organizations that are using custom apps on Filemaker are wanting more apps developed to meet their business needs and to make their lives easier. ### 17. Increased salon workflow, customer interaction, scheduling, and profits **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Lesly R. | Owner, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 29, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** The way I could easily customize FileMaker is my favorite part. Other pre-built salon systems had some cool features, but there was no way to add-on to it or tweak it to be my own. Since I had our FileMaker app developed, I can't stop coming up with new ideas to make my business run better. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** The licensing was a bit confusing for me, but I found a good sales person at RCC who helped me figure out just what I needed. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** I highly recommend FileMaker to any other salon owners looking to improve communication, scheduling, and product inventory. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** The ability to integrate with my Google calendar and with Square really helped me keep better inventory of my products and services and also more easily create and track customer appointments. ### 18. Customizing software for easy input, easy output **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Non-Profit Organization Management | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** August 07, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** The ability to customize for exactly the purpose you want and need. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** The learning curve for someone who has never customized software. Learning the terminology to carry out the customization. But this is to be expected. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** Worth the learning curve to set up customized software that does exactly what you want, rather than an in-the-box software that probably does way more than you need, is expensive, and doesn't do exactly what you want. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** Keeping track of all donations to a nonprofit and for a capital campaign for a church. The Filemaker customized program provides easy input and can output exactly what is needed for personalized mailmerge acknowledgements and reports to Boards. ### 19. My most valuable tool. **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** steve m. | President, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** February 17, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** I starting with Filemaker in 1985, it has been able to do what I need. The continued evolution of the program has kept it fresh. I think of Filemaker as a top notch database with the tools of a desktop publishing program. And love how that it works with iOS. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** With so many tools built into Filemaker, some of them do not function as you might expect, more of a naming issue and / or user misunderstanding. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** You would be hard pressed to find a program that you could develop faster on. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** Fast simple barcode scanning program on iOS for the furniture upholstery industry. It replaced a PC that needed to be lugged around with an iPhone, splendid. ### 20. Filemaker Review **Rating:** 3.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Education Management | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** February 25, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** Filemaker offers an easy platform for managing, organizing, and storing data. Exporting information from Filemaker into Excel is quick and easy. Sorting data within Filemaker is also easy. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** I find it difficult to update the database. For example, it is confusing to delete a field. I'm worried I'll lose prior data. It's also difficult to import large amounts of data into the database from a spreadsheet. Matching the fields from the spreadsheet to the fields in the database (which are typically called something different) is time consuming and cumbersome. I think the "Find" feature can be difficult. Our information is stored by year, making it difficult to search multiple years at once. I'm sure there are ways to do these tasks more efficiently, but I think it would require a more advanced knowledge of Filemaker. My company doesn't have the resources to provide more training on the program. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** We manage a lot of data, and we can easily access it using Filemaker. It puts all of our data into one easy to use system. It keeps us from having to house paper files. I can easily view the data as a list or as on a screen with more detailed information. Filemaker automatically compiles reports on the data for me which saves time and effort on my part. Multiple employees in my office can access the same database on a server which is very helpful. I can get the information I need from the database on multiple devices. ### 21. Finding relationships **Rating:** 3.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Erin W. | Director of the Ohio Agricultural Clearance Program, Non-Profit Organization Management, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** August 08, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** I like the ease of Filemaker - the reports are great, entering information is easy, formatting is a breeze **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** finding the original relationships to create the tables you need are hard to visualize. Since this is a critical initial step i wish there were easier instruction out there without having to add a serial number in to make these connections. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** Been using it for 11 years. Love the updates ### 22. Fast, powerful solutions to business needs **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Lyle G. | Informaticist, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** August 07, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** I like the balance FileMaker Pro strikes between versatility and ease of use. I can create solutions to meet my company's needs in far less time and at far lower cost than the alternatives we have. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** The speed at which they eliminate support for older OSs. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** Automating lab sample handling, balance reading, access to other databases, tracking periodic maintenance and calibration, creating gift certificates, creating shipping documents. ### 23. Using Filemaker in the IT/Cyber Security Governance market place **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Edward G. | MR, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** July 30, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** I can model the information elements of IT/Cyber Security space and build solutions that meet the various regulatory or compliance program requirements for my clients **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** The tool is not understood in the market place with regard to its power for modeling and basic application capability **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** I am solving problems with regard to demonstrating compliance with various regulatory agencies and their regulations such as NYS Dept of Finance Cyber Security regulation 500 ### 24. I have been developing tools and solution with FileMaker for 20 Years **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Computer Software | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** February 19, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** That as the product has grown, its ability to extend and communicate with other tools makes it a truly viable solution and leader in the Workplace Innovation Sphere. There is a vast developer community and the system overall has features that rival database solution 10x more expensive. A key thing about the tool is that solution built by either the end user or a seasoned developer and deployed to a client location, can be maintained by the client. The tool allows a client or end user to realize a significantly lower cost of ownership, unlike other database systems that can require expensive technically specialized IT, staff. You can use this platform to start handling small troubling areas of any business operation and then scale and add to the scope of the system over time for a very reasonable expense. I have seen some people used this platform as a means to mine data from much large data systems like Oracle for very low cost, compared to doing the work in Oracle. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** There can be a learning curve from other tools, after which it is really straight forward tool. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** There ai a very broad community and seasoned developer community, being an Apple subsidiary they have the resources and backing of one of the best companies on the planet. The thing is they don't need those resources as they have been a profitable concern since they focused their efforts on the FileMaker product line. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** Being able to have a total solution for the business problems under a single product with a low overall cost of ownership. Being able to consolidate team management and department solutions under a common self-manageable platform. Getting data into the field for remote staff has been a game changer for many clients. ### 25. Excellent platform to solve real problems **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Evelyn S. | Co-founder and Partner, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** February 04, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** FileMaker is not a "software" but a whole platform for creating custom software to solve real business problems. You can quickly build something solutions for workgroups and organization. Ready to start on iPad and iPhone, fully customizable, easy to connect with external sources, like XML, Php or Webservices. I think is like a Swiss Army knife, full of features that you do not even think exist, until the moment you need them. We have never lost data and we never had to change system when there is a new version. And every day we can change it to make it fit at our needs, without compromises. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** Every release FileMaker adds new feature that cover the necessities of developers but isn't so visible for end users. I need some time to understand well how new features can help me upgrade the system. Even if I have consultants who can help me, as an entrepreneur it is important for me to understand how a new feature can improve performance or reduce costs. And it's hard for non-tech to do that. I think that basic is a problem of presentation of the product, lack of advertising. For the first time, this summer with the innovation platform advertising, I heard FileMaker talking to people like me, who are looking for a flexible and innovative tool but they do not want to be behind the technology that needs to evolve the system. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** FileMaker today isn't the 80/90's FileMaker that you used to know. And isn't only a "mac" database. The capability of FileMaker ends where your immagination and your internal organization ends. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** We use it daily for all data migrations, from many sources, and for the all company process. Administration, products, selling, business intelligence, CRM, appointments, events, online sell, promotional campaigns, every process of our company pass through FileMaker. ### 26. Great database magement **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Retail | 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 keep track of your database and easy to work with. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** If you aren't familiar with the programs it may take a little time to learn in the beginning but once you get it you will love it. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** We keep our database up to date, make our work more organized and allow everyone to see the status of things at the same time ### 27. Powerful yet flexible: FileMaker is my development tool of choice **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Vincenzo G. | CEO, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 30, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** I like the flexibility, and the power, and the extremely reduced time to market with a TCO that is a fraction of other development platforms. And I like that is multi-platform too. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** I'd like more advanced features: like versioning, or the ability to reuse parts of layouts. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** Download the trial version, look for webinars, and see for yourself. Maybe try to develop a little custom application. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** In the years, I have solved multiple business problems across many industries: ERPs, CRMs, project management tools, event registrations, auditing tools, starting from two users to hundreds. And we use it internally too: our ERP/PSA and CRM are built in FileMaker and integrated with many external applications: Tableau, Eventbrite, Campaign Monitor and Stripe. ### 28. Overall positive experience **Rating:** 2.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Broadcast Media | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** February 04, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** Good program. Easy to navigate. User friendly. There are many tabs and windows that allow us to provide tons of information which is key to my job is a project manager. Information is organized and easy to access which is extremely helpful. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** The design looks old and seems to be a bit out-dated. The window is also sometimes hard to operate because my computer has a smaller screen and it's hard to work in multiple programs (IE email, Safari, and Filemaker at the same time) **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** Definitely recommend! Very helpful in the Project Management world! **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** The overall purpose that we use Filemaker for as a Project Manager is to basically open our jobs and close them when our promos are done. We rely highly on the schedule tab, team assignment area, and also having to look up past jobs to reference. We get notifications if a producer hasn't booked edit for jobs which is very helpful to know and in that case we remind them that they need to start a job. ### 29. FileMaker's for small business / not-for-profit **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Jos S. | Director for Infrastructure, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** February 08, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** Ease of development and reporting tools. Multi platform. Ease of scaled development using various resources both consultants and inhouse staff. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** Complicate pricing structure. Poor handling of pdf files and graphs. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** We developed a document management system for our finance office to have all invoices in digital form with the ability to sign-off and code the payment of those invoices by different departments. We have experienced easy use of the FileMaker product, efficient multi-user and multi-platform deployment and most important the product development has been very cost effective. We started by comparing off-the-shelf DMS systems and their annual cost plus the cost to adapt the product to our specific needs and concluded that a tailor made product in FileMaker would be significantly more cost effective. The DMS was developed with the help of a FileMaker consultant who built the data structure and scripting then development was taken over by an inhouse FileMaker programmer to polish and extend the user interface and reporting. ### 30. Easy to use **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Health, Wellness and Fitness | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** August 07, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** It is helpful for what we do to have the certificates generated automatically. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** Can't really think of anything that I would say I dislike. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** We are currently having to access our records and it is helpful to have the full history for each easily accessible. It has also been beneficial to be able to piece those details together in different ways. ### 31. A great way to organize the calendar, but expensive upgrades **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Elizabeth (Lisa) B. | Criminal Defence Lawyer, Law Practice, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** July 07, 2018 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** I like that it is an organized way to view and share schedules among our office. We have 30 lawyers, plus students and paralegals, and we can all access each other's calendars. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** The system is very expensive, so we don't frequently update to the new version. With the speed of technological advances, we are often left behind using older versions. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** Being able to see everyone's schedule is helpful. If I need to set a date and need to access someone else's availability I can do it easily. It also makes it easy to bill. ### 32. Great program **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Construction | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** August 19, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** Great program for creating bids and invoices, has different tabs for notes regarding scheduling, product delivery, accounting and more **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** Program is slow when multiple users are logged in, also times out quickly **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** Able to bid jobs effectively, keeps customer information organized and is user friendly for new users who are unfamiliar with the program ### 33. FileMaker, a great tool to answer small and big problems **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Giuseppe P. | Medical Doctor, Cardiology, Computer Software, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** February 04, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** Capacity of responding quickly to clients needs Large set of features easily accessible Amazing UI built in a few minutes Powerful integration capabilities **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** Import procedures are difficult to setup Server version does not provide enough feedback **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** Just try it ;) **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** Health care: We've been using FileMaker since earlier versions; we use it to manage all hospital acitivities (outpatients, all inpatients management) including day-to-day medical and nursing diary, any kind of therapy FileMaker allows us to manage all these aspects in a completely paper-free manner, thus allowing any user to be up-to-date when looking at a patients chart Invoicing: we've been able to set up a solution complying with Italian laws regarding electronic invoicing (requires to output invocie data in XML format) but also easy to integrate with clients' solutions CRM: any flavour of CRM can be managed with FileMaker, from mom-and-dad shops to enterprise-level firms Publishing industry: plenty of power to create tailor-made solutions meeting extremely complex client needs ### 34. Best Custom Database Development for beginners **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Isaac G. | Technology Specialist, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** July 30, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** It's intuitive to make layouts and databases for our small organization. We don't have a dedicated developer, so we all chip in creating our databases, which is a testament about how easy it is to use. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** It can be a little pricey, and also a little tricky to make accessible over the internet. They have made strides by implementing AWS support. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** Transportation database. ### 35. FILEMAKER FAN **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** James W. | Director Of Operations, Legal Services, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** February 01, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** Functionality, ease of adaptability, simplicity in building process, having a decent selection of plug ins, being a non technical user who is able to implement significant changes without breaking the system. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** I wish there were more plugins, some better spacing/design freedom (anchoring only gets you so far it seems). In email we can't do rich text formatting, which is a little frustrating. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** I haven't spent much time on the web direct function, but I think that the local desktop application has its limitations and frustrations. If we were able to put our entire platform easily into a web format and have people access it via a browser (rather than a native app) that would be a great feature for us and make scaling very easy. Granted there is a possibility this is already an option and I am not aware of it yet. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** Order management, accounts integration, email management, vendor management. We are able to very effectively intake and output orders in our system and, as a small business, didn't break the bank in building out that function. ### 36. Fast, flexible and versatile. **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Henar L. | Mrs, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** February 01, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** In record time we obtained incredible results: integration with other platforms, mobility and an unbeatable aesthetic in the short period of time we had to launch our solution. All this entails an important economic saving, accompanied by a solvent consistency. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** In my opinion, it has two major disadvantages: the first one is the lack of integration with Android devices, which has forced us to change the mobile fleet of our company; and the second one is that the licensing system has become exponentially more expensive in the last years. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** Even though Filemaker says that it is very easy to make your own system yourself, from my own experience I always recommend to hire a specialized consultant/developer to create the system (no matter how easy it can be). **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** In our Company we use Filemaker for each internal process: in the commercial process, it helps us to manage customers, suppliers, communications, etc. In the operations area, we have integrated our production within Filemaker, with web requests and external platforms from our suppliers and staff mobility. Finally, in the financial area, the generation of documents (invoices, budgets, etc.) is done through the ERP in Filemaker. This has been a wonderful contribution to data security, to the reduction of errors and unqualified hours needed on a day-to-day basis. ### 37. Software prerogatives are your competitive advantage **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Meg C. | Business Analyst / Database Developer, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 30, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** With FileMaker you decide what get measured, you decide the workflow. That little idea you have to make your company better - is probably the big idea that will make your company great. Don't let software stop you. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** It does take some commitment to keep up with the ever increasing capabilities of the platform. One of the easiest platforms around - but to truly master the possibilities you need to hire a consultant or have someone on your team make a significant investment. Sometimes you need both. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** If you have smart people working for you who are looking for professional growth consider directing some of your software budget to FileMaker. It is those individuals who can help you revolutionize your business - once you give them this tool - you will be amazed at what your existing staff can accomplish. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** We provide metrics to one of the largest financial reporting companies. Document and product control to chemical companies. Budgets for a major car manufacture. But we also help small companies run their companies with efficiency as well. ### 38. FileMaker is the Workplace Innovation Platform Everyone Needs **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Eric L. | Key Account Manager, Computer Software, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 30, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** Using FileMaker as our Workplace Innovation Platform allows us to quickly respond to both client requests and any changes in our internal policies. Also, FileMaker, Inc. has established an annual release cycle for new versions of the platform, and makes constant strides to improve security, usability and scalability with each release. With the added benefit of being able to quickly develop iOS applications without learning another language we have deployed complex solutions to a mobile environment with ease. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** The licensing for web clients to access a solution is confusing. Web clients seem to be the biggest difference in their licensing model when compared to desktop or iOS. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** Take advantage of the free trial and spend time looking through the many training videos available online will help you be able to quickly and effectively get started on the right track with FileMaker! If it grows beyond a system you are comfortable handling, there are many excellent partners listed on the FileMaker website available to assist. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** FileMaker helps us organize everything from Inventory to Sales to Shipments. It allows us to access data live in the system and run meaningful reports how we need them when we need them . We have also been able to minimize paper expense by collecting data electronically on iOS. ### 39. Easy in use without a need for advanced knowledge of programming skills in most cases **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Niels D. | Consultant, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 30, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** Filemaker is very intuitive in use even for people who aren't professinal programmers. Most of the work in creating a new program is done using the straightforward drag and drop iinterface of the needed component per page (layout). Even the script workspace doesn't need much programming skills to do most of the what you need. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** Unfortunatly Filemaker doesn't support out of the box the deployment as an app on other systems than on Apple products and Windows pc's. The only standard deployment for Android products is using it on a webbrowser. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** I would highly recommend to get familiar with all aspects of Filemaker even if you fully outsource the development of the needed application. It is not difficult to get a basic insight on all aspects of Filemaker, but it makes it far easier to discuss with potential 3rd party developpers. If you whish to develop your application in-house, it's best to maintain a good relation with a 3rd party developper that you trust so that you can bounce ideas back and forth on what could be different ways to get to the expected results. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** - We had need of a timetracking system for internal use in the company. We created this our selves from scratch without the need of a Filemaker consulting company exept for the hosting of the program. This implementation has significantly reduced the time each of our employees needed to input the worked time and it reduced the time needed for the management even more to analyse this information. - We needed an online comfort questionnaire for building users that would allow us to benchmark the results and perform analyses based on building types, locations. It also allows us to objectify the subjective answers of the respondent based on several criteria that are part of the questionnaires. ### 40. Probably the best tool for rapid application design for small businesses **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Garry T. | Owner and founder, Information Technology and Services, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 30, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** As a novice, you can create something simple, from a blank canvas, faster than any other platform. As you become more experienced, it is possible to build some quite sophisticated applications which can run a complete business. We have been working with FileMaker for more than 25 years and have built complex solutions for many companies, where other platforms have not managed to be flexible enough to meet the customer needs.There is excellent support from the FileMaker community, who are always willing to help if you want to built your own solution. Equally, there are FileMaker experts out there who will gladly provide the benefit of their experience and build a complete solution for you. The speed at which an application can be built, is likely to save you a great deal of time and money. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** It is not as powerful as Oracle or other database engines in this category, but then it is not the same price bracket as Oracle and it isn't in direct competition.. Of course, every developer always wants more power and features from the product they work with, but patience is a virtue and the FileMaker team will deliver more each year.. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** Take a look and **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** We provide complete business software solutions, such as CRM, ERP and MRP, based on our product BusinessMan, which is built on the FileMaker platform. The benefits are easy to see, in that when a change or addition is required to the business system, FileMaker gives you the ability to apply these changes rapidly, thus saving the customer time and money. ### 41. Ticks all the boxes - high flexibility and integration potential in a scalable platform **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** App D. | Senior Applications Architect & Engineer, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 29, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** FileMaker is the most all inclusive platform at the best value. All the tools you need to develop small workgroup solutions right through to complex highly integrated scalable solutions. Some platforms offer the promise of providing rapid development low code solutions, but often in reality the workplace team experiences the restrictive functionality and expensive platform consultants required to achieve the results they were expecting. FileMaker is the opposite of this experience - the platform provides a blank canvas and extreme flexibility with an intuitive toolset. This allows workplace teams to get their ideas developed and into a feedback loop quickly. Once the team has flushed out the first draft solution concepts in FileMaker, subsequent development can continue with the confidence that any changes can easily be accommodated in this highly flexible and scalable platform. FileMaker provides many of the best of breed product features all in one platform - in particular its ability to integrate is excellent and particular relevant as this has become a requirement for nearly any modern software application. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** It is almost too flexible. You need to have discipline to develop for the features that best address the problem you are trying to solve and not get carried away with all the fun potential functionality. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** You can't afford not to have this platform as part of your company's application stack. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** eCommerce, Manufacturing, Digital asset management ### 42. The Easiest Platform on which to Build and Iterate **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** John S. | CEO, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 28, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** FileMaker lets subject matter experts built their own tools. So app-making is no longer a precious resource we have to dole out to teams that can justify it: tool building is just part of what folks do as they're designing their work. And since FileMaker has the backend and connectivity that real IT apps need, we know that if any of these small tools become mission critical or need to share data with other departments, we can add that on as it's needed. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** Because FileMaker is still primarily a client-server application, we still have to install a desktop app for new users. This isn't a big deal (we install Slack on the desktop for new users all the time), but it makes it a little difficult to share a FileMaker solution with a casual user. FileMaker offers a web-based deployment called WebDirect that gets around this, but the desktop experience is just so smooth we rarely want to be on the web version. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** There is an active community on the FileMaker website that is VERY helpful and generous: take advantage of it! **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** We track all our sales and reporting out of FileMaker. We use the built-in charting to compare sales across periods and product types. FileMaker receives all this sales data from webhooks; we don't need to do any data entry to have up-to-the-minute reports and charts. And when we need to report on a new axis, like subscription sales vs. one-time offerings, we can duplicate an existing chart and start customizing. The other significant benefit is that we can make individual teams responsible for their reporting: THEY can customize their reporting, or their time tracking app, or their scheduling apps to meet their goals without pulling developers off other projects. Giving teams the power to build their own tools lets people move fast while staying accountable. ### 43. Awesome Workplace Innovation Platform **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Thomas C. | Vice President of Information Services, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 28, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** I run a small IT department (3 employees) for a non-profit. We don't have the time or in some cases, the expertise to be able to create databases for our organization that run locally, remotely, via the web, on iOS and mobile web (android). With FileMaker we can do it all in one place. We have several online sites for our clients and use iOS for our company apps. We also have several Android users who can access the same apps via their mobile browser. FileMaker does it all and does it seamlessly, it also makes us look and feel like an IT department that have multiple times the amount of employees that we actually have. This saves the company multiple times the money we invest in the platform and allows us to enter venues that we wouldn’t be able to without FileMaker!!! **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** The licensing can be confusing. Also it is amazing that FileMaker does annual updates, but also makes it hard to keep up with the current release. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** I can't recommend FileMaker enough. It is an awesome product. It has a great community and almost any question can be answered via a simple Google search. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** FileMaker runs our business from top to bottom, other than our accounting with Quickbooks (however it syncs with Quickbooks and it handles our invoicing). We have a platform in FileMaker that is nearly open source with it's API ability and therefore we are able to sync to a web app and save time and staff from needing to use 2 databases in 2 different places. ### 44. Great platform! Now please provide us with some actual training materials. **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Lindsay C. | Developer, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 28, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** FileMaker is a flexible platform, and you can really make it stand on its head if you know what you're doing. Kind of like a chemistry set. You can script without having to know coding languages; that's also a real plus. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** Lack of cohesive training materials. I'm certified as a developer in FileMaker 11-16. There was a time when you could buy the FileMaker Training Series (it was a Soliant product, not actually from FMI) as a great preparation for taking the certifications. There's no more FTS, and nowadays, the only solution for studying is 'read the Help and the white papers and all other documentation'. Which I do. But the only reason I can pass the exams is that I always go back to my old FTS 14 manual to review. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** Most of the business problems we solve for clients relate to inventory and tracking of goods, services, and catalogues. ### 45. Great database management **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Research | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** June 21, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** Similar to Excel but more customizable, very easy search function, effortless import to other types of database software, and can even sync to the cloud for universal data access. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** Not much to dislike other than you need to click on a field to begin typing. In excel as soon as you hit a key, text will appear in the last field you were working on. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** Easy cataloging of the names and locations of thousands of unique fly genotypes. ### 46. Great database tool, especially if you're an Apple fan... **Rating:** 2.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Graphic Design | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** August 07, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** Easy to use. Nice interface. Database looks good. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** Lack of requirement for proper primary keying, and even though it works on both PC and Apple computers, it only has a Apple App, Filemaker Go, but lacks support for any other device. You can use the "web" version on those devices, but it sucks to do so and really isn't worth anyones time if you need a database that really works on one. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** Projection management with automation of creative software. Massive time savings using applescript with the database and Adobe Creative Cloud Apps. ### 47. Great workplace platform **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Julie C. | Purchase Coordinator, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 29, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** It is an extremely flexible and versatile platform. Changes can be modified and deployed quickly and inexpensively. We like the fact that it is available on Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad and the web simultaneously. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** The few ready-to-use templates and limited code portability, but these two weaknesses are offset by the programming simplicity and deployment speed. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** I highly recommend any company seeking to formalize its processes and encourage collaboration among its employees. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** We have been using FileMaker for more than 20 years as a customer relationship management tool, as a tool for entering our employees' timesheets and invoicing our customers. The majority of our administrative and sales processes are supported inexpensively. ### 48. Do You Have Two Left Hands And How To Cure It ! **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Norm E. | President, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 30, 2018 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** Ease, Simplicity, 99% mistake proof and it gives you the ability to upload data from other programs onto FileMaker using multiple choices such as excel, powerpoint, fm7 etc:.. You can even you text to speech with FileMaker to make it easier to work with as I find that you are more relaxed when you can talk your thoughts out. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** they update their versions annually and if you want to stay ahead of the crowd, so to speak, you should buy the next version and yes,, it costs over $200 for each new version.. However I find that some of the changes really are a betterment for you in your authoring. I finally tried skipping a version here and there now on version 17 but I had to read much more than I did if I spent the money. You figure it out, it is almost $3,400 for the 17 versions which isn't chicken feed, but you can make that up times 10 if you have the clients to provide the best work ever to. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** I will highly recommend this product and i will help anyone that needs it if they use it and don't understand something **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** Coding. You don't have to remember coding. What you write is what you get and like I said simplicity is the key and you realize that you can make fantastic data bases, programs, and hundreds of more projects without using one bit of code ### 49. Extremely customizable, but can be unstable **Rating:** 3.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Marc W. | Account Manager, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 30, 2018 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** The extreme customization is fantastic and allows you to use the program to create any type of CRM set-up. Everything from e-mail blasts to art files can be managed with this program. Additionally, I can set appointments, automated timing for emails, reminders, and follow-up calls. New customers can upload files that get transmitted directly to their filemaker file, meaning that as soon as a new lead appears, I have everything that they sent us, including any notes. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** It has a tendency to freeze when attempting to upload a particularly large file. The difficulty comes in figuring out the auto-save and where it has last left off. I also dislike that I cannot upload multiple files at once, and instead must do them one at time. There also isn't a quick upload option, you have to open the panel every single time you upload a new file. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** I would recommend they add a feature to allow for multiple files to be uploaded at once. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** It allows us to keep contacts, files, and sales all in one place. It has allowed for a streamlined workflow where you have a one-stop shop for everything you've ever done with that customer. Since it syncs to email, any time i have a new lead, even when I'm not in front of my computer, I can find out what they need, how to contact them, and what their timelines are. All-in-all, it's a complete solution for us. ### 50. Very robust, but requires programing experience. **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** MNA . | President, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** July 11, 2019 **What do you like best about Claris FileMaker?** All database capabilities are standard. Excellent customization ability. Excellent support network. Most every how to question was easily found in forums. **What do you dislike about Claris FileMaker?** It is the highest cost data base program. Programing skills are necessary. **Recommendations to others considering Claris FileMaker:** By far the best solution for the MAC in spite of cost. **What problems is Claris FileMaker solving and how is that benefiting you?** Many day to day business functions from tracking, data flow, job, accounting and process is easily accomplished. ## 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=5§ion=pricing&secure%5Bexpires_at%5D=2026-08-04+08%3A30%3A48+-0500&secure%5Bsession_id%5D=55e325fa-5cab-407a-a531-1b5ceede5f5c&secure%5Btoken%5D=a58cb4b8821ac6fac3f2ed0b5fdf23cb4bf6d4c989a871f8dac9cc13552c4013&format=llm_user) ## Claris FileMaker Integrations - [Apple Mail](https://www.g2.com/products/apple-mail/reviews) ## Claris FileMaker Features **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 **Application Design** - UI Code Extending - Programming Code Extending - Customized Branding - Application Templates - Workflows **Automation** - Workflow Automation - Workflow Mapping - Real-Time Updates **Data Control** - Data Migration - Data Synchronization - Data Security **Development** - Application Templates - UI Code Extending - WYSIWYG Editor - Collaborative Development **Publishing** - Application Deployment - Platform Compatability - Lifecycle Management **Agentic AI - Low-Code Development Platforms** - Adaptive Learning - Natural Language Interaction - Proactive Assistance ## 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 (3,767 reviews) - [Quickbase](https://www.g2.com/products/quickbase/reviews) - 4.5/5.0 (1,534 reviews) - [Zoho Creator](https://www.g2.com/products/zoho-creator/reviews) - 4.3/5.0 (153 reviews)