Caspio: The FileMaker Alternative
Four decades of application-building history deserve respect. Teams modernizing FileMaker applications need a platform built for the web.
Caspio is an AI platform for building custom business apps and the FileMaker alternative for teams moving to the web: fully hosted apps or embeddable components with unlimited users, annually certified HIPAA, SOC 2 Type II, and GDPR compliance, and AI that builds apps from a description.
Web-Native, Not Desktop-First
Claris FileMaker apps are built in FileMaker Pro, installed software, and delivered to the web through WebDirect, where feature gaps exist between FileMaker Pro, FileMaker Go, and WebDirect, and where every web user still needs a license.
Caspio applications are web-native from the first click: they deploy as fully hosted standalone apps or embeddable components on any website, portal, intranet, or CMS, with nothing to install and unlimited users on every plan. The web is not a delivery add-on; it is the platform.
Unlimited Users, Not Annual Seats With Minimums
Claris licenses FileMaker per user, per month, billed annually, with a five-seat minimum; the Starter tier covers 5 to 10 users only, and every person who touches an app is a billable seat. Per-user licensing at scale is a recurring cost consideration for FileMaker teams.
Caspio includes unlimited users on every plan. Roll an application out across your organization, to customers, or to the public without additional user licensing. The 500-user portal runs at the same platform price as the 5-user pilot.
Compliance That Is Certified, in Writing
Claris states plainly that it does not claim HIPAA compliance, and its cloud services terms prohibit covered entities from using FileMaker Cloud or Claris Connect to create, receive, maintain, or transmit protected health information, with no BAA offered. On self-hosted FileMaker, Claris's security guide makes compliance your responsibility: your servers, your safeguards, your audit trails.
Caspio's HIPAA, SOC 2 Type II, and GDPR compliance controls are independently certified every year, HIPAA coverage is available with every plan through a published compliance add-on, and Caspio's HIPAA-eligible AI features operate under signed Business Associate Agreements (BAAs). Explore Caspio’s compliance posture on the Compliance hub.
Four AI Capabilities, One Security Model
Caspio offers four AI capabilities, available on every plan tier. All four are web-native, and there is no desktop toolchain to install before AI can build or serve.
Caspi
Builds applications from a description: data model, interface, and user roles, generated as a real, secure application your team can review, customize, and maintain.
MEET CASPI
In-App AI Chat Agent
Serves your end users inside the applications you build, respecting the roles and permissions you define.
SEE HOW CHAT AI AGENT WORKS
AI Connector Extensions
Bring leading AI models directly into your app workflows.
DISCOVER AI EXTENSIONS
Caspio MCP Server
Connects AI tools and agents to your application data under your permissions.
LEARN ABOUT MCP SERVERCaspio vs. FileMaker: Side by Side
Claris FileMaker is a four-decade veteran of custom workgroup apps, sold as annual per-user subscriptions with a five-seat minimum. Caspio is an AI application platform with complete standalone apps or web-native embeddable apps, unlimited users, and annually certified compliance. Here’s a side-by-side comparison.
| Comparison area | Caspio | Claris FileMaker |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Unlimited users on every plan; published plan pricing | Annual per-user subscriptions with a 5-seat minimum; Starter tier for 5 to 10 users, Max for 5 to 99, larger counts through sales |
| Compliance | HIPAA, SOC 2 Type II, and GDPR independently certified annually; HIPAA available with every plan via a published add-on | Claris states it does not claim HIPAA compliance; PHI contractually prohibited on FileMaker Cloud and Claris Connect, no BAA; self-hosted compliance is the customer’s own build |
| AI app generation | Caspi generates applications from a description, including the data model, interface, and roles, plus In-App AI Chat Agent, AI Connector Extensions, and Caspio MCP Server | FileMaker 2025 adds AI inside developer-built apps (semantic search, RAG, chat agents); Claris markets no prompt-to-app generation |
| Deployment | Complete Caspio-hosted apps or web-native embeddable apps and components on any site, portal, or CMS; nothing to install | Built in FileMaker Pro desktop software; web delivery via WebDirect, with every web user licensed and reviewer-documented feature gaps |
| Capacity terms | Plans scale on a SQL Server data core built for millions of records | Starter tier capped at 3 apps, 2 GB storage per user per year, and 10 published web views |
| Support | 24/7 human support on every plan, handled in-house | Standard support weekdays 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific; Priority Support is a paid upgrade that excludes solution-specific questions |
Where FileMaker Is Strong, and Where It Strains
FileMaker’s pedigree is real: four decades of custom-app history, a loyal developer base, and, since the 2025 licensing change, a bundled platform spanning FileMaker, Claris Connect, and Claris Studio. The pairing lives in the same pricing page: annual per-user subscriptions with a five-seat minimum, Starter capped at 3 apps, 2 GB per user per year, and 10 published web views, and WebDirect delivery where every web user is a licensed seat, which raises cost at scale.
The 2025 release also brought genuine AI: semantic search, natural-language find, retrieval-augmented answers from documents, and developer-built chat agents, with local model options. Those are meaningful capabilities, but there is an important distinction. This is AI inside an app a developer has already built in FileMaker Pro; Claris does not market prompt-to-app generation, and the platform carries a real developer learning curve.
Best for, Claris FileMaker: Established workgroup apps maintained by dedicated FileMaker developers for small, fixed user counts.
Caspi starts where FileMaker’s AI stops: describe the application, and it generates the data model, interface, and roles as a working web application.
That is the modernization path many FileMaker teams are evaluating. Teams comparing FileMaker alternatives often want web-native apps their entire organization can use without seat-based licensing, compliance that is independently certified, and AI that helps create applications rather than only enhancing existing ones. Caspio, built on more than two decades of platform engineering and trusted by 15,000 organizations worldwide, is where that modernization lands.
Best for, Caspio: Teams that want AI app building and annually certified compliance on one web-native platform, with unlimited users at published prices.
Comparing Caspio and FileMaker From the Other Direction?
Weighing the two, ask three questions: what the annual per-seat bill becomes when everyone who touches the app is licensed; whose compliance posture is certified in writing versus built and defended by you; and whether AI on the platform generates applications or only enriches ones a developer already built. Caspio's answers are unlimited users, annually certified compliance available with every plan, and AI-powered application generation with Caspi. See why teams choose Caspio for the full comparison across platforms.
Frequently Asked Questions
Caspio is a leading choice among FileMaker alternatives for teams modernizing to the web. Caspio is an AI platform for building custom business applications, with fully hosted standalone apps or web-native embeddable components, unlimited users on every plan, and HIPAA, SOC 2 Type II, and GDPR compliance independently certified annually.
FileMaker runs on annual per-user subscriptions with a five-seat minimum, builds in desktop software, and states that it does not claim HIPAA compliance. Caspio includes unlimited users on every plan, builds and deploys entirely on the web, and certifies HIPAA, SOC 2 Type II, and GDPR compliance independently every year. Which is better depends on where your users are: FileMaker fits established desktop workgroups; Caspio fits web-native applications your whole organization and customers can use.
Claris states it does not claim HIPAA compliance, and its cloud terms prohibit protected health information on FileMaker Cloud and Claris Connect, with no BAA offered; on self-hosted FileMaker, compliance is the customer’s own responsibility. Caspio’s HIPAA compliance controls are independently certified every year, with a published add-on available on every plan.
No. Caspio does not charge per user or per seat. Every plan includes unlimited users, so modernizing a FileMaker system means the whole organization, and your customers, can use the new application at one flat platform price. Plans start from $300/month.
Yes. Teams rebuild FileMaker workgroup apps on Caspio as web-native applications: describe the application to Caspi or build point-and-click, import your data into the SQL Server data core, set roles and record-level permissions, and deploy as a complete Caspio-hosted app or embeddable components with unlimited users.
No. Caspio does not offer a free plan. Every plan comes with a free 14-day trial, so you can rebuild a real FileMaker workflow and test it before you buy.
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