CRM vs Client Portal: What’s the difference in 2025?

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I’ve been craving simplification wherever possible, in my business.

With too many subscriptions, too many legal requirements, too many accounts to manage, too many tools, etc ––by the end of each year, I can feel scattered and overwhelmed by the sheer volume of tasks & information I’ve been wrangling in my business all year.

One of the big things within my control is my client portal, which is what I use to collect content from my web design clients. I’ve (mostly) used Notion for this since 2020, because it’s been the most customizable, flexible, option that existed –as far as I could find.

But that may have changed over time, right?

I figured it’s possible that some lovely human out there has developed something that is designed specifically for that purpose: for service providers to use with clients.

I’ve loved using Notion for my Client Portal, and it has served me very well ––but for 2025, I’m wondering what else is out there that might feel simpler for both my clients and for myself.

Client Portal vs CRM (Client Relationship Management)

Before you freak out, if you’re wondering whether I’m finally leaving Dubsado* (my CRM) ––no. I still love Dubsado! It may not be the most attractive UI out there (admittedly), but what it does for my business & my processes, –it’s still unmatched IMHO.

No other CRM that I’ve ever found/researched offers the same level of features, even if the basic feature set is the same. Meaning, Dubsado’s just frankly better at (almost) all of it, with more workflow automation options, better form customizability, etc.

That said… their client portal features flat-out suck –and they have for years with no discernible advancement whatsoever since I signed up in 2017, which is why I’ve almost never used it in all these years (8 years, if you’re counting).

What’s the difference between a Client Portal, and a CRM?

There are 2 basic stages of a service provided for clients:

1. The first stage includes collecting, courting, and booking the client: they contact you, you discuss project details, you send them some kind of paperwork (invoice, agreement/contact, etc) which they sign & pay, then you begin the work AFTER that is settled first.

2. The second stage is just managing each client’s project tasks & details: every service we provide for our clients requires us to complete a set of tasks (some of which are in a certain repeatable order), and request information from our clients that we may use in the creation of the work or completion of the tasks.

A CRM (Client Relationship Management) tool handles stage 1 details, at a minimum.

CRM’s are mostly designed to help us manage our clients & our service processes for working with clients. In other words, they manage things like

• sending payable invoices,

• sending & signing contracts,

• sending proposals or service order forms,

• building & sending customizable questionnaires, sub-agreements, & other forms,

• embeddable ‘lead capture’ forms that automatically adds submission details to the tool without Zapier,

• handle sending process-related emails to clients within the CRM,

• automating a lot of these processes like invoice reminders and setting up payment plans for various service packages,

• manages client contact information (like a client-only address book), and

• basic information reporting (how many projects are active, or what source brings in the most clients, or how much have I made so far this year)

A client portal or task/project management system handles stage 2 details, at a minimum.

• A client portal is literally just a portal for clients. Ideally, within that portal software, clients can access project-specific materials, resources, tasks, file sharing, messaging, etc ––in order to make collaboration with us (their service providers) easier & more efficient. It does not necessarily also handle the business side of creating the project ‘paperwork’ and other related business processes, like invoicing & contracts, etc.

• Task or Project Management apps are often confused with a CRM, but the two are NOT necessarily the same thing. Though your CRM may also provide Client Portal specific features (many do), arguably a Client Portal is another beast on its own –when done well– and CRMs that add this to their built-in functionality typically don’t do it very well because of the whole ‘jack of all trades, but a master of none’ concept. One tool CANNOT do it all, –well.

• Task Management or Project Management tools (TM or PM tools) are often the go-to for Client Portals, because business owners are typically using them anyway to manage tasks in our businesses. If that tool also makes it easy to share that task management area with guests or short-term users with fewer access permissions, specific to any given project, then voila! We can create our own basic client portal for task management in that project, and they can see our progress on the project, see tasks we assign to them, etc.

The problem with using Task/PM tools (like Asana, Notion, ClickUp, etc) is 3-pronged:

• The barrier to entry is sometimes too steep for our client; maybe they’ve never used a tool like this before & they feel overwhelmed by learning it just to work with us. I get it, and that’s totally valid. That’s one of the reasons why I chose Notion & used it for so long, because while it can be overwhelming, with guidance I’ve found it’s the easiest to teach my clients how to use with me.

• It’s inefficient at providing things like file sharing (in bulk), messaging beyond commenting on tasks (in some apps, though Asana & ClickUp handle this a little better), automatic visualization of milestone progress, and other nit-picky things.

• Clients must create a free account in the software we invite them to, in order to access & use it alongside us, which they might not otherwise want to be using.

Why am I considering a change?

In 2025, I find myself wishing I could simplify the client experience for both parties (myself & my clients), while not removing anything I need to manage the project efficiently and do a really good job for each project I take on.

Because I get better & better with every project, and my tools (SEOSpace, ChatGPT, SquareKicker, etc.) are evolving & getting better & better too, I’m also finding that I need less content up front from my clients to create something kickass for them.

So… as you might’ve guessed, I went on the hunt for a Client Portal that will feel simpler for both parties, while still offering robust features ––and that can compete with my current portal system in Notion.

My goals for 'the perfect’ Client Portal option include:

• Free plan or affordable pricing (preferably less than $20/mo)

• Simple login access (email only, aka ‘magic link’ option)

• Live chat/messaging (text, attachments & GIFs, audio messages & emailed replies)

• Simple file sharing (clients & I can both add/download files to the same space)

• Basic task management for each project (tasks + subtasks, attachments, comments, due dates, assignees, statuses, etc)

• Granular client permissions control (decide what the client can see &/or engage with alongside me)

• Bonus points for customizability (customized colors, domain, email settings & notifications)

My Client Portal Research

Recently, I spent a LOT of my free time looking for & testing various ‘client portal’ softwares to check out what other viable options have surfaced in the last couple years that might meet some/all of my Client Portal wishlist.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, I found a LOT of new tools!

I looked at 21 different tools

There are obviously a LOT of options out there, so I had to have a limit on what I priced first, then moved on to actually investigate further (& test) myself. Use the table below to filter, sort, &/or search by whatever information is more important, relevant, or helpful for you.

KEY:

💲 = a range of roughly $20/mo (+/–), per $ icon
–– = useable free plan
❓ = no prices listed
* = affiliate link

Information last updated: January 2, 2025

Pricing, Crossover, and Free Plans

PRICES

Many of those apps listed have high subscription costs, but either

• they don’t do as much as Dubsado does (or what most CRMs commonly do),

• or it doesn’t do enough of what Dubsado does (or what most CRMs commonly do) ––for their price point

That made it easy to rule out a bunch of them, because you hopefully don’t need/want to pay for multiple apps that do the same types of things as part of their main set of features. For example, I already have Dubsado and Quickbooks Online so I don’t need another software that can send invoices & take payments.

CROSSOVER

Commonalities in comparable feature sets is something I call “crossover” and my definition of that is:

DEFINITION:
a feature or set of features between one or more softwares that are nearly the same, to the point that you could use either software for that purpose.

Obviously, the goal would be to have/pay for as few tools as possible that have crossover (can do the same types of things). Otherwise, not only are you losing money paying multiple times for the same types of features/tools, but eventually it will become confusing for you to decide where to do what in each tool if more than 1 of them can do the same set of things.

FREE PLANS

🤔 Some of the options listed do have free plans available with no time limit (ie: not the same as a free trial). However, not all of those free plans actually seemed useable in real life scenarios.

🫤 Several of those free plans did not include the kinds of features most business owners would want/need access to, gating access to them via their paid plans, which means you’d be more likely to upgrade to a possibly hard-to-swallow subscription cost in order to get the most out of it.

😬 Apps (like Freedcamp, specifically) just felt totally confusing & overwhelming to be in there, despite it being actually free and having the cheapest price range on all of their subscription plans (including their Enterprise plans).

COMPROMISES

As with all things, you win & lose some things so there’s almost always a compromise made somewhere, when you research tools like this.

Ultimately, I think I’ve found an option worth actually using (despite its cons), because the pros seem to far outweigh any compromises.

To get my opinion on whether it’s smarter to choose a best-in-class or all-in-one app/software, read this post next:

Can 1 all-in-one-app really rule them all?

My Client Portal Pick for 2025

Kitchen.co*

Option 1 is a fabulous choice & my personal favorite of all of these! It’s not a perfect solution, but it’s definitely the cheapest longterm option that’s actually useable, especially for folks that don’t need a(nother) fully-fledged CRM.

Kitchen: Free, or pay $299 1x for lifetime access (or 2 monthly payments of $149/ea)
DocuMocu: Free, or pay $399 1x (or 4 monthly payments of $99.75) & Kitchen’s paid users can get a unique 50% off coupon by request for DocuMocu.

✅ PROS: What Kitchen does really well

OVERVIEW: Kitchen does everything I’d wanted a client portal to do, and only a few things I didn’t really need (because Dubsado can do them too). The UI is simple, surprisingly customizable, and the layout is flexible enough to use on a range of projects. Best of all, it does NOT have a subscription; they offer free basic plans or lifetime payments instead, either get access to future updates. And support has responded to my questions within 1 business day!

1. Nested folder system
   The organizational system of projects feels, looks, and works exactly a computer’s file system with nested folders to organize however many levels of tools you need for each project. Alongside that you also have separate views for ‘All Tasks’, notifications, Clients, etc.

2. Basic task management
   It’s simple but effective, and should feel fairly familiar with kanban, list & calendar views per task board page. Tasks have basic subtasks, commenting, file/attachments, dependencies & blockers, very basic milestones & time tracking, assignees, start & due dates, and custom fields.

3. File Uploads & Sharing
   Create as many file folders as ya need, and allow clients to upload files if you want. File size limit on paid plans is 1GB per file, giving us lots of flexibility to accept larger files for content. On the free plan it’s just 10MB per file. We can create folders to organize the folders and each folder can have its own permissions. Not only that, but comments work like Markup, allowing either party to pin the comment to a particular spot in the image, AND allow either party to approve the image. Approved images are also clearly marked in the files list!

4. Granular Access Permissions
   You can invite clients to the space AND control what they can edit within it, getting pretty granular if you need to. For example, clients may be able to see & comment on tasks, but not edit them (change statuses) while still being able to upload files to the tasks, which means you control when task status is ready to be changed. Or, you can allow clients to create & edit, or just edit & manage tasks, giving them more control & allowing them to change task details like the status as they complete their assigned work.

5. Messaging
   The messenger or ‘Conversation’ area within Kitchen can be added to any project as needed, and messages can send email notifications to clients, that they can respond to via email ––and that response will still show up in the portal! So they don’t actually have to be logged in to reply. 🤯😍 Not only that, but if the message contains a request, we can easily turn that message into a task for that project. Files sent via messaging can be viewed in a collective attachments area. ––You also have a few seconds to “Undo” a sent message, can control message signatures (that show up in the emailed message notification), and can even set a message to send later, &/or record audio messages rather than typing one. See how it works here.

6. Client Profiles & Logins
   Each client granted access to our portal in Kitchen will be able to access WITHOUT a password if they wish, or with a password if they prefer, and even turn on their own Two-Factor Authentication for their own access. They can also change/update their own basic information (name, email, avatar color or add a photo). When we invite them via the portal, they get an emailed invitation with a button (‘magic link’) to access, if they don’t set a password for themselves.

7. Completely white-labelled & customizable design
   The paid version of Kitchen allows you to completely white-label (or cover/hide) all Kitchen branding from the client view, including the email address that sends notifications, the domain they go to login, and the login screen itself. You can also customize all of the colors from icons, to sidebars & navigational areas, to card & list colors in tasks, and upload covers to some pages. You can even set the buttons & other elements to have sharp or rounded corners!

8. Lockable files
   You can also upload files that will be locked until the client has paid, to essentially unlock them. A great & easy way to share deliverables with clients when deliverables are tied to payment milestones, because you don’t have to manually send anything after payment; it’ll automatically update & allow them to download after they’ve paid.

9. Actually usable free plans
   The free tier is actually usable if customization isn’t as important & you don’t need to share larger files. You still get access to unlimited clients & projects, unlimited storage (10MB/file), Projects, Conversations, Docs, Tasks & Boards, Invoices, Price Quotes, and the Client Portal features.

10. Affordable lifetime payment
    Their unlimited plan for 5 internal users or less (clients or contractors don’t count toward this, just our own team) is just $299 USD, ONE TIME, or two payments of $149 (so there’s no penalty to split the lifetime cost into 2 equal payments). That means you can get ALL of the above features and more, for basically $300 and never pay again for the life of your account, while still getting updates and support. I haven’t found ANY other client portal tool with this pricing model, and I’ve tested, found and researched A LOT of software over the last 4 years!

11. Invoices, Quotes, Reminders & Affiliates
    I haven’t used any of the payment related features yet, but there’s still a lot more to dive into there! I’ve looked at their reminders features, but not tried them yet either. All looks interesting & easy to set up though! Their affiliate program acceptance is through FirstPromoter, and applications seem to be automatically accepted, so it’s easy to join!

12. (Very) Basic CRM features
    Would work great as a stripped down CRM if you don’t already use one, OR with anyone that already has a CRM (like Dubsado or Honeybook) if you aren’t willing to switch from it. The flexibility here & lack of significant feature crossover is fabulous!

❌ CONS: What Kitchen doesn’t do well

OVERVIEW: The simple UI does mean some things are possibly too basic, and the lifetime plan means new features may be slower to be added/released. Honestly, even though this is a longer list, I’m just being nit-picky here; none of these cons are deal-breakers for me!

1. Subtasks are just basic checklists
   Tasks have subtasks in the form of checklists like Trello’s, which means subtasks can’t have their own details (due dates, assignees, descriptions, etc), so there’s also no nested task → sub task system.

2. Forms are way too basic
   Form fields only have about 5 different types, none of which are file uploads, and reordering lists in dropdown fields isn’t possible so you do a lot of copying/pasting to get it right. I’ve also read somewhere that the forms create new projects, but haven’t tested this. They really feel too simple to use, except for basic lead captures (inquiry forms), so you’ll need to use something like Tally’s free forms for anything more robust. Luckily, you can probably embed Tally forms, and definitely link them inside the portal in several areas!

3. File Upload action/button isn’t obvious for clients
   The ↑ icon is not a ‘file sort’ button, it’s the upload icon, so you’ll have to point it out for clients, or instruct them to drag files onto the browser window to drop them into the portal’s file folder to upload. More features are coming to fix/update this soon!

4. Templates are buggy
   I’ve created templates from projects where tasks carried over into the new project created with the template, and I’ve also had tasks NOT carry over. For now, the workaround is to create a project as a template and just duplicate it as needed; this way everything inside it copies over correctly & predictably.

5. Message Replies via Email are slow to arrive
   It can take 1-5 minutes for an emailed reply to a message to show up in the portal’s ‘Conversation’ area, but that’s an insignificant issue considering it can show up there from email at all! lol

6. Time tracking on tasks is too basic
   Right now, all you can do is tell the task how long it should take & manually type in how much of that time is already worked, but it does display this in a progress bar automatically & looks really nice. More features are coming to fix this soon!

7. No native contract management
   You have to use their sister company, DocuMocu, for sending & signing contracts/agreements, but they also have a lifetime plan & Kitchen’s paid users get 50% off DocuMocu! There’s also a basic free plan, so you don’t ‘have’ to upgrade, depending on what you need it to do & want to customize in it!

8. No automations
   Automating processes like ‘when client signs the agreement, send this form’ isn’t possible yet, seemingly. Having access to ‘reminders’ will probably help though, because at least we’ll be able to set up reminders to automatically sen, ––and for anyone already using a CRM like Dubsado/Honeybook/Bonsai, you probably won’t ‘need’ Kitchen to have automations anyway.

9. Embeds are buggy
   You’re supposed to be able to embed anything that’s embeddable, but I’ve found that in practice this isn’t working for me yet. I’ll reach out to support & ask about it. You can embed Loom videos inside their Docs still, and you can embed Kitchen forms, but I’ve had trouble using the Embed page to ‘embed’ Loom videos as a whole page, Airtable &/or Notion forms. Since this is clearly a listed feature, I suspect this will change!

Takeaway:

I loved testing Kitchen SO MUCH, that I’m currently testing a switch to Kitchen from Notion, for my clients’ portals & project-specific task management and collaboration.

If you’re wondering what will happen to the Notion Client Portal in my shop –don’t worry– I’ve got plans to update it for anyone that’s already purchased it! While Kitchen does not currently offer a way for me to gift you a templated portal that’s copyable to your account in a single click, I can walk you through how to recreate the my setup, step by step. I can also share any templates I created specifically to simplify the portal and collaboration processes (like templated forms for website content guides).

Two other Client Portal options (worth a look)

Option 2 – Bonsai’s Client Portal

A great option if used by itself, but only viable (cost effective) if you use all/most of the features in your plan (not alongside similar apps).

Plans range from $9/mo to $49/mo (paid annually), + approximately $10/mo for Bonsai Tax which is an optional add-on
However, the Client Portal feature is only available on the mid-tier plan & higher, which starts at $29/mo (paid annually)

✅ PROS:

1. Task Management is actually great!
   I used a free trial to setup & test the Client Portal features. The task management features alone are very good for a CRM and blow Dubsado’s ‘tasks & boards’ out of the water. Though not still not quite on par with apps like ClickUp, etc., it’s still pretty good & tasks have about 3 levels of nested detail (subtasks). Task details open in a ‘side peek’ like Asana’s do or Notion’s can, and subtasks can have their own details (description, comments, dates, assignees, etc.) including their own subtasks. Viewing the project’s tasks, or All Tasks across all projects, is also a great must-have feature to see the progress of all your active projects. The All-Tasks views don’t quite hit the mark for me, leaving a little to be desired in customizability, but function well enough for the purpose.

2. Client Collaboration seems easy.
   Clients can log into the portal area to collaborate with you, using just their email & a magic link sent to that address (no password necessary!). They can also comment, message us, add files, and engage in other ways too. The dashboard design when they log in seems clean, modern, & simple. More on their client collaboration details here.

3. A full CRM:
   Bonsai is already a full CRM. So, along with all of their task management options within their project management features, you can also track & report billable time in tasks, send forms (proposals, invoices, contracts), allow ‘live chat’ or Slack style messaging with clients per project, and more within their system alone. You can also use their Bonsai Tax add-on plan to get help with filing taxes for your business, it seems; though I’ve never tried it & have no idea how that part works, the tax management option seems like a really nice-to-have bonus!

4. Really fun to use!
   I really liked the user experience, both for myself & for my test clients (also me 😂)! The design and user-interface of this platform is very modern, clean, and easy to navigate if you’re at all familiar with how platforms like this work. It’s customizable enough, I picked it up quickly without needing to contact support for help along the way.

❌ CONS:

1. Feature crossover:
   While Bonsai is a very robust CRM option that I genuinely enjoy using & also recommend, it’s still lacking some features Dubsado has that I’m actively using in my current stage of business & don’t wish to have that crossover. I can’t imagine how to easily use Client Portal features in Bonsai (which Dubsado doesn’t do well at all) and more advanced CRM features in Dubsado that Bonsai lacks altogether.

2. Doubled cost if not exclusively using Bonsai:
   If I can’t leave Dubsado yet for Bonsai, then in order to use both I’d have to pay for both. With as much feature crossover as there is, this just seems both incredibly overwhelming & inefficient from a budget standpoint. It seems silly to pay for 2 softwares that do exactly the same basic things (invoicing, forms, contracts, task & project management, scheduling, time tracking, etc) when you’re only using some of both platforms. It’d be tedious to set up x2, and hard to manage longterm, not knowing which software to do what in, because you can do a lot in either. 🥴

Option 3 – Coordinate HQ

A pretty good option with the basic Client Portal functionality most service providers are looking for, but TBH the user interface is dated & the subscription feels costly for what it includes, in addition to paying for a CRM.

Plans range from $25/mo – $65/mo (paid annually), and higher for Enterprise plans.

✅ PROS:

1. Task Management is good enough, but not great.
   The task management functionality is good enough if you get creative with how you organize project tasks using groups & subtasks, and maybe forms from apps like Tally or Dubsado to collect more in-depth information. Tasks also have unique features in Coordinate, like setting a task-specific CTA that will make knowing the main goal for each task VERY easy for our clients, on each task.

2. Very little feature crossover!
   Coordinate does have basic ‘forms’ functionality, but not on the lower tier plan ––so there’s very little that Coordinate does which your CRM also does, meaning you can just have your portal here & just have your CRM elsewhere, or not need a CRM at all I guess?

3. Collaboration & Communication:
   It has client messaging per project, and apparently that area also brings in comment threads from tasks so you can see all ‘messages’ in the same area for each project. Clients can also easily login to access all of this content. More on this here: https://coordinatehqhelp.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/30268047701395-How-can-I-view-the-project-plan-as-a-collaborator-client

4. Invite clients & contractors for free.
   Only pay for however many of our internal team members to use it with us, meaning clients & contractors (not employees) can use this portal for free along with us!

5. Decent free trial time for set up & testing.
   You can set up your account completely on the 30-day free trial and even invite your clients to use it with you, without paying or putting in your credit card information. Once that trial is up though, you’ll have to pay to keep using it.

❌ CONS:

1. Outdated UI:
   The user-interface is a bit ugly & outdated looking –not gonna lie– but because it looks ‘old’ it’s also somewhat familiar, simple, and easy to figure out/learn how to use fairly quickly. Comparing the design style of using the platform, it feels 10 years older than Bonsai’s & so it’s much less fun to use & requires a few too many clicks when adding/editing tasks.

2. Subtasks are too basic.
   Tasks have subtasks in the form of checklists like Trello’s, which means subtasks can’t have their own details (due dates, assignees, descriptions, etc), so there’s also no nested task → sub task system.

3. Cost is too high.
   I only tested features on the lowest paid plan, and while they would work well enough for my use-case, I felt like the cost is a bit too high for what each plan includes, especially considering its outdated UI design, in my opinion.

Interesting options I haven’t tried myself

These options are CRM’s first and foremost, but also have Client Portal features.

They all have very affordable plans, but since they seem so similar to Bonsai and Dubsado in available functionality, I didn’t take more time to test these myself. They do all seem to be good, reputable options though!

Indy

$0/mo – $18.75/mo (Annually)

It appears to be a Bonsai/Dubsado/Honeybook competitor; it’s very reasonably priced & has a usable free plan with up to 3 clients per month, and offers a similar feature set to its competitors including a client portal function. Their UI looks really modern & clean, very similar to Bonsai in style. Definitely seems worth a look if you don’t already have a CRM or have one you’re thinking about ditching. As it has mostly features that Dubsado already has, it’s not cost effective for me to try/test this one as I don’t need most of these features (learned that through the similar Bonsai testing).

Bloom.io

$7/mo – $33/mo (Annually)

Again, Bloom appears to be a competitor for Bonsai/Honeybook/Dubsado, and is reasonably priced for the included features. The design is modern & they offer a free trial. Definitely seems worth a look if you don’t already have a CRM or have one you’re thinking about ditching. As it has mostly features that Dubsado already has, it’s not cost effective for me to try/test this one as I don’t need most of these features (learned that through the similar Bonsai testing).

Moxie

$10/mo – $32/mo (Annually)

Again, Moxie appears to be a competitor for Bonsai/Honeybook/Dubsado, and is reasonably priced for the included features. The design is modern & they offer a free trial. Seems worth a look if you don’t already have a CRM or have one you’re thinking about ditching, but its pricing IS MORE expensive than the 2 options immediately above & I’m not sure why without testing it out myself. As it has mostly features that Dubsado already has, it’s not cost effective for me to try/test this one as I don’t need most of these features (learned that through the similar Bonsai testing).

What do you think? 🤔

Will you try any of these with your own clients? 😃
Let me know in the comments!