CORE vs. Softr: Which is Better for Turning HubSpot Into a Customer-Facing Portal?

Suppose you’re a HubSpot user looking to give customers secure, self-service access to their information. In that case, you’ve probably realized that HubSpot’s out-of-the-box tools aren’t designed to be truly customer-facing. That’s where client portal solutions come in. Two options you might encounter are CORE and Softr. While both can connect to HubSpot, they take very different approaches, and those differences matter when you’re deciding how to build a scalable, branded customer experience. 

The Big Picture

Think of Softr as a no-code “website builder meets database app” platform. It’s flexible but also generic. It can connect to multiple data sources, including Airtable, Google Sheets, and HubSpot, via integration tools, but it’s not purpose-built for HubSpot. CORE, on the other hand, is built specifically for HubSpot users who want a plug-and-play customer portal with deeper native integration, faster setup, and a focus on manufacturing and other B2B industries. 

CORE is the more specialized tool if your goal is to make HubSpot itself customer-facing. Softr is a versatile canvas, but you’ll need more time, configuration, and third-party connectors to get to the same place. 

Integration: Native vs. Layered

CORE

CORE’s integration with HubSpot isn’t just about pulling data. It mirrors your existing HubSpot environment. You log in, connect your HubSpot account, and within 10 minutes, you can have a functioning customer portal that uses your CRM as its single source of truth. No middleware, no patchwork API calls, just a seamless handoff between your internal team and your customer-facing interface.

Softr

Softr offers a direct, native integration with HubSpot, allowing you to connect your account as a data source and display or interact with contacts, deals, and even custom objects. It acts as a flexible front end for your HubSpot data, retrieving information via the HubSpot API and mapping it to your Softr app. 

While you don’t need a third-party tool like Zapier or Make for this core connection, these platforms can still be layered on for more advanced workflows, such as triggering actions in Softr when a new HubSpot contact is created or syncing data with other systems. This means Softr can be as straightforward or as complex as you need, but more advanced setups may require additional configuration and ongoing management. 

Setup and Learning Curve

CORE

CORE is designed so that non-developers can get up and running quickly. The default features, like secure document sharing, quote review and approval, ticketing, and account management, are ready to enable without hunting for widgets or setting up custom database tables. It’s a turnkey approach: decide which modules you need, turn them on, and brand them with your company’s colors, logo, and custom URL. 

Softr

Softr offers far more design freedom, but a steeper learning curve comes with that freedom. You’re effectively building a mini-application from scratch. You’ll choose blocks, connect them to your HubSpot properties, set permissions, and troubleshoot workflows. If you have a dedicated in-house builder or enjoy tinkering, Softr is powerful. CORE has the edge if you want speed-to-value without a technical build process. 

Features Out of the Box

CORE

• Secure Document Sharing
• Quote Review & Approval
• Self-Service Account Management 
• Support Ticket Management 
• Knowledge Base 
• White-label branding 
• Role-based access tied to HubSpot records 

Softr

• Page builder with customizable blocks
• List/detail views of data from connected sources
• Forms and gated content
• Conditional visibility rules
• Integrations with multiple tools (not just HubSpot)
  

The difference is in the starting point: CORE gives you a preconfigured “customer portal brain” that speaks HubSpot fluently. Softr gives you a set of building materials to create whatever you want, but you’ll need to do the assembly.

 Scalability and Maintenance

CORE

With CORE, scaling means adding more customers, documents, and tickets without rethinking your architecture. Updates and new features roll out automatically, and your HubSpot integration is maintained by the same team that built the product. 

Softr

With Softr, scaling can mean additional design work, more automation rules, and extra QA testing to make sure nothing breaks when HubSpot changes a property or you add new data relationships. You control more, but you maintain more.

Branding and Customer Experience

Both CORE and Softr allow white-label branding, but CORE treats it as a first-class feature: your logo, your colors, your domain, and a layout that feels like a natural extension of your website. Softr offers deeper design flexibility (fonts, layouts, animations), but achieving a cohesive, polished experience will depend on your own design skills or access to a designer.

Security and Permissions

CORE

CORE uses HubSpot’s CRM data structure to enforce who sees what. If a contact shouldn’t see certain tickets or documents, they simply won’t appear because they’re not associated in HubSpot. It’s clean, predictable, and reduces risk. 

Softr

Softr offers permissions and conditional visibility, but you’ll need to configure them manually. This can be powerful if your rules are complex, but it also introduces the potential for human error if a rule is missed. 

Choosing Between CORE and Softr

If you’re a HubSpot-heavy organization and want to make your CRM truly customer-facing without reinventing the wheel, CORE is the purpose-built choice. It’s faster to launch, deeply integrated, and designed for the specific workflows customer service teams rely on. 

If you need a portal that blends HubSpot with other data sources, want complete control over the look and feel, and don’t mind (or even enjoy) building out custom logic, Softr might be a better fit.  

The Takeaway

The decision really comes down to this: do you want a HubSpot-native portal you can launch in a day (CORE), or a flexible platform you’ll shape into a portal over time (Softr)? Both can deliver value, just make sure your choice matches your team’s appetite for building versus adopting. 

CORE v. Softr: Quick Reference Guide