Caspio Software

Great solution for a company that is using a "guided selling" process or needs a filter-like database to help their team serve customers. I'm sure there's other applications, but we've loved it for this.

Pros

We were using a small online database app for our scheduling team to have a searchable directory of 100+ clinicians by speciality. That website suddenly shut down and we had to scramble to rebuild. Caspio, found during a late night search, not only saved our team but added huge improvements over the previous software. Love it.

Cons

If you haven't built databases before, it might be hard the first time. Plenty of years of toying with stuff like this though and I had it up and running in a few hours.

We did a large scale job searching platform for a Philippine TV station with tens of millions of subscribers, mainly on phone .
Everything worked well, and easy to adapt as we received client feedback

Pros

We saved at least a year for our core application, compared to traditional programming. The Development Environment, Permissions, Security - all built in - no extra work for us. Excellent training materials and very competent and fast technical online chat to resolve configuration issues in a few minutes. Pricing is good with unlimited users.

Cons

There are so many features, that familiarity comes with time. Some of our early development missed good Caspio components that we later incorporated and retrofitted. Our second application was much better than our first application

Fills a need as a data capture tool.

Pros

Tons of functionality, easy to learn and use. I am using it as a data collections tool. Endless possibilities with what you can do with it.

Cons

That is really a tough one since I haven't ran into any deal breakers. The only think I can think of if that it needs a better way to enter "times". No "time widget".

Quick "basic" web app and form creation.

Pros

Tough review because I like Caspio. And the support is generally pretty good. Basic apps and workflows are pretty easy and intuitive.

Cons

The No Code Needed is very misleading. Most workflows and apps I have built or needed required some functionality that had to be "custom coded" with javascript. There was no out of the box option for some database/app functions I thought would be standard. If you look at the support forums there are a lot of people stuck needing special code written to make it do what they need: https://forums.caspio.com/forum/49-caspio-javascript-solutions/ And calls into tech support often ended with "you will have to have some custom code written to accomplish that" for a fee. If you are a Javascript guru, you will be much better off. But the friendly pictures on their website of small business owners touting no code I'm not sure is a reality for most. If you are going to use it I would recommend the pro level because the costs add up after you use 5 data pages. Other seemingly basic options also come at a cost. To be able to select previously uploaded files in a report to download them was an additional feature. I think its more for businesses with some tech staff that needs out of the box apps built but then they can code to tweak. Average Joe, not so much.

Pros

- Basic database builder tools have more built-in options than similar software, so it's easier and faster to build more complex setups

- If you don't know code, the interface and logic is very close to MS Excel, so the learning curve isn't too bad

- Easy to embed and publish applications

- Has an unlimited app user model (though not administrators), which is superior to other database app builders that limit user capabilities and charge based on users. This is ideal for customer-facing applications where users need to be able to more advanced functions outside of simply viewing.

- Offer a free plan that is fairly well featured, though would only be useful for internal or personal apps

Cons

- Pricing structure is highly frustrating for a small business user or team. Basic paid plans have no access to APIs, Zapier, or automation/importing, which is high for the base plan compared to similar apps. To get those features, the next level jumps over 4x higher.

- "Datapages" allotted for each plan (which is the foundation of the app) are misleading since similar competitors use an allowed number of "apps". Some basic applications in Caspio need 10-20 data pages, but the basic plan only allows 5. Ultimately a large amount of time was spent figuring out how to cut out pages and combine features, killing user experience.

- Had a bad experience with customer support (sales) when I accidentally deleted an entire table. Was informed that as a basic/free trial user they would have to charge me to get the table back, even though it existed. And days saved was only a few, so had to quickly decide. They were not sympathetic to my plight even as I was in the evaluation stage.

- If you're a major enterprise with a large budget and some programmers, Caspio may be an ideal solution. If you're a small business, be very careful when evaluating and I'd recommend looking elsewhere. The subscription models and definitions are confusing and you may find yourself with an app built during the free trial and realizing you can't possibly afford to launch it.

The ability to build a fully functional custom CRM system with API calls in the 30 days is great. The price point of this product makes it accessible for start-ups that are budget conscious.

Pros

The software is adaptable and I am able to quickly create a report or triggered action to generate a variety of reports and share information in real time with colleagues. The ability to set up a fully functional Client Relationships Management System with in the 15 days. We continue through the tutorial videos and client support to develop unique reports for my colleagues.

Cons

Technical support is easier to reach by the chat function instead of phone. Expediting an emergency tech issue is not reached easily. On some occasions the explanation is lacking sufficient detail.

Great database, you can make almost anything you want.

Pros

-It works great
-Easy to learn, takes maybe 2 weeks to learn, it's not as easy as using email but you can build very great stuff with it.
-You can almost do whatever you can think of.

Cons

With basic version, which you can do almost nothing with, 5 data pages not much, you can maybe build one useful thing or two.
-ONLY 500 MB, used it in first week trying to learn how to work with all the 5 datapages.
-Went over with 250 MB charged another amount. Really expensive.

-If you have a small company I would NOT recommend caspio, if you have a bigger company and can pay for monthly that would be great, maybe then you can outsource to a company in India also
-Basic NO unlimited support, 5 cases (which would be oke if you got more datapages and MB).
-Support is difficult because you have to explain with chatting what the problem is, try that with a database, it's just really difficult, yes you can give them permission to access your database and help you out but they don't really do it. Yes, they have a free option for 3 datapages and 250 mb which you really can't do much, in 3 days just by logging in you would have used it up). I think caspio is great but the pricing hinders them from becoming the most used online database. I do hope they lower the price in the future or just fix their pricing structure each time we have to pay it just sucks the joy out of the database. We don't mind paying but the value and the price are not in sync. I did not find a better option yet for databases, but will probably be designing our own.

After a couple of weeks of learning curve to become familiar with the terminology, we quickly configured 2 applications. The Online Live Training was the best of any product we have ever purchased. The Live Chat was responsive and always solved questions or difficulties. In fact, the support is maybe the best features of Caspio! Lots of good videos. This product saved us huge amounts of time and money in avoiding the repetitive but expensive standard traditional coding.

Pros

Ease of use and capability to do 85% of a business application. The support was just the best, and helped us with no extra charge for technical advice or suggestions. Pricing is very attractive as unlimited database size or number of end users. API Set is good.

Cons

Caspio is lacking Scheduled Tasks, so we had to use their API Set to set up some tasks external to Caspio

Advice to Others

There is a 2-week learning curve, and then it all slots into place. So budget 2 weeks of learning, and practice before you really start on your actual application. Take the online live training sessions - no cost - and use the Live Chat a lot - also no cost.

Caspio is a great tool to consume smaller data sets and turn them into an actual database management system without having to understand any database requirements or logic. It is so easy to upload any number of spreadsheets and create a database tool. Great for smaller data sets that are currently managed in an excel format. The tool is super easy to use, requires minimal instruction and you can have someone up and running in a day.

Pros

ease of use, ability to consume any type of excel file

Advice to Others

Has a preview function so you can see the database you are creating in real time without having to complete something to realize you left out a piece of key data.

We have been using Caspio since 2014. We use it for all of our administration for Cambridge English Examinations in Switzerland from exam preparation, timetabling, candidature and archiving. With the updates that Caspio continuously make it has become a tool that we trust 100%

Pros

Ease of use

Cons

Mistakes I made with the initial setup...but they have been resolved

I am not a programmer but am constantly coming up with business-solution ideas that require programming. Before discovering Caspio, I had to consider investing tens-of-thousands of dollars in programmers, only to end up with a compromised product that I could not make a small adjustment to without going through the programmers again. Additionally, I was under the contracted programmer's long timelines, and a compromised vision. As an entrepreneur, you want to control the speed at which your product is developed.

With my basic understanding of relational databases, I was able to easily navigate through Capsio and to develop a robust functioning app. When you add to that Capsio's stellar customer support and development help, my app was better than I envisioned.

Capsio has opened opportunities for new business ideas for someone like me who never imagined they would be building apps!

We have been using Caspio for about 5 years and it has been perfect for us. We give scholarships to students while they are in college so have to keep track of them and how much money we give them over the years. We have 50 mentors entering information on different students, requesting payments to be sent as well as tracking all of our expenses, donations and donors. It's easy to update and I frequently pull data into excel to do more detailed analysis or use the pivot table capabilities.
Regarding customer support - my experience has been fantastic. They called me back when they said they would, even called me at home on the weekend and worked with me for several hours on the phone to get a new project running the way I wanted it. It's great to know I can get the help when I need it!

It is a rare occasion that I take time out of my very busy day to write a review but Caspio is simply the best. Over my 30 years I have dealt with countless computer related businesses and Caspio simply rises to the top on many levels. Not only is their PaaS (Platform as a Service) feature rich and extremely reliable but it is only surpassed by their customer service. I have no idea what their customer service personnel are paid, but it is not enough. Caspio service has repeatedly exceeded my expectations. Their customer service team has gone beyond the extra mile to make sure my needs were met. I was not paid for this review, they earned it.

Sincerely One Happy Customer,
Max Baer (Owner)
Account-Ability Services

Pros

Their product is extremely feature rich.

Very reliable

Can't say enough about their stellar customer service.

Cons

The only standard feature which is on my wish list for them is structured report print output. Other than that I was able to produce 99.99 percent of everything I have endeavored thus far.

Our department had an old Access database that's getting more difficult to maintain every day. We were researching tools to migrate it online and came across Caspio.

Their user interface is clean and pretty easy to navigate. Customer support is THE BEST: the staff I worked with were all fast in response and very knowledgeable about the product. Helps me out every time! They also have a good amount of video tutorials and articles which I found to be very helpful too.

I would recommend Caspio for all kinds of database-driven applications.

I have had the pleasure of using the Caspio database development application for several years, creating many different programs. Caspio's simple step-through wizard quickly creates forms, reports and editable data screens in just minutes. From basic registration forms to sophisticated shared-data online cloud database processes, Caspio handles them all with ease.

I first became familiar with Caspio in 1999/2000, when Caspio released their beta version. I quickly built a time-billing system for our in-field technicians which improved our company's billing-cycle by getting client invoices out faster and shortening the turn-around time for receiving payment.

Since then I have designed, built and deployed well over 100 databases for non-profit organizations, government agencies and private companies.

Using the Caspio application has saved thousands of dollars in setup, programming and hosting costs. One project save over $100,000.

Pros

The development and deployment process is quick and easy. Forms and database screens are a breeze to embed into existing websites and social media sites. But it doesn't stop there. I have also created smartphone applications and stand-alone programs.

Cons

Frankly, it's difficult for me to find anything about Caspio that I don't like. The product is secure, priced right and full of very cool features which I've often relied upon. It would only be better if Caspio actually clicked my mouse for me!

We were astounded at the possibilities and potential of what we could do with Caspio. We needed a lot of support at the beginning (being non-developers) and we got it every step of the way! Caspio has not only fabulous support, but tremendous patience :) We were able to create all the fillable forms and databases we needed to flesh out the intangible (idea) to the tangible (website).

Pros

Once we got familiar with HTML and some programming, it all became so much easier - instant in fact! And so gratifying! Caspio made creating databases easy. It was exciting and quick to see our creations come to life before our eyes.

Cons

Early on, being non-developers, sometimes it was difficult to imagine what we could do, having little exposure. We relied heavily on the ready made apps to understand and imagine the potential. Then Caspio stepped in to help us customize.

We use Caspio to create online databases. With the app you can also create web applications and web forms. The best thing about Caspio is that it requires no programming and that´s exactly what I was looking for. There are no technical hurdles!

Pros

No technical hurdles
Conversion from MS Access

Cons

When using the app for the first time it seems difficult to find what you really need.