Short answer: For a branded portal with files, messages and invoices, look at Assembly or SuiteDash. If clients mostly send you requests, ManyRequests fits best. For a solo or two-person creative business, HoneyBook or Dubsado cover the portal along with proposals and payments. If the portal should show live project status from the same records your team works in, look at Teamo.
Disclosure: I co-founded Teamo and Opsters, the agency Teamo was built out of. Prices were checked on each vendor's own pricing page on 26 October 2026.
Which client portal tools fit a small agency?
Prices are as each vendor lists them: the yearly-billed price first, and the monthly price in brackets where shown.
| Tool | Starting price | How clients get in | Shows project status | Main limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assembly | $29 ($49) on Starter, 1 user, 50 client contacts | Passwordless sign-in (Google or an email link) | Yes, project tracker | Own domain and no badge need a plan above Starter |
| SuiteDash | $180 a year ($19 monthly) on START | Client login | Yes, projects and tasks | Automations and onboarding flows are on PINNACLE ($99) |
| ManyRequests | $39 ($59) on Core | Client accounts | Yes, request statuses | Removing "Powered by" needs Pro ($79) |
| HoneyBook | $29 on Starter | Email link, password or code; some links need no login | Project details, no task status | Starter has 2 lead forms, no automations, no team members |
| Dubsado | $335 a year on Starter | Email link, no password | No task status | Starter has no automated workflows |
| Plutio | $190 a year ($19 monthly) on Core | Client accounts | Yes, projects | Core allows 9 active clients; white label is a $9 add-on |
| Clinked | $11 per user on Start Up | Member or guest accounts | Tasks | Start Up has 2GB and no custom URL; Standard is $239 |
| Teamo | €10 / $12 per team member (€13 / $15) on Starter; clients are free | Private link, no account or seat | Yes, live from your own records | No payments; portals stay on Teamo's address |
Assembly
Assembly (formerly Copilot) is a client portal first: messages clients can answer by email, files with review and sign-off, forms, contracts and proposals they sign, invoices they pay, a project tracker with milestones and an onboarding checklist, a helpdesk queue and a library of guides. Your logo and colors are on every plan. Clients sign in without a password, with Google or an email link.
Fits: an agency that wants one branded place for files, messages, contracts and payments. Limit: Starter ($29 yearly, $49 monthly) has 1 internal user and 50 client contacts, no custom domain, the Assembly badge, and no API or automation builder. Your own domain and no badge need a paid plan above Starter (Professional: 3 users, 500 contacts).
SuiteDash
SuiteDash bundles a portal with CRM, projects and tasks, file exchange, messaging, billing, payments and contracts with e-signatures. Every plan has unlimited clients, staff and portals, and white-labeling starts on START ($180 a year, or $19 monthly).
Fits: a budget-conscious agency that wants many tools in one subscription and is fine spending time on setup. Limit: the automation toolkit, onboarding flows and support tickets are on PINNACLE ($99 a month), and live chat starts on THRIVE ($49).
ManyRequests
ManyRequests is built around client requests: a service catalog, request forms, request tracking with your own statuses, design and video proofing, files, messages, and invoices, subscriptions and retainers. Clients don't count as seats, and your own domain is on Core ($39 yearly, $59 monthly).
Fits: a productized or design agency where clients mostly submit requests. Limit: Core keeps the "Powered by" badge and has no webhooks or Slack; those start on Pro ($79 yearly, $99 monthly). The API is on Enterprise only.
HoneyBook
HoneyBook is client management for small creative businesses: proposals, contracts, invoices and payments, with a portal on every plan where clients see activity, files, payments and the project details you share. Removing HoneyBook branding starts on Essentials ($49 yearly).
Fits: a freelancer or a two-person studio that wants booking and getting paid in one tool. Limit: clients don't see task status. Starter ($29) has 2 lead forms and no automations or team members, and Essentials allows 2 team members.
Dubsado
Dubsado's client portal shows invoices, forms sent to the client, appointments, project details and links you add, while tasks and internal notes stay hidden. Clients get in with an email link and no password. Both plans include unlimited clients.
Fits: a solo service business that runs on forms, contracts and invoices. Limit: clients can't see task status, and portals are off by default. Starter ($335 a year) has one lead form and no automated workflows.
Plutio
Plutio combines projects, invoices, files and messages, with a client portal on every plan where clients have their own login.
Fits: a freelancer who wants projects and billing in one tool at a low price. Limit: Core ($190 a year, or $19 monthly) allows 9 active clients and no contributors. White label is a $9 a month add-on on Core and Pro, included on Max ($199).
Clinked
Clinked is document-first: files with versions and locking, file approval and file requests, tasks and discussions. Forms and e-signatures work through integrations (Jotform, Typeform, DocuSign, Adobe).
Fits: an agency or firm that mostly exchanges and approves documents. Limit: Start Up ($11 a user) has 2GB and no custom URL. Your own domain starts on Standard ($239 a month).
Teamo
Teamo holds your clients, deals, projects, tasks and time tracking, with an email, WhatsApp and LinkedIn Inbox as an add-on, and its portals are built from those same records, so status in the portal is never copied by hand. A portal is a page of widgets, each filtered to the client: a task table with the columns you choose, a timeline, KPI numbers and charts, the client's logged hours (all, or billable only) with a date range they can change, and a form whose answers and files arrive as records.
Clients open it from a private link, without an account or a paid seat. In a table, you can let them change the columns you choose, such as an approval status, and their comments on a task land on that task in Teamo, where your team replies. You can pause a portal or revoke its link at any time. Portals, with your logo and colors, are on every plan, and you pay per team member: clients never take a seat.
Fits: an agency that wants clients to see live project status, approvals and hours without anyone updating a second tool. Limit: there are no payments in the portal, no files widget, and portals stay on Teamo's address with "Powered by Teamo" at the bottom. Link-based access isn't right for sensitive data; for sign-in, invite the client as a guest instead (free, 1 per paid seat on Starter, 2 on Pro, 4 on Max).
Do you need a client portal or guest access in your project tool?
Project tools let clients in as guests, but guests see your own setup, not a page made for them:
- ClickUp: view-only guests are unlimited on paid plans, while guests who comment or edit are capped per plan. Guests see ClickUp's interface, and white labeling is on Enterprise and Max only.
- monday.com: guests start on Standard, where they count against seats, and are unlimited on Pro. There is no branded portal in Work Management.
- Teamwork.com: client users are free and unlimited on paid plans, and a client user can be on up to 5 active projects.
- Productive: client users are free but need accounts, and there is no branded portal. Clients see budgets and approved time only on Professional and up.
Guest access is enough when clients work alongside your team in the tool. A portal is better when clients should see a short, clear page in their words.
How did we pick these tools?
We compared tools a small agency would actually choose between, on:
- How clients get in: accounts, passwordless sign-in or a private link
- Whether clients see project status, or only files and invoices
- The plan you need for your own domain and no vendor badge
- Client and user limits that change the price as you grow
- Whether the portal updates by itself from your project data
We read each vendor's own pricing and help pages, and we use Teamo daily at Opsters, our automation agency. All prices are from those pricing pages on 26 October 2026, in US dollars unless noted, before tax.
FAQ
What is the cheapest client portal for a small agency? For one person with more than a handful of clients, Teamo Starter at €120 / $144 a year, with your logo and colors on the portal. (Assembly's free plan covers 1 user and 5 client contacts.) For a team, SuiteDash START ($180 a year, or $19 monthly) is lowest, because staff are unlimited; Teamo costs €10 / $12 per team member a month billed yearly, and clients never take a seat. Plutio Core ($190 a year) is limited to 9 active clients.
Which client portals don't need a client login? Teamo portals open from a private link with no account. Assembly and Dubsado use passwordless sign-in by email link, and HoneyBook offers both email-link access and some links that need no login.
Which client portal includes invoices and payments? Assembly, SuiteDash, ManyRequests, HoneyBook, Dubsado and Plutio include invoicing and payments. Teamo makes invoices as documents but has no payments in the portal.
Can I use my own domain for a client portal? In several tools: Assembly from Professional, ManyRequests from Core and Clinked from Standard. Teamo portals stay on Teamo's address.
Is a client portal better than guest access in a project tool? For most clients, yes. A portal shows a page made for them, with only what they need. Guest access shows your internal setup and is better for clients who work in the tool with your team.