Best client portal for web agencies in 2026: 5 tools compared
Updated 8 min read
Web agencies get a constant stream of change requests and bug reports, usually missing the one detail you need. The best portal captures them properly and keeps retainer work visible. Dora is our top pick: it turns "the button is broken" into a usable ticket with page, device and steps, asks for screenshots, and connects to the tools your developers already use.
Our pick
Dora
Best for web agencies
- Dora, the AI account manager, turns vague requests into clear briefs and asks clients only for what's missing
- Follows up with quiet clients and collects approvals in one click, with optional auto-approve
- Clients can send requests and replies by email or through their own AI agent, so they don't have to learn a new tool
Web work breaks down at intake. A vague bug report means a back-and-forth before anyone can start, and retainer clients lose track of what they've used.
We compared portals on change requests, bug intake, retainer tracking and how well they fit a development workflow.
The shortlist
1. Dora
Best for web agencies
Dora turns client change requests and bug reports into clear briefs, asking for the page, device and a screenshot when they're missing. Monthly allowances and one-click estimates keep retainers clear, and Dora connects to Linear, Jira and others, plus Claude Code and other AI tools over MCP, so developers can pick up work with full context.
What it is: A client portal with a built-in AI account manager that briefs requests, chases clients and gets work signed off.
Strengths
- Dora, the AI account manager, turns vague requests into clear briefs and asks clients only for what's missing
- Follows up with quiet clients and collects approvals in one click, with optional auto-approve
- Clients can send requests and replies by email or through their own AI agent, so they don't have to learn a new tool
- Sets up from your website in minutes
- Unlimited team seats; you pay only per client
- Monthly allowances, estimates for extra work, weekly client summaries and a delivery record
- 46 built-in integrations plus any MCP Registry server, an MCP server and API, including Slack, Linear, Jira, ClickUp and Notion
Limitations
- No client invoicing or payments built in; use your existing billing tool
- Full custom-domain white label is set up on request rather than self-serve
- Newer than most tools on this list
Pricing: First client free (Every feature, free forever), Each additional client $10/mo (Unlimited team seats). Pricing grows per client.
2. Assembly
Best for billing web projects in the portal
Assembly gives web agencies a branded portal with invoicing and contracts.
What it is: A polished branded client portal, formerly Copilot, with billing, forms and an AI app builder.
Strengths
- Clean, modern portal clients find easy to navigate
- Billing, forms and contracts inside the portal
- AI app builder deploys custom apps into the portal
- Free plan for up to 5 active contacts
Limitations
- Plans capped by active client contacts and internal users
- Custom domain and badge removal need Professional ($139/mo)
- Request briefing and client follow-up stay with your team
Pricing: Free free (5 active contacts, 1 internal user), Starter $49/mo (50 active contacts, 1 internal user), Professional $139/mo (500 contacts, 3 internal users (+$39 each), custom domain), Advanced $599/mo (Unlimited contacts, 5 internal users (+$79 each)). Pricing grows by client contacts.
3. SuiteDash
Best all-in-one for web studios on a budget
SuiteDash adds CRM, projects and invoicing to a white-label portal at a flat price.
What it is: An all-in-one white-label business suite with a client portal, CRM, projects, invoicing and marketing.
Strengths
- Flat price with unlimited users, contacts and portals on every plan
- White labeling and a branded app included from the $19 plan
- Very broad: portal, CRM, projects, invoicing and marketing in one tool
Limitations
- A lot to configure; setup takes far longer than lighter portals
- Automations, onboarding and tickets only on Pinnacle ($99/mo)
- AI needs a separate AI subscription or your own provider
Pricing: Start $19/mo (100GB, full white label), Thrive $49/mo (Adds proposals, pipelines, client live chat), Pinnacle $99/mo (Adds automations, onboarding, support tickets). Pricing grows flat.
4. ManyRequests
Best for website maintenance subscriptions
ManyRequests suits agencies selling fixed website maintenance or dev subscriptions.
What it is: A white-label client portal and request queue built for productized design, video and web agencies.
Strengths
- Purpose-built request queue and service catalog for subscriptions
- Custom domain from $39/mo and unlimited clients
- Design and video proofing plus time tracking
Limitations
- Team cost climbs with extra seats until the $799 Scale plan
- Slack, webhooks and API only on Pro and above
- Requests still need clarifying by your team
Pricing: Core $39/mo (2 seats; extra seats $10/mo), Pro $99/mo (5 seats; extra seats $14/mo), Scale $799/mo (Unlimited seats). Pricing grows by plan, with paid extra seats.
5. Agency Handy
Best for packaged web services
Agency Handy offers service catalogs and orders alongside a client portal.
What it is: A client portal and operations tool for agencies covering services, orders, invoicing, CRM and tasks.
Strengths
- Service catalog, orders and invoicing
- Unlimited clients and projects
- 10 users on Team Starter
Limitations
- Custom domain not on Freelancer
- Slack and API only from Team Starter
- No free plan
Pricing: Freelancer $29/mo (1 user), Team Starter $99/mo (10 users, custom domain), Business Pro $199/mo (30 users). Pricing grows by plan.
Side-by-side comparison
| Tool | Starting price | Pricing grows | Free plan | Unlimited seats | Integrations | White label | AI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dora | Free, then $10/client/mo | per client | Yes | Yes | 46 + thousands via MCP | Your logo and name; full white label on request | AI account manager on every plan |
| Assembly | Free, then $49/mo | by client contacts | Yes | No | 2 | Branding on all plans; custom domain from Professional | AI app builder for custom portal apps |
| SuiteDash | $19/mo | flat | 14-day trial | Yes | 20 | Full white label and custom domain on every plan | AI Skills, with a separate AI subscription or your own provider |
| ManyRequests | $39/mo | by plan, with paid extra seats | 14-day trial | No | 12 | Custom domain on every plan; badge removal on Scale | MCP server, AI rewrite and agent recipes via your own AI subscription |
| Agency Handy | $29/mo | by plan | 7-day trial | No | 3 | Branding on all plans; custom domain from Team Starter | AI credits per plan |
What to look for
Use the bug reports clients already make
Some clients will never fill in a form. Others already capture bugs with a browser tool. Check whether the portal can read what's in those tools instead of asking the client to retype it.
Dora can read bug reports clients send with Jam and check errors on clients' sites and apps in Sentry. When a teammate tags those apps in a request, the details land next to the brief, so the developer sees the report and the client's words in one place.
Answer 'is it live yet?' without opening five dashboards
A large share of web support is status: is the fix deployed, did the page update, is the DNS change done? If someone has to open the CMS or hosting dashboard to answer, the reply waits.
Dora can check Webflow, Framer, WordPress.com and Wix sites, Netlify deploys, Cloudflare domains and DNS, and content in Sanity or Contentful. A teammate asks in the request, and she answers from the source.
Hand work to developers with the full thread
Developers lose time when a ticket lands in Linear or Jira without the client's context. Look for a clean handoff, and a way to report progress back without copying updates by hand.
Your team can ask Dora where a Linear or Jira issue stands and pull the answer into the request, without switching tools. Through Dora's MCP server, Claude Code or Codex can take a request with its brief, look up the brand library, do the work and submit it back for the client to approve. For your own scripts, ManyRequests offers an API on Pro, Agency Handy on Team Starter, and Assembly on Professional.
Separate care-plan fixes from new projects
Retainer clients mix small fixes with requests that are really new projects. Without a clear line, the new project gets done as a fix and never billed.
Dora tracks each client's monthly allowance and sends an estimate for anything outside it, which the client approves before work starts. ManyRequests suits fixed maintenance plans sold through a service catalog. Assembly and Agency Handy keep invoices in the portal, so the quote and the bill sit together.
Work for the founder and the in-house developer alike
Web clients range from a founder who writes 'the site looks weird' to an in-house developer who sends a stack trace. The portal should work for both without separate channels.
Dora takes requests in the portal, by email or through the client's own AI agent, briefs them with a clear title and what's still missing, and keeps every reply on the request. Clients sign in from a link without a password, which matters for the care-plan client who files one request every few months and never remembers a login.
What it costs
Assume a 5-person web studio with 12 care-plan or retainer clients, billed monthly. Dora is $110, with every integration and MCP access included. ManyRequests is $69 on Core (2 seats plus three at $10), but Slack, webhooks and the API need Pro at $99. Agency Handy's Team Starter is $99 with a custom domain, Slack and API. SuiteDash is $19 to $99, with support tickets on Pinnacle. Paying yearly drops ManyRequests to $51 on Core (with three extra seats at $8) and $69 on Pro.
Assembly's API and custom domain start on Professional at $139, which includes 3 internal users; two more at $39 each brings the studio to $217. Dora has no invoicing, so add the cost of a billing tool if you don't already have one. Most web studios do.
How to choose
- Clients report issues vaguely and developers lose time to back-and-forth before they can startDora
- You want to invoice web projects and collect payment in the same portalAssembly
- You want CRM, projects, support tickets and invoicing at one flat priceSuiteDash
- You sell fixed website maintenance plans and want time tracking per requestManyRequests
- You sell packaged web services through a catalog with orders and invoicesAgency Handy
Common mistakes
- Asking clients to log bugs in your issue tracker. They won't, and you'll get screenshots by text message instead.
- Letting retainer clients file new projects as fixes. Quote anything outside the allowance before work starts.
- Choosing a portal that can't see your stack. If it can't read the tracker or the site, someone answers status questions by hand.
- Asking for approval without a link to the exact version. Put the preview link on the request so the client signs off on the right build.
How we compared
- Request intake: How complete a request is before your team sees it.
- Retainers: Allowances, estimates and usage visibility.
- Dev workflow: Integrations with issue trackers and AI coding tools.
- Client experience: How easy reporting an issue is for the client.
Rankings weight what decides whether a portal works day to day: the client's experience, how much follow-up it takes off the team, and how pricing behaves as you grow. Feature counts come last. Read the full method.
The verdict
Choose Dora if vague change requests slow your developers down: it fixes intake and keeps retainers visible. Choose ManyRequests for a fixed maintenance subscription.
Frequently asked questions
What's the best client portal for web agencies?
Dora is our top pick for web agencies, because it turns change requests and bug reports into usable briefs, tracks retainer allowances and connects to developer tools. ManyRequests is the better fit for fixed website maintenance subscriptions with time tracking. Assembly suits studios that want to invoice web projects inside the portal.
How should clients report website bugs?
One request per issue, with the page, the device and a screenshot or short recording. In Dora, a Bug request type has its own checklist, so Dora asks for the page and a screenshot when they're missing. Clients can attach files up to 100 MB each, so short screen recordings fit, and attachments on an emailed request come in with it.
Can a client portal track retainer hours?
Dora tracks monthly request allowances rather than hours, and estimates for extra work can be quoted in money or hours for the client to approve. If you bill retainers by the hour from the portal, ManyRequests includes time tracking. Dora doesn't list a time tracker, so keep the one you use and link it from the request if clients need to see hours.
Can Claude Code or Codex work on a client request?
With Dora, yes. Connect Claude Code over MCP and use the work_on_request prompt with a request's link: it reads the brief, the thread, the client's files and rules, and similar delivered work, then submits the result with a note and a preview link. It acts as you, and because handing over emails the client, it asks you before submitting.
Do clients need access to our GitHub or issue tracker?
No, and they shouldn't. Dora's clients only use their portal or email, and never see your repositories, branches or tools, just the request, the conversation and the preview link. Dora doesn't connect to your code; your AI coding tools work in your repository and report back to Dora.
Can we run website care plans in a client portal?
Yes. In Dora, recurring requests open on a schedule, like a monthly update check or a quarterly speed review, each with its own due date and the same assignee. Write what the care plan covers on the client's portal, where they see it as What's included, and set a monthly allowance alongside it.
How do clients sign off on a website change?
From a preview link on the request. In Dora, your developer hands over the work with a note and the link, and the client sees Open preview, Approve and Request changes buttons. If auto-approval is on, the card shows the date it approves itself; the default wait is 7 days, and an admin can set it from 1 to 60 days or turn it off.
Can clients see the status of a fix?
Yes. Dora shows each request in plain stages: Received, Up next, In progress, Waiting on you, Ready for review and Done. Several changes within a couple of minutes reach the client as one email, and a teammate can tag Linear or Jira on the request to pull in where the issue stands.
Why is Dora the top pick?
Dora is our top pick because web agencies lose the most time at intake, and Dora makes every request complete before it reaches a developer. Retainers stay visible through allowances and estimates, and AI coding tools can pick up work with the full brief. You'll still need a separate invoicing tool.
Related guides
Prices and features come from each vendor's own site, checked November 8, 2026. They change often, so confirm on the vendor's site before you buy.