FileMaker licences: what does your application really cost you each year?

Ask a business owner what their FileMaker application costs them and they will almost always quote the Claris invoice. It is the most visible figure, but rarely the only one. On top of it come the server, its hosting, the developer who keeps the database evolving, and everything that never shows up on an invoice.

In this article, we go through Claris's current plans, work out the full annual cost for 10, 25 and 50 users, then compare it with the running cost of a custom-built SaaS application.

In short

• FileMaker licences cost $17.50 to $45 per user per month depending on the plan, billed annually, with a 5-user minimum.
• All in (licences, server, maintenance), a FileMaker application costs roughly €9k a year for 10 users, €15k to €18k for 25 and €25k to €33k for 50.
• A custom SaaS costs €2k to €7k a year to run for the same sizes, after an upfront investment that usually pays for itself in under two years beyond 20 users.

Claris FileMaker plans in 2026

Claris now sells FileMaker as annual subscriptions, per user. There are two families of plans: FileMaker Server, which you host yourself (on your own machine or with a hosting provider), and FileMaker Cloud, hosted by Claris. Each comes in two tiers, Starter and Max. Here are the prices published by Claris at the time of writing (FileMaker Cloud plans, FileMaker Server plans):

Plan	Published price	Per year, approx.	Users
FileMaker Server Starter	$17.50/user/month	€185	5 to 99
FileMaker Server Max	$22/user/month	€230	5 to 99
FileMaker Cloud Starter	$22/user/month	€230	5 to 10
FileMaker Cloud Max	$45/user/month	€470	5 to 99

Prices exclude VAT and are billed annually; indicative conversion at $1 ≈ €0.87. Above 99 users, pricing is negotiated with Claris.

A few things to know before choosing:

• FileMaker Cloud Starter is capped at 10 users and 3 apps, with no option to increase storage or server capacity. As soon as the team grows, moving to Max doubles the price per user.
• Max plans mainly add Claris Connect flows (50 instead of 5) to automate exchanges with other software and, for FileMaker Cloud, more apps, storage and computing power.
• Server plans are cheaper per user but do not include the machine that runs the database: you have to provide and maintain the server, or hand it over to a hosting provider.
• Every person who logs in counts, including occasional users. That is what makes opening the database to customers or partners expensive.

Plan prices and contents change regularly: check them on the Claris website before setting a budget.

What the licence does not cover

The Claris invoice is only part of the cost. Three more items almost always come on top.

The server and its hosting. With FileMaker Server, you need a dedicated machine or a virtual server, plus backups, monitoring and updates. With a specialist FileMaker host, expect roughly €200 to €400 a month depending on capacity and number of users. With FileMaker Cloud, this is included in the licence, which partly explains its price.

Maintenance and changes. A FileMaker database is a living thing: new fields, new reports, fixes, adapting to new versions. Whether it is a freelance FileMaker developer or an employee spending part of their time on it, this usually adds up to several days a year, and more for an application used across the whole company.

Hidden costs. Time lost re-keying data and exporting files by hand, access you hold back to save a licence, features you never build because nobody has the skills. They are hard to put a figure on, but very real.

The numbers for 10, 25 and 50 users

Let's take a typical business application (quotes, orders, customer follow-up) on the Max plan, in both versions: FileMaker Server with a hosting provider, or FileMaker Cloud.

Annual cost excl. VAT	10 users	25 users	50 users
Server Max licences	€2.3k	€5.8k	€11.5k
Server hosting	€2.4k	€3k	€4.8k
Maintenance	€4k	€6k	€9k
Total FileMaker Server	€8.7k	€14.8k	€25.3k
Cloud Max licences (hosting included)	€4.7k	€11.8k	€23.5k
Maintenance	€4k	€6k	€9k
Total FileMaker Cloud	€8.7k	€17.8k	€32.5k

Per user, a FileMaker application therefore costs €500 to €870 per person per year, all in. At 10 users, the Cloud Starter plan brings the bill down to around €6.3k a year, provided you stay within its limits.

What about a custom SaaS?

A custom-built web application has no per-user licence. Once the project is delivered, two items remain: hosting, on a European server, and maintenance (security updates, backups, fixes), usually 10 to 15% of the project cost per year.

Annual cost excl. VAT	10 users	25 users	50 users
Initial project (one-off)	€12k	€20k	€35k
Hosting	€0.6k	€1k	€2.4k
Maintenance	€1.5k	€2.5k	€4.5k
Running cost per year	≈ €2k	≈ €3.5k	≈ €7k

Project amounts are orders of magnitude for a business application; they depend far more on how complex your database is than on the number of users. Our article how much does a FileMaker to web migration cost? explains what makes them vary.

Over 5 years, the gap widens

Running a SaaS costs three to five times less each year, but the project has to be paid for first. So the real question is: how long before the migration pays for itself?

With 25 users, the migration pays for itself in 17 to 21 months, depending on your current FileMaker setup. Over 5 years, the savings reach €36k to €51k. At 50 users, a €35k project pays for itself in 16 to 23 months, after which you save more than €18k a year.

Conversely, let's be honest: with 10 users or fewer, the payback period is longer, from 18 months on the Max plan to nearly 3 years on Cloud Starter, and longer still for a team of 5. In that case it is not the licences that justify the project but the other benefits: mobility, integrations, customer access, independence. Our article on the 7 signs it's time to migrate helps you weigh them up.

Cutting your bill right now

Whether or not you migrate, a few simple steps often reduce what you pay:

• Count your actual users. Accounts belonging to former staff or people who never log in any more are common.
• Check your plan. If you do not use Claris Connect, you may not need the Max plan.
• Compare Cloud and Server. Beyond ten or so users, FileMaker Server with a hosting provider generally works out cheaper than FileMaker Cloud.
• Plan ahead of renewal. A migration takes a few months to prepare: the run-up to your annual renewal is the right time to ask the question.

In summary

The real cost of a FileMaker application is not just the licence: it is the licence, plus the server, plus maintenance, every year. For 25 users, that comes to €15k to €18k a year, compared with around €3.5k to run a custom SaaS. To find out whether FileMaker might still be the right choice for you, read our honest comparison of FileMaker and a web application.

Want the figure for your own business? Our free audit of your FileMaker application includes a calculation of your current cost, a quote for the migration and the date by which it would pay for itself. Discover our FileMaker migration service or tell us about your project.