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Claris FileMaker vs. Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Claris FileMaker

    Score7 out of 10
    N/AClaris' FileMaker is presented as a Workplace Innovation Platform, and is used to create a custom app. Manual processes can be automated with Claris FileMaker Pro, and apps can be created to manage contacts, track inventory, organize projects, etc.

    $21

    per month per user

    Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)

    Score8.6 out of 10
    N/AMicrosoft Office 2016 is the familiar suite of Office products including applications such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for use on a single PC or Mac. The 2016 is no longer available for sale from Microsoft, and support is at an end since 2020.N/A
    Pricing
    Claris FileMakerMicrosoft Office 2016 (discontinued)
    Editions & Modules
    Platform Subscription
    $21
    per month per user
    Individual desktop license
    $594
    one-time fee
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Claris FileMakerMicrosoft Office 2016 (discontinued)
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Claris FileMakerMicrosoft Office 2016 (discontinued)
    Considered Both Products
    Claris
    Chose Claris FileMaker
    Since we had implemented FileMaker Pro early on with the company, I have not used any other database software on a regular basis. Some others have used Zoho Creator with success, but since the cross-platform and program functionality of FileMaker is well established we have …
    Incentivized
    Chose Claris FileMaker
    Filemaker Pro continues to develop recognizing the needs of their users. It's very intuitive and supports many imports with little or no adjustments to the data. The other databases leave no room for adjustments. (Golf reference) I liken it to a driver that has little or no …
    Incentivized
    Discontinued Products
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    93%
    Would buy again
    13 Answers
    93%
    Would buy again
    50 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    83%
    Delivers good value for the price
    10 Answers
    94%
    Delivers good value for the price
    47 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    86%
    Happy with the feature set
    12 Answers
    96%
    Happy with the feature set
    52 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    89%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    8 Answers
    98%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    40 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    11 Answers
    98%
    Implementation went as expected
    41 Answers
    Features
    Claris FileMakerMicrosoft Office 2016 (discontinued)
    Low-Code Development
    Comparison of Low-Code Development features of Claris FileMaker and Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)
    Feature
    Claris FileMaker
    7.9
    4 Ratings
    6% below category average
    Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)
    -
    Ratings
    Visual Modeling8.44 Ratings00 Ratings
    Drag-and-drop Interfaces3.73 Ratings00 Ratings
    Platform Security9.83 Ratings00 Ratings
    Platform User Management7.64 Ratings00 Ratings
    Reusability8.64 Ratings00 Ratings
    Platform Scalability9.64 Ratings00 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Claris FileMakerMicrosoft Office 2016 (discontinued)
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    Zoho Creator
    Score7.7 out of 10
    Google Workspace
    Score9.1 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    AppSheet
    Score8.2 out of 10
    Google Workspace
    Score9.1 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Oracle APEX
    Score9.1 out of 10
    Microsoft 365 Business Premium
    Score9 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Claris FileMakerMicrosoft Office 2016 (discontinued)
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.0
    (51 ratings)
    7.5
    (64 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    5.0
    (7 ratings)
    5.0
    (3 ratings)
    Usability
    8.8
    (8 ratings)
    7.0
    (3 ratings)
    Availability
    8.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    5.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    1.0
    (6 ratings)
    8.0
    (45 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    5.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Configurability
    5.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    5.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    5.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Claris FileMakerMicrosoft Office 2016 (discontinued)
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Claris
    If your company is really small, I can understand the need for a product like this. However, I would go for MS Access... FileMaker Pro can not be integrated with other systems (like MS Access can at least be handled by C# for instance, and can be integrated with MS Excel or even SQL server). I'm really not sure in what scenario one would choose for FileMaker Pro. If your application or company grows bigger, you're going to have a problem to move to another environment. Also, the fact that only one person can work with the backend at any given time is a problem in a somewhat larger company.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    I'd recommend [Microsoft] Office2016 for any business that has more than a couple of users, as the software is very scalable from just a small business to a large enterprise corporation. I don't know of any case where it might not be appropriate, as even home users and students use the software suite as well.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Claris
    • The relational database management system makes the program highly customizable to fit the needs of any product. You can add a ton of information to each record and update your inventory on a regular basis with an Excel import or manually inside of the record. It has the capability to incorporate barcoding, which can manage your available inventory with ease.
    • The scripting language allows FileMaker to automatically calculate complex algorithms automatically or generate report outs with the click of a button. This allows for greater UI, especially with active users who are not familiar with writing code. Almost all of our internal data is linked to the FileMaker database
    • The server license allows many users to update the database in real time, which is handy if your inventory is constantly changing. We have users with Macs, PCs, iPhones and handheld tablets linked to our FileMaker database and they are updating the information constantly throughout the day.
    • If you invest some time into formatting and scripting the database, there is a high ease of use for users without knowledge of any programming or FileMaker itself.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    • Data manipulation. Excel takes the raw data we receive and allows us to digest it in ways that are useful to our business processes.
    • Communication. Outlook serves as our primary means of communication and setting up appointments.
    • Documentation. Word is the default standard when it comes to using a word processor and we are no different in this regard. Nearly every user has to use the application on a regular basis in order to accomplish their work.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Claris
    • Developer features need to be beefed up - namely adding the ability to search code for a phrase or keyword and the ability to do the same in the "relationship graph" in the database.
    • Add ability for users to edit the same table record at the same time by version control.
    • Allow Filemaker Server to use more than 1 core; currently multi-processing is not supported and it can be tricky to find just the right server to support the application you've built to the fullest capacity.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    • Office 2016 professional edition can be priced for a single user license, it would be nice to see a drop in the pricing.
    • Office 2016 home edition is a better price but does not include outlook 2016, so it is not a good fit for the workplace environments.
    • Office 2016 can run slowly on older systems, so you need to make sure you have a machine that is 4 years old or less for it to run smoothly.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Claris
    It it not really up to me but my opinion does have some weight in the decision and the reason I would renew my use FileMaker Pro 8.5 is because I am finally getting used to it! Now that I have been working with the program, tasks have become quicker and projects are getting done faster. File Maker Pro 8.5 really is a versatile tool and I think we are just scratching the surface with it's abilities.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    We believe that office 2016 offers the best value when it comes to features included out of the box. The software is used in its entirety by our organization and is easily supported by our staff of IT technicians. Users find this software to be easy to learn and easy to use with minimal learning curve.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Claris
    It's almost what it should be after so may years and with Apple's longevity and strength behind it. For people who earn their living based on efficiency I think there are too many developer obstacles that waste time and therefore money.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    It's fairly easy to use, but the automatic formatting or capturing of formatting when pasting is wonky - especially when there are outlines or other bullets/numbered lists. Fixing and sizing up tables can be annoying, and there are sometimes formatting issues that we just absolutely cannot fix for some reason
    Incentivized
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    Reliability and Availability
    Claris
    mostly never issues and if there are they are resolved fast
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    No answers on this topic
    Performance
    Claris
    for the most part but lots of error messages if you type something h correctly
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    Claris
    The forums are great with lots of helpful experts and the staff monitor them to provide help where needed. There have been a couple of unique technical issues I've had to deal with that I haven't been able to get resolved so I chose to score this a 9 instead of a 10.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    I am an MS feedback hub participant and they certainly don't pay enough attention to several bugs several people raise it in the portal. For the enterprise, it seems to me based on my prior experience that yes, they have a dedicated team to support operations. For mid to small companies or single users, it has been a struggle. So, you are pretty much with MS Blogs and others.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    In-Person Training
    Claris
    easy to follow along and was able to jump in right away
    Incentivized
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    Discontinued Products
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation Rating
    Claris
    Suggest you use an iterative R.A.D. or AGILE development approach. (i.e. rather than writing a gigantic spec for a system, then building it). FileMaker facilitates quick prototypes. Developing an example, then allowing users to "try it out" is a snap.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    Claris
    FileMaker is still the quickest way to go from zero to having a minimum viable working solution. Simple solutions can be built in as little as a afternoon of development. It is the only tool I am aware of which allows tech savy end users with domain knowledge to build bespoke apps for their businesses without undertaking professional software development training.
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    We use Microsoft Office 2016 because at the time it was the best tool for us, but now with full attention to cloud products, we may be thinking of migrating our solution to a cloud service.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scalability
    Claris
    it's most definitely does as we are a unique business to use this for scholarship awarding
    Incentivized
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    Discontinued Products
    No answers on this topic
    Return on Investment
    Claris
    • We are a more agile company because of FileMaker. A few of us who are tech-savvy enough to manage the database (but are not professional developers) can make needed adjustments to our database without having to employ an in-house developer or contract with a 3rd party. As our business processes evolve and change, it's easy to update the database to accommodate those changes.
    Incentivized
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    Discontinued Products
    • Microsoft Office 2016 saves me a lot of time daily. I have functions and macros set up that calculate and show me a lot of things just from a couple of my inputs. This would take full days sometimes if not for that.
    • Apart from time, it saves me money, I manage data in Excel, I don't have to buy software specifically for that.
    • Sooner or later my company will have to switch to new edition, which will hurt revenues because of a subscription model.
    Incentivized
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