Both the Form and Portal extensions can perform similar functions. They both allow users to log in and see/update their data. The main difference is how the data is displayed on the screen.
There is a lot of overlap in the features available in both extensions. You can use either one in most use cases. But here are the main differences:
| Portal | Form |
Default view | Multiple records | Single record |
User-friendliness | Average | Simple |
Note that almost the entire form extension is built within the portal.
Portal
In the portal, you can display the data as a list of records (or grid/gallery). It makes more sense to use the Portal extension if your average user is going to edit/create records across multiple tables or when you want to present them with all records related to them in one view, e.g. all invoices for a certain client.
Form
In the form, the data is displayed on a long vertical card. Classic use cases include signup forms, payment information forms and many more. Because you can add a login page to the form, the user can look up a record (e.g. themself, a product, etc.). You can also allow users to see records from multiple tables by including in your form linked records fields (displayed as a list). This allows users to add/edit multiple records that are linked to them.
