Kitchen.co

Kitchen.co is a client portal that brings project coordination, conversations, files, and billing together for service businesses. It suits teams that want clients involved in tracking and discussing ongoing work. Its breadth is useful, but the Free plan’s two-user ceiling makes it a limited long-term option for growing teams.

Overview

Kitchen.co gives agencies and other service businesses a shared place to handle client requests, assign tasks, post updates, exchange files, and manage invoices. That makes it a stronger fit for client-facing operations than for teams seeking an internal-only project tracker. The company says the product grew out of 2create.io and draws on its founders’ 15 years of agency experience.

Key features

Projects and communication

Shared Kanban boards let clients and teams assign work, report status, and post updates in real time. Conversations cover both internal messages and client discussions, while replies from clients by email sync with Kitchen.co. This keeps project communication close to the work, which is useful when clients need an active role in delivery.

Files and billing

Users can organize and preview files, and message attachments can reach 1 GB. The plan caps still matter: Free allows 500 MB per file, while Agency White-label raises that to 5 GB. Invoicing supports one-time and recurring charges, automatic payments, and gateways including Stripe, Square, PayPal, Razorpay, and 2checkout. Accounting connections include FreshBooks, FreeAgent, QuickBooks, and Xero, alongside Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Zapier, email forwarding, and custom SMTP.

Branding and security

Agency White-label adds advanced branding, unbranded emails, a custom domain, and a custom email domain, useful for firms that want the portal to feel like their own service environment. Kitchen.co says connections use 256-bit SSL, it is Level 1 PCI compliant, and it does not store card numbers or payment tokens.

Pricing

The 14-day trial includes all features, permits any number of team members, and requires no credit card. That gives a team room to assess the full product before choosing a plan.

• Free — free, free forever: Up to two internal users, unlimited clients and projects, 2 GB storage, and a 500 MB per-file limit. It is a useful starting point for a solo operator and one collaborator, but the seat cap rules it out for larger teams.
• Agency White-label — $29 a month per internal user, billed monthly: Includes 500 GB storage with a 5 GB per-file limit, unlimited clients and projects, file feedback and approvals, recurring invoices, custom roles and permissions, advanced branding, and a custom domain. It suits firms that need more seats, larger files, and a branded client experience; per-user monthly billing means costs rise with the internal team.
• Additional storage — $30 a month: Adds 1 terabyte shared across all account users for a flat monthly fee. It addresses storage needs without being priced per user.
• Lifetime — $599, paid once: One payment includes unlimited internal users, 500 GB storage with a 5 GB per-file limit, unlimited clients and projects, and all Agency White-label features. It may suit a team that prefers a single upfront charge to monthly per-user billing.

Platforms

Kitchen.co is available on Android, iOS, and the web, giving teams and clients access across mobile and browser use.

Who it's for

Creative agencies, accounting and bookkeeping firms, freelancers, and law firms are among the service businesses Kitchen.co is built for. It is most compelling when client requests, work updates, conversations, files, and invoices need to meet in one shared portal. Firms that only need private task tracking may not benefit as much from the client-facing workflow.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Shared boards, client conversations, file exchange, and invoicing sit in one portal, giving client-facing teams a connected workflow.
• Pros: Unlimited clients and projects on Free make the two-user plan viable for a small practice with limited internal staffing.
• Pros: White-label branding, custom roles, recurring invoices, and larger file limits give the paid plan room for established agencies’ client operations.
• Cons: Free storage is 2 GB and files are capped at 500 MB each, which can constrain teams working with large deliverables.
• Cons: Agency White-label is billed per internal user each month, so its cost scales with staffing.

Alternatives

Compare customer portal software if you want to explore the category more broadly.

• FuseBase is another freemium option, with a free tier built around one client portal and one workspace; consider it if that smaller portal-and-workspace setup fits.
• Assembly has a free plan for one internal user and five active contacts, making it an option for a very small legal client workflow.
• Dock offers a free plan with ten workspaces and limited assets across several content types; consider it if those workspace and content caps suit your needs.
• OnBrio is a freemium alternative with web and API platforms and no free trial.
• ProjectSend is a free, self-hosted option with no caps on users, clients, files, or storage.
• SuperOkay has a free plan limited to one client, contact, and project with 0.5 GB storage.
• Tarkle Portal offers a free plan with one team member, 5 GB storage, and files up to 1 GB.
• Xpand Portal offers a 30-day free plan for ten users and a Starter plan at €399 a month with a one-year minimum commitment.

Verdict

Choose Kitchen.co when client collaboration, project coordination, files, and billing need to share one branded workspace. Its all-in-one client workflow is the strongest reason to pick it; the two-user free ceiling and monthly per-user paid pricing are the reasons to look elsewhere if your team is larger or wants costs that do not grow with headcount.