Comparison
Sideline vs. Wayfront (SPP)
Wayfront, formerly Service Provider Pro, is the premium veteran of the agency-portal category. The question is whether you need its billing machine or just the request half.
Wayfront is billing-first
"For agencies selling services, not hours": orders, checkout forms, subscriptions, CRM, and a white-label portal from the first tier, with zero transaction fees on top of Stripe. Base runs $129/mo ($99 annual) with 5 seats and 1TB storage. If you sell productized packages like products, this is the established machine for the job.
Sideline is request-first
One calm queue for retainer and ongoing work, intake, triage, portal, collaboration, time tracking, reports, at $49/mo flat for the same 5 seats. Wayfront is built around the order; Sideline is built around the ongoing relationship.
| Feature | Sideline | Wayfront (SPP) |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $49/mo flat, 5 seats | $129/mo ($99 annual), 5 seats |
| Unlimited clients | Yes | Yes |
| Intake / order forms | Custom intake forms | Form builder with rules |
| Request views | List, board, calendar | Order-centric; task-level project management |
| Time tracking | Built in, all plans: a per-person timer that follows you across devices, filterable reports, CSV export | Yes, all plans |
| AI connector (Claude / ChatGPT / MCP) | Included on every plan, one-click OAuth, per-user scoped | AI assistant + MCP connections |
| AI | Polish + Write-for-me, included | AI assistant for querying data; MCP connections |
| Flexible staffing without seats | Specialists sign in with their own email; personal contact details stay private | Team accounts, standard |
| Checkout, subscriptions & invoicing | Not yet, retainer billing is next on the roadmap | Core strength; no platform transaction fees |
| CRM | No, your CRM keeps that job | Included from Base |
| White-label / custom domain | In development; included in the $49 plan when it ships | Included from Base |
| File storage | 500GB (+$19/mo per 500GB) | 1TB Base, 5TB Pro |
| API access | Not yet | Add-on at +$300/mo (Pro), included on Plus |
| Free trial | 14 days, no card | 14 days, no card |
| Hide your client list & team roster from staff | Agency setting per page: client list, team roster, reports. Client list hidden by default | Members can be limited to assigned orders; hiding the client list or roster not documented |
| Queue ranks itself, with reasons | Smart Focus ranks each person's queue and says why in plain language | Not offered; their AI does search and sentiment, not ranking |
| AI suggests field updates from the thread | Suggests status, due date, and priority from the conversation; you accept or ignore | AI can update records when you ask it to, not proactively from the thread |
| Client-set priority order | Drag in the list or on the board; the order is shared, so clients can set your priorities | Not documented |
Wayfront details from wayfront.com and their knowledge base, verified July 26, 2026, check their site for current numbers. Spot an error? hello@sideline.io and we'll fix it.
Our honest take
If your agency sells productized packages, fixed-scope SEO, content, design sprints, and you want checkout pages, subscriptions, and invoices in the same tool as delivery, Wayfront is the category veteran and genuinely good at that. Its white-label portal from the first tier is a real advantage too.
But if your work is retainers and ongoing requests rather than discrete orders, you'd be paying $99 to $129 a month for a billing machine you don't run, while the things a retainer team leans on daily (time tracking against the work, board and calendar views of the queue) aren't there at any price.
Buy Wayfront for how you sell. Buy Sideline for how you work. The unlucky agencies are the ones that buy for the demo.
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