A brief introduction to Airtable
Airtable is one of the most well-known table-based no-code platforms out there, blending the simplicity and familiarity of spreadsheets with the power, reliability, and flexibility of a relational database. It’s especially appealing to small to medium-sized businesses, creative teams, agencies, non-profits, startups, and non-technical users who need to organize and manage data across their operations without the headache of coding or dealing with the complexity of a full-scale database system.
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At its core, Airtable is a spreadsheet-database hybrid, which is why you might hear people refer to it as “spreadsheets on steroids.” But Airtable is more than that. It lets you connect data across tables (something Google Sheets doesn’t do very well with its flat structure), supports a wide range of data types, and offers multiple views such as Kanban boards and Gantt charts, allowing you to visualize your data in ways that Google Sheets simply can’t.
You also have access to customizable forms for data collection, a solid set of internal automation features, and integrations with third-party tools—things you’d normally need coding skills for, or that Google Sheets just doesn’t offer (at least not easily). In fact, Google Sheets often requires complex scripting to do half of what Airtable provides out of the box.
While Airtable is great for small businesses and non-technical users looking to organize their data, it does come with some key limitations, particularly for businesses working with larger datasets, those needing more customization than what’s built-in, or those looking to collaborate across teams and clients without breaking the bank.
Specific limitations typically include (and we’ll discuss these in more depth):
- Expensive pricing structure for larger teams and ‘lite’ users
- Cloud-only hosting model
- Low, tiered limits for database records (max 500,000 records per base on top plans)
- Poor support for governance or compliance regulations
- Vendor lock-in reduces data portability
- Slowed performance in high-complexity infrastructures
Compared to other no-code tools like Glide, SmartSuite, Asana, Budibase, and ClickUp, Airtable is likely the easiest to pick up, especially if you’re looking for something more powerful than Google Sheets, but not as complex as a full-fledged database. It’s a great tool for building project management tools, internal tools for smaller teams and agencies, asset management, business dashboards, and personal task management systems.
But the question remains - why is Airtable still so popular despite the pricing concerns and scalability limitations? Let’s dig deeper and find out.
Key features and limitations
Airtable has a wide variety of features, ranging from basic spreadsheet-like tables to more complex web apps, but how do they size up to your needs?
Airtable Tables - core data storage features
Nevertheless, each pricing tier has relatively low record limits, so larger datasets might not be suitable for the platform. Airtable’s closed-source, cloud-only setup limits data storage customization and self-hosting, making it unsuitable for businesses with strict compliance needs. Its vendor lock-in also creates significant switching costs for users.
The detail: Airtable’s real strength is in its Tables (databases). They look like spreadsheets, so non-technical users can dive in quickly, especially if they’re already familiar with tools like Google Sheets. But Airtable takes things much further than a typical spreadsheet. It offers a wide range of predefined field types—everything from text, numbers, and checkboxes to more advanced options like buttons, ratings, formulas, barcodes, and auto-numbering - the latter list being unavailable in standard spreadsheets.
These preconfigured options allow users to build systems efficiently, without getting bogged down in complex formulas right from the start. Everything is clearly labeled in layman's terms, making it easy for just about anyone to get their database up and running in no time.
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Airtable’s formula designer is decent, offering a solid set of functions and even a bit of basic AI assistance for simple expressions (though it’s not yet that effective or reliable). If you’re new to formulas, though, Airtable’s lack of a built-in functions list in the editor can be frustrating—you’ll need to sift through their documentation just to see what’s possible.
Once you know what you’re looking for, the editor does offer some helpful basics like syntax suggestions, color-coding, and autocomplete for parentheses. But as soon as you get into more complex formulas, things can feel clunky, especially for more technical users. The narrow interface makes working with long, intricate formulas a headache, and some functions just don’t behave as expected compared to traditional coding environments.
While tools like ChatGPT can help generate formulas, Airtable’s specific syntax often requires more manual tweaking than something like Google Sheets (which has been around longer, and hence, documented in more detail). Still, Airtable’s functions tend to be more powerful than those in Google Sheets, despite these challenges.
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Nevertheless, as a database Airtable does have its limits. Literally. There’s a hard limit of 500,000 records per Base (app) on the Enterprise plan, with much lower limits on other tiers, making data scalability one of Airtable’s biggest weaknesses. Despite the recent push toward enterprise features (and the price hikes that came with it), the platform still starts to show performance issues long before you reach that 500,000-record ceiling. In fact, Airtable can slow down noticeably at around 100,000 records per base, which can be a major drawback..
As a closed-source, no-code platform, Airtable also offers limited flexibility when it comes to data storage, design, and customization. With no support for self-hosting, businesses with strict data governance, compliance, and security requirements will find Airtable insufficient. Its proprietary, cloud-only nature means you don’t have control over where or how your data is stored, which can be a dealbreaker for industries that require stringent security measures.
Additionally, Airtable’s vendor lock-in creates significant switching costs for users who want to transition away. Once your data and workflows are deeply embedded within Airtable’s ecosystem, the effort and expense required to move to another platform can be daunting, making it hard for teams and businesses to regain control of their data and systems.
Upgraded database options: visualization, calculations and more
The detail: For data visualization, Airtable provides several view options beyond the table, including Kanban, Gantt, and gallery views (though some of these are limited to paid plans). This flexibility makes it easier to tailor how you interact with your data and typically helps users surface more useful data than a table view alone. Additionally, you can color-code records based on conditions, which helps quickly distinguish between key data points.
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Airtable’s linked records and calculations take data management far beyond what a traditional spreadsheet can offer. By linking records across tables, you can create dynamic, relational databases that handle more complex workflows like managing a sales pipeline, project timelines, or even capacity planning. For example, you could set up tables for clients, projects, and tasks, all of which are connected, and when a task is updated, it would automatically reflect in the overall project timeline. Using calculations and Airtable formulas, you can then extract high-level metrics and insights from your data allowing you to do things like track sales performance, team workload, and progress of your tasks and projects.
With Airtable Sync, you can also push the same data across multiple applications, enabling your teams to work off the same database while focusing solely on their own workflows. For example, your product team and inventory team could share the same Products database, but each team’s app would filter out the noise so they only see what’s relevant to their role. All these features push Airtable far beyond what a spreadsheet could do.
As tables grow more complex, though, especially with linked records, heavy calculations, and automations, performance starts to degrade significantly. Syncing data across bases or integrating with external systems puts even more strain on performance. To minimize these issues, you’ll need to streamline workflows by minimizing unnecessary lookups, rollups, and formula fields tied to linked records, all features you will need a lot of to track things like sales results, capacity planning, project management and similar workflows.
While Airtable is a great solution for managing structured data like tasks, inventory, and client data, it’s not designed for managing content or traditional documentation. The Long Text column type offers some basic rich text editing, but the interface is not well-suited for writing or organizing content. For teams needing to handle both data and documentation, tools like Notion tend to be a better fit.
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Interfaces: build out basic applications on top of your data
Nevertheless, Airtable’s option is still limited in customization options, so while it’s a handy feature for those on the platform already, those specifically seeking an app building solution may be best looking elsewhere for now.
The detail: Airtable’s Interfaces allow you to build custom front-ends on top of your Airtable base, making it easier for different users to interact with your data. Though launched in 2021, Interfaces remain a secondary feature for many users, as Airtable is still primarily a data-driven platform focused on quick and efficient data management in a predominantly tabular format.
It's clear that Airtable is trying to match competitors who offer more full-stack approaches to data management, but so far many users find the Interfaces feature too limited for most use cases.
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While view-only access is free, any user who needs to comment, edit, or interact with the data—whether through Airtable Tables or Interfaces—must have a paid Airtable account. Again, this can make Airtable less appealing for many of the UI use cases like client portals where you want external users to engage with your data without the overhead of buying extra licenses.
Once again, it comes back to pricing with Airtable: at $20 per user, Airtable’s Team plan may seem reasonable if everyone is using the platform and apps daily, but with a limit of 50,000 records, many teams quickly find themselves needing the Business plan at $45 per user. And for team members who only use these apps occasionally, that cost can feel disproportionate. These costs are much higher than similar, web app building platforms with more sophisticated features.
As the complexity of your apps and team structure increases, Airtable’s Interfaces really start to show their limitations in both functionality and customization options. While the simple and intuitive design works well for smaller teams and straightforward workflows, it can become clunky and restrictive when you try to scale. The lack of depth in customizing detailed views can be frustrating, especially when managing larger datasets or more intricate workflows.
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Airtable does offer support for dashboard design and pivot tables, which are great for quick insights into your data. While these features are handy, they aren’t going to replace your more heavy-duty reporting platforms or BI tools anytime soon. Pivot tables are something that Airtable’s competitors often don’t offer at all (aside from spreadsheets, of course), so Airtable earns some points there, even though its functionality is still somewhat limited for users needing more in-depth data analysis.
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Though it does offer support for mobile apps, Airtable’s mobile support leaves a lot to be desired. Its mobile interface is noticeably less intuitive compared to the desktop version, which can be frustrating for teams that need flexibility across devices. There’s also a noticeable difference in support between iOS and Android devices, which only adds to the inconsistency.
By contrast, tools like Glide, which are designed with mobile-first workflows in mind, offer a far better experience for teams needing strong mobile functionality. If you’re looking for a solution that delivers a true app-like experience across both desktop and mobile, Airtable may not meet your expectations.
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In terms of functionality, Airtable’s Interfaces are pretty basic. They feel more like enhanced spreadsheets with decent visualization options, rather than fully developed app-like UIs. If you compare it to other web app building tools, which put a stronger emphasis on UI design, Airtable’s customization options start to feel limited.
For example, you can’t display multiple databases on the same page (such as your sales pipeline kanban view at the top and just below a calendar view of your planned meetings with potential leads) unless you’re building a dashboard, which makes it better suited for data interaction rather than a full-blown workflow design.
As for forms, Airtable’s form feature gets the job done but is fairly barebones. You can use forms as a workaround to let users interact with your data for free, but they can only create new records—there’s no option for editing existing ones. On the plus side, the data flows directly into your database, which is convenient. While you won’t find a ton of customization here, it should be sufficient for most basic needs—conditional logic, required fields, and simple form design are all available, which is similar to what Google Forms can do as well.
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Automation, API, and Scripts
Automation Capabilities
Airtable includes built-in automation tools that are relatively powerful for no-code users. You can set up automations triggered by specific events (e.g. when a record is updated or created), or schedule them to run at specific times. These automations can handle internal workflows or integrate with external apps like Zapier and Make, making it easy to connect Airtable to other services and extend its functionality. Additionally, you can use the standard automation capabilities in combination with Airtable scripts (explained in more detail below).
While the no-code automations are great for beginners, more advanced users might find them somewhat limiting. Airtable lacks complex logic operations and branching conditions, features that platforms like Zapier, Make, Pipedream and similar tools handle well. This can be frustrating for users trying to build more intricate workflows that require conditional logic or advanced automations. Additionally, users have reported performance issues with automations, especially in larger or more complex datasets, where automations might fail to trigger or execute reliably.
Scripts
To compensate for limitations in Airtable’s standard automation capabilities, Airtable's scripting feature allows more technical users to write short JavaScript snippets to manipulate data within Airtable bases. By adding the Scripting app (previously called Scripting Block) to a base, users on Pro and Enterprise plans can gain deeper control over their data operations and perform tasks such as:
- identifying duplicate records
- validating constraints (e.g. ensuring no more than three active tasks per person)
- calculating and writing output values
- automating record creation
- fetching data from external APIs (e.g. currency conversion rates) which allows you to enrich or modify your Airtable base using external sources
The scripting extension supports the JavaScript standard library, however, there are some important limitations. You can’t import external JavaScript libraries, so if you need a complex library, you'll have to find workarounds. While you can manipulate data within the base using scripts, those scripts can’t interact with the interface (often referred to as ‘the DOM’ in coding terms). In other words, you can automate and change the data in your tables, but you can’t use scripts to change the way your Airtable interface looks or behaves. So if you want to tweak how buttons work or rearrange elements on the screen using code, that’s not something Airtable scripts can do. Moreover, interaction with the schema of the base itself (e.g. tables and views) is off-limits to scripting—scripts can’t create new tables or modify existing views. Despite these limitations, the scripting capabilities are still incredibly useful for building custom automations and processes, providing greater control over data management within Airtable.
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Airtable offers example scripts, access to a community forum for additional support, and a selection of pre-built scripts available through the Airtable Marketplace. This opens up the ability to use pre-built scripts, which is especially useful for those who aren’t comfortable writing complex JavaScript from scratch (or don’t know JavaScript at all). Beyond manipulating internal data, you can also use scripts to fetch data from external APIs, allowing you to enrich or modify your Airtable base using external sources.
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Airtable API and Webhooks
When it comes to automation and integrations, Airtable's capabilities stand out, and are relatively advanced for a no-code tool. You can automate essential tasks like adding, reading, updating, and deleting records—commonly referred to as ‘CRUD operations’. For example, you could use the API to automatically send form submissions from your website into Airtable, sync your Airtable data with another app, or extract data to generate reports elsewhere.
But it goes further than that—you can also create new tables, views, and even pull information about your database structure, like what fields and tables exist (though some of these capabilities are only available on the Enterprise plan). It includes a variety of pre-built triggers and actions, making it easy to automate workflows for data input, notifications, or even integrations with external services like Slack, Google Drive, and other third-party platforms.
The API is well-documented and relatively easy to use, making it accessible even for developers new to APIs. You can build integrations, trigger automations, or pull data from Airtable into other platforms. However, the Airtable API does have its limitations. For instance, it enforces a rate limit of five requests per second per base, which might be sufficient for smaller applications but could become restrictive for high-frequency operations, like real-time data processing.
Moreover, Airtable's API is somewhat limited in terms of query complexity; more advanced filtering, sorting, or aggregations often require external processing, which can become inefficient in data-heavy use cases (and is relatively hard to troubleshoot). While the API is robust enough for smaller and (some medium sized projects), advanced developers working on larger-scale applications may find these limitations restrictive and frustrating.
Another area where Airtable falls short is automation and API performance as the scale of your data grows. Some users have experienced issues with automations becoming unreliable when working with larger datasets. Automations can get stuck in a "pending" state, or worse, fail to trigger entirely. Similarly, the 5-request-per-second API rate limit becomes a bottleneck for operations requiring heavy API interactions, such as real-time data processing.
On the plus side, Airtable also offers Webhooks, allowing systems to send real-time data updates to other systems based on specific triggers. These webhooks are useful for automating workflows that require instant syncing between Airtable and other platforms. However, like the API, webhooks are subject to the same rate limits, which can pose issues in more data-intensive workflows.
Granular Permissions
The detail: Airtable's granular permissions are solid and relatively easy to configure but come with clear limitations as complexity grows. You can configure user roles at both the workspace and base (app) levels, allowing you to set permissions such as full edit access, comment-only access, or view-only permissions for entire bases. This is pretty straightforward and easy to manage for small teams or simpler workflows.
However, things start to fall apart when you need more granular control and the complexity of your workflows grows. For example, while you can control access at the base level, you can't define permissions for individual tables or specific columns within a base. This means that if someone has edit access to a base (app), they have access to edit every table and every field in that base, which isn't ideal if you want to lock down more sensitive data or limit editing to specific tables.
Additionally, Airtable doesn’t support user groups—so instead of being able to assign permissions to a group of users all at once, you have to manually assign roles for each individual user, which can become tedious as your team expands.
Still, Airtable’s permissions offer more granular control and domain restrictions that traditional spreadsheets simply can't match, and that’s a big reason why many users are switching over. But—and it’s a significant drawback—Airtable’s pricing model can quickly turn this advantage into a pain point. The moment a client (or any user, internal or external) needs to interact with the data—even if it’s just to edit a single field—they’ll require a paid account. So while Airtable Interfaces might seem like a solid option for client portals, the reality is that you’ll be footing the bill for their access, which can feel excessive if they only need to log in occasionally.
View-only access to both bases and interfaces remains free for all users, which helps, but it doesn’t solve the core problem. A common workaround is using forms to collect inputs, such as feature requests, since forms let users add records to a base without needing a paid account. However, forms only allow adding new records, not editing existing ones, so while they’re useful, they’re far from an ideal solution for true collaboration.
Airtable AI co-builder
Finally, Airtable’s Co-Builder, released in July 2024, is an AI-powered feature that helps you quickly build basic Airtable apps by generating tables, interfaces, and forms based on your prompts. While the idea is solid, the execution is still a bit rough around the edges.
It works well enough for simple apps, but for more complex setups, the results can be hit or miss—sometimes creating incorrect properties, misaligning relationships between tables, or adding random fields that make no sense. It tends to perform best when pulling from Airtable’s existing templates, where it has a clear framework to follow. Overall, it’s a good starting point to save time, but you’ll still need to fine-tune the results.
Learning to build with Airtable: the community
Airtable is quite beginner-friendly at first, but once you start diving into more advanced features—like scripting, custom automations, or large-scale integrations—the complexity ramps up. Unfortunately, the documentation doesn’t always keep up, often falling short of providing clear, actionable steps. Many of the more advanced features require some technical know-how or at least a willingness to dig deep into community forums and third-party resources.
The scripting capabilities, while powerful, aren’t as well-documented or approachable for complete beginners. While the community does its best to fill in the gaps, finding exactly what you need can be daunting if you lack programming experience. Advanced scripting—like writing custom integrations or setting up complex automations—often requires piecing together information from multiple sources.
For users on Airtable's free and lower-tier plans, support options are extremely limited. Airtable doesn’t offer live chat or phone support, which can be frustrating when you're in need of quick resolutions to urgent problems. If you’re relying on email support, responses can take 2+ days, which isn’t ideal when you’re stuck.
That’s where Airtable’s community really shines (and why it is so vibrant). Lack of official support from Airtable on lower tiers prompted users to build a strong and responsive community. If you run into issues or just need inspiration, the community is generally quick to help out. When it comes to scripting, Airtable’s community forums and guides offer a good amount of user-generated content.
You’ll find plenty of examples, troubleshooting tips, and shared scripts that tackle common issues. However, while basic and mid-level scripting questions are often addressed by the community, more advanced or highly technical issues can be slower to get resolved, with some users expressing frustration over the lack of depth in responses when dealing with complex scripts or edge cases.
Who is Airtable best for?
Non-technical users and teams who need to upgrade from spreadsheets
Airtable is ideal for those who have maxed out what Google Sheets can offer but aren’t ready for the complexities of a full-scale database system. It offers the best of both worlds: the familiar grid-like interface of a spreadsheet paired with the power to handle relational data and automations, all without code. Unlike spreadsheets, Airtable brings in more protective structure, so you’re not dealing with constant headaches like accidental data deletion (because let’s be real, you can’t take it anymore).
For teams needing a more organized and visual way to handle data, Airtable is a notable step up that brings clarity without introducing unnecessary complexity. Plus, it takes your tabular data and makes it a lot easier to visualize and digest.
Agencies and small teams
Airtable is a solid choice for agencies and small teams with small data sets that need quick, easy-to-implement solutions such as project management systems, simple CRMs, inventory managers, or business dashboards—without requiring any technical expertise. The built-in automation features are surprisingly powerful for a no-code tool and simple to set up, helping teams to avoid getting bogged down by routine tasks.
For those who need to get organized fast, stay flexible, and adapt to shifting project needs, Airtable provides a versatile solution that’s easy to maintain.
Creative teams and startups
Airtable’s flexibility makes it a favorite for creative teams and startups. It provides a centralized space for managing everything from project timelines to creative assets, allowing non-technical teams to set up sophisticated workflows without getting lost in technical details.
Startups in particular benefit from Airtable’s ability to scale with them during early growth phases so they can move fast and adapt as their needs evolve, without the overhead of hiring a dedicated developer.
Use cases we’d recommend Airtable for:
- Project management systems: Airtable is a flexible, user-friendly option for small to mid-sized teams to organize tasks and timelines. With Kanban, calendar, and task list views, it’s perfect for straightforward projects without the complexity of tools like Asana or Jira.
- Internal tools for small teams: Airtable’s no-code interface makes it easy to build simple internal tools like CRMs or inventory trackers. It’s great for smaller setups, but may struggle with more complex workflows as your needs grow.
- Business dashboards: Airtable allows small teams to create basic, real-time dashboards for tracking key metrics. It’s ideal for lightweight reporting, though it can’t match advanced tools like Tableau.
- Public view-only systems: Airtable is great for sharing roadmaps, feedback forms, and public databases, allowing secure, view-only access without compromising data integrity.
Who is Airtable not so great for?
Companies who need a client portal
While Airtable allows for public sharing and view-only access, it falls short when it comes to creating full-fledged client portals. The biggest obstacle here is cost. As soon as you need clients to interact with the data—whether it’s commenting, editing, or even minimal engagement—each user needs a paid account, which makes the platform expensive for this use case. Additionally, Airtable’s interface designer, while useful, lacks the sophistication and customization needed for creating polished, client-facing portals that resemble true web applications. For companies looking to build seamless, interactive experiences for clients, Airtable just doesn’t offer the right balance of features and cost-effectiveness.
Companies with complex workflows and enterprise teams
Airtable struggles when it comes to building mission-critical applications that demand high complexity and reliability. The platform’s hard limit of 500,000 records per base, combined with sluggish performance as workflows become more intricate, makes it ill-suited for businesses handling large datasets or complex processes. Its limitations in customization, scalability, and API performance mean Airtable isn’t built for heavy-duty operations. For companies with complex workflows or larger enterprise teams, its simplicity can quickly become a bottleneck.
While it works well for smaller, straightforward setups, it lacks the advanced automation and deep customization options needed by bigger teams managing intricate systems. As workflows grow, performance issues become more apparent, making Airtable a poor fit for businesses that need a scalable, highly efficient solution. If your system needs to be bulletproof and highly responsive, Airtable will likely not be a good fit.
Compliance-heavy industries
If your company operates in a compliance-heavy industry, Airtable’s cloud-only setup, lack of on-premise data storage options, and vendor lock-in present significant challenges. These limitations make it difficult to meet strict regulatory requirements, maintain control over sensitive information, or ensure detailed audit trails.
While Airtable’s Enterprise plan offers enhanced security controls, it still falls short of providing the robust compliance features typically needed in industries like finance or healthcare. Airtable’s vendor lock-in further complicates things for businesses that require full control over their data, making it an unsuitable choice for organizations that prioritize comprehensive compliance and data governance.
Companies looking for a tool that combines data with documentation
Airtable is not well-suited for managing documentation-heavy systems. While you can store and organize content within Airtable’s bases, it lacks the rich text editing features and structural flexibility that tools like Notion, Confluence, or Google Docs offer. Airtable is excellent for managing data but falls short when it comes to creating, formatting, and collaborating on written content. For teams that rely heavily on documentation, whether it’s for internal knowledge bases, product manuals, or procedural guides, Airtable’s lack of robust document handling features can become a significant limitation.
Companies that prioritize UI and mobile support
If your company places a high value on a sophisticated, customizable user interface, Airtable will inevitably leave you wanting more. While it’s clean and functional, it lacks the depth and flexibility needed for polished, client-facing applications or highly tailored internal systems. For teams that need more control over the look and feel of their tools, Airtable’s UI can feel a bit too basic - it feels more of an added bonus for basic dashboards than a serious option for building fully-fledged app interfaces. On top of that, its mobile experience falls short, making it less suitable for teams that need seamless mobile support.
Developers
Airtable quickly hits its limits for developers who need more advanced customization and control. The platform’s API is fine for simpler tasks, but it lacks the power and flexibility developers often need for more complex integrations. Plus, you can’t import external JavaScript libraries or manipulate the schema, which restricts what you can really do within the system. If you need heavy scripting, deep customization, or advanced automations, Airtable probably isn’t going to cut it.
Pricing (and related drama)
Airtable’s pricing changes over the past year or so have stirred up a lot of frustration in the community, especially with the significant downgrades to their Pro Plan. The average Pro Plan user now finds themselves stuck with fewer automation runs and stricter API limits on the Teams plan, all while paying the same price they used to. Unless they upgrade to the Business Plan, which costs more than double, they’re left with fewer features for the same cost.
For many small businesses, startups, and agencies, this new cost structure no longer fits their budget. A large number of long-time users felt alienated—especially those who had invested heavily in Airtable—only to be hit with a sudden jump in costs for fewer features.
Airtable’s clear shift in focus toward enterprise clients signals that smaller teams are no longer the priority. This pivot has also opened up opportunities for competitors like SmartSuite to grab more market share, especially among small to mid-sized businesses.
Airtable Pricing Changes
Airtable’s pricing changes also pushed many companies to explore workarounds. Some use Airtable as a backend while plugging in cheaper frontend builders like Softr or Noloco. Noloco’s plan, for example, gives you 10 users for $119/month whereas Airtable’s Business plan with 11 users will cost you nearly $500/month. This makes frontend tools a much more attractive option for client portals or larger teams where not everyone needs full Airtable access. Airtable's advanced automation, relational database features, and superior calculation capabilities still make it a far better option for a “backend” compared to traditional spreadsheets, even though spreadsheets are substantially cheaper.
Airtable’s pricing plans
Airtable offers four plans, but its pricing can get out of hand quickly, especially for teams needing more advanced features or client collaboration.
- Free Plan: It’s okay for personal apps or small projects but severely limited with only 1,000 records per base and 100 automation runs. You also miss out on key views like Gantt or timeline.
- Team Plan ($24/user/month): You get 50,000 records per base (which is still notably low), 25,000 automation runs, and access to Gantt and timeline views. It’s fine for small teams but the record limits and automation capacity get tight quickly.
- Business Plan ($54/user/month): With 125,000 records per base, 100,000 automation runs, and verified data and two-way sync, this plan suits small teams with heavier automation needs. But, honestly, this price point can feel steep for what you get, especially as SSO and other enterprise features start becoming necessary, even though we’d probably argue it’s not truly an enterprise solution.
- Enterprise Plan (Custom pricing): The Enterprise Plan offers a hard 500,000 record limit per base (app), along with enhanced security features and admin controls. However, unless you’re a large enterprise, this plan is neither affordable nor cost-effective for the average user. Airtable hasn’t released public data on how many users have opted for this plan, but it’s safe to assume the number is relatively small—most enterprises need greater capacity for complex workflows and large data sets, often in combination, which Airtable struggles to support.
Why companies stick with Airtable despite the cost
- Longevity and feature maturity: Airtable has been around since 2012 and has a robust feature set, outpacing newer competitors like Baserow and Smartsheet. The maturity of its product is hard to beat, and this consistency matters to larger organizations.
- Wide adoption and trust: Airtable has been adopted by major companies like Shopify, Intuit, and Uber. This kind of validation drives its continued use, even if the pricing doesn’t always make sense for smaller teams. It’s reliable, and reliability often justifies the cost.
- Familiarity: Airtable is simple to grasp for anyone who’s used Excel or Google Sheets, lowering the learning curve. It bridges the gap between a spreadsheet and a database, making data management accessible without the complexities of SQL.
- Strong integrations and automation: Airtable integrates with hundreds of services and applications, making it invaluable for teams managing data across multiple platforms. Its built-in automation capabilities, while not as powerful as something like Zapier or Make, are still among the best in the no-code space.
How does Airtable compare to other tools?
Airtable vs. Google Sheets
Google Sheets is perfect for straightforward tasks like budgeting or tracking timelines, but when things get more complex, it quickly hits its limits. Airtable, built to handle relational data, bridges that gap between a basic spreadsheet and a true database. If you’re dealing with connected records (like linking clients to projects), Airtable lets you handle that effortlessly, making it way more versatile for managing complexity.
When it comes to visualizing your data, Google Sheets sticks to grids and some basic charts. It works for simple visualization, but Airtable takes it up a notch with options like Kanban boards, Gantt charts, and galleries (although some of these are only available on paid plans). These views give you more flexibility to see your data in a way that actually fits your workflow.
Automation is where Airtable easily outshines Sheets. While Google Sheets can handle automation, it usually means diving into Google Apps Script, which can be time-consuming if you’re not the most tech-savvy. Airtable makes it easy, with built-in automations that anyone can set up without needing to code, which is a huge win for teams looking to streamline their workflows.
Collaboration is also handled better in Airtable. While Sheets allows up to 100 people to edit at the same time, the permissions are pretty basic—while you can limit permissions to certain sheets or columns by “protecting them”, this is as far as Sheets will go in terms of permissions. Otherwise, everyone either has view, comment, or edit access across the entire sheet, which often results in human errors, accidental deletions and messy data. Airtable gives you far more control, letting you set granular permissions at the base or table level, which is a big deal if you need tighter control over who can do what.
On the cost front, Google Sheets is obviously the budget-friendly choice—it’s free for individuals and part of Google Workspace for businesses. Airtable, on the other hand, can get pricey as you scale. You’ll quickly hit the limits of the free tier and need to upgrade if you want features like Gantt views, more storage, or advanced automations.
Airtable vs. SmartSuite
When comparing Airtable to SmartSuite, the first thing that stands out is Airtable's maturity in core features, automation, and integration capabilities. Airtable offers more advanced automations out of the box, including conditional logic, custom actions using JavaScript, and a broader range of native triggers for automating workflows. SmartSuite’s automation is solid but more limited, so for more complex processes, you’ll often need to lean on third-party integrations to achieve what Airtable can handle natively.
As a younger company founded in 2019 (while Airtable was founded in 2012), SmartSuite simply hasn't had the time to match Airtable’s depth in terms of features, which becomes evident in some of the missing functionalities you'd expect from a more established platform.
One area where SmartSuite does shine, however, is in its community-driven development approach. The founders of SmartSuite (and their team) are consistently engaging with the user and partner community and actively evolving the product based on user feedback, which is a promising sign for future growth. Airtable, in contrast, often feels disconnected from its user base—especially after recent pricing changes that alienated long-time users in favor of chasing enterprise clients.
When it comes to UI design, neither platform excels, though Airtable has a slight edge. In addition to forms and dashboards, Airtable allows users to build interactive views on top of their data using the Interface Designer. SmartSuite, on the other hand, doesn't offer true UI-building tools yet, though its Page Designer hints at a potential future in that direction. That said, Airtable’s Interface Designer is still fairly basic. While it lets you create dashboards with embedded charts, forms, and buttons, it's still very much a database with a pretty face. If you’re looking to build polished, highly dynamic user interfaces, both Airtable and SmartSuite are likely to fall short.
Pricing is where SmartSuite takes the clear win. It’s roughly half the cost of Airtable, making it much more accessible for smaller teams or budget-conscious businesses. With Airtable’s drastic pricing changes, we predict SmartSuite will slowly take some of Airtable’s market share and user base while Airtable focuses on Enterprise. But with that lower cost comes fewer customization options and less robust API capabilities. So if your workflows demand more complexity and flexibility, Airtable’s higher price tag (or a different tool altogether) might still be worth the investment.
Airtable vs. Glide
Airtable is a data-first platform that blends the simplicity of spreadsheets with the structure of a database. It’s great for managing data efficiently, but the UI still feels more like an upgraded spreadsheet than a true app. When you compare it to Glide, Airtable’s UI customization options feel limited—you can’t do much in terms of arranging elements, changing colors, or playing with UI components like sidebars or backgrounds. Glide, on the other hand, takes things up a notch, focusing on polished, interactive, app-like interfaces that look great on both web and mobile. In fact, Glide arguably has one of the best mobile builders in the no-code space, whereas Airtable struggles with mobile optimization.
Airtable’s row limit tops out at 500,000 records per base, and with no integration for enterprise-grade databases, it’s best suited for smaller companies, startups, or those prioritizing data management over building refined UIs. It’s a solid upgrade if you’re moving beyond Google Sheets but aren’t ready to commit to a full-scale database solution. Glide, on the other hand, supports up to 10 million records through its Big Tables feature and offers integrations with enterprise-grade databases like PostgreSQL, making it a much stronger option for businesses with larger data requirements and scalability needs.
In terms of pricing, Airtable can get expensive fast, especially as you add users and advanced features. Glide’s flat-rate pricing, however, makes it a far more economical choice for larger teams or startups focused on building mobile apps, offering a better balance of affordability and capability.
So, if you’re looking for an easy transition from spreadsheets to something more powerful, Airtable is the faster, simpler move. But if you need fully customizable UIs and strong mobile support, Glide is the clear winner. For a deeper dive into Glide’s capabilities, check out our full “What is Glide” article.
Airtable vs a SQL database
Airtable and SQL serve different purposes and audiences, and the right choice depends on your needs. Airtable is quick to adopt, user-friendly and accessible, particularly for non-technical teams looking to organize and manage smaller datasets. Its spreadsheet-like interface makes it easy to create databases, automate workflows, and collaborate, all without the need for coding. However, this simplicity comes with limitations—most notably a 500,000-record cap per base, which can hinder performance as data scales. For small teams, startups, or personal projects, Airtable is a great tool that bridges the gap between spreadsheets and databases.
SQL databases, on the other hand, are built for power and scale. While they require a deeper understanding of relational database design and SQL querying, they offer far greater control over data integrity and performance. SQL databases like PostgreSQL can handle millions of records, enforce strict data types, and maintain complex relationships between tables. This makes them ideal for companies dealing with large datasets, complex workflows, or mission-critical applications.
Summary
Airtable is a solid choice for smaller teams and agencies looking to organize and manage data without diving into complex coding or full-scale databases. It’s a great step up from traditional spreadsheets, offering far more in terms of built-in automations and no-code capabilities that help streamline workflows and improve efficiency without requiring technical expertise. For teams transitioning from spreadsheets, Airtable strikes a good balance between simplicity and functionality.
Airtable’s scalability limitations and performance issues with more complex workflows make it less suitable for larger enterprises or industries with strict data governance needs. Its UI, while functional, falls short when it comes to delivering the polish and customization needed for sophisticated client-facing apps, and its mobile experience lags behind competitors.
Additionally, the platform's pricing can rise quickly, especially for teams requiring advanced features or client collaboration, which may diminish its cost-effectiveness as your needs expand.
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