Airtable Alternatives: What Other Solutions Should You Use?

Not happy with Airtable? Looking for alternatives to develop your project? We break down the platform’s pros and cons in detail and suggest a few alternatives!

What is Airtable?

Airtable is a no-code online database management tool that enables users to create scalable and flexible databases. Airtable provides its users with a highly intuitive visual interface to easily manage their data, with no complex syntax required. Users can effortlessly add, edit, or delete data in their databases. Airtable also allows users to share their databases within their team with partners or other collaborators.

To adapt to different structures, Airtable offers several pricing options, from affordable pricing for small teams to custom pricing for large enterprises.

The tiers are worth knowing before building on them, because the limit that bites is not the price but the number of records. According to the Airtable plans documentation, the free plan stops at 1,000 records per base and 1 GB of attachments; the Team plan goes to 50,000 records and 20 GB, the Business plan to 125,000 and 100 GB. Those limits apply per base, not per workspace: splitting a large project across several bases raises the ceiling, at the cost of cross-base links that are harder to maintain. On price, the public pricing page shows $20 per user per month for Team and $45 for Business on annual billing: the cost therefore follows the number of people who access the base, not the volume of data.

Why use Airtable?

Airtable is a flexible, cloud-based tool that helps you organize any data, from professional projects to personal interests. You can use Airtable to track tasks, manage projects, and even collaborate with others. Airtable is easy to use and free to get started. Plus, there are no limits on the number of records you can create or the amount of storage you can use.

One technical point decides feasibility as soon as Airtable feeds another tool, and it is rarely mentioned: API throughput. The Airtable documentation sets 5 requests per second per base, and 50 requests per second across all traffic from a personal access token. Beyond that the API returns 429 and you must wait 30 seconds before calls succeed again. The practical consequence: a synchronisation walking thousands of rows has to read in batches, space out its calls and implement retry logic with back-off. It is also what disqualifies Airtable as the backing store for a high-traffic application, not the size of the data, but the permitted throughput.

Pros and cons of Airtable

While it has many advantages, there are also a few drawbacks to using Airtable.

Three drawbacks come up systematically, and it is better to know them before choosing than after. The record ceiling per base, first, which arrives sooner than expected in operational use. API throughput next: 5 requests per second per base, enough for a nightly sync but not to feed a high-traffic site. Permissions last: they apply at base and view level, which suits an internal team but not a case where each customer must see only their own rows. On that last point, a real database with rules enforced server-side: this is broken access control from the OWASP Top 10, answers the need better. That is often the real trigger for a migration, more than price.

The benefits of Airtable

Airtable is very user-friendly and can be used by people with very little technical experience.

Airtable is highly customizable, allowing users to create custom fields, views, and reports.

Airtable integrates with a wide variety of other applications and services, making it easy to connect to other tools you may use.

Airtable offers a free plan as well as paid plans with additional features and storage. 

The downsides of Airtable

Airtable can be slower than other database tools when handling large amounts of data.

Airtable lacks some of the most advanced features found in other database tools, such as triggers or stored procedures.

Airtable can be more expensive than other database tools if you need to use paid plans to access additional features or storage.

Airtable is a highly powerful and flexible database solution that offers many benefits to users, including ease of use, customization, and seamless integration. However, Airtable can be slower than other tools when handling large amounts of data and lacks some of the most advanced features found in these tools.

Why use an alternative to Airtable?

There are many reasons why you might want to use an alternative to Airtable. Here are a few:

1. Airtable can be a bit expensive. If you're on a tight budget, there are more affordable options.

2. Airtable can be a bit complex. If you're looking for something simpler, there are alternatives that are just as powerful.

3. Airtable doesn’t have every feature you might want. If you're looking for something specific, you might find it in another app.

Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide whether or not Airtable is the right solution for you. If you're unsure, why not try it first, then test a few alternatives and see which tool you prefer?

Some examples of alternatives to Airtable

Airtable is a very powerful no-code tool for managing data, but it's not the only option available. Here are other platforms that offer similar features:

Google Sheets

Google Sheets is a powerful and free alternative to Airtable that offers many similar features. Sheets allows you to create complex spreadsheets with extensive formatting options, then share them with others for collaboration. It’s also easy to connect Sheets to other Google products, like Calendar and Gmail, for even more functionality.

Smartsheet

Smartsheet is another popular alternative to Airtable, and for good reason. It’s a robust spreadsheet tool that offers features such as real-time collaboration, Gantt charts, and advanced filtering. Plus, you can easily connect Smartsheet to hundreds of other business applications to automate workflows and boost productivity.

Microsoft Excel

Excel is a well-known spreadsheet tool that many businesses already use for tasks such as financial analysis and tracking. While it doesn’t have all the features of Airtable or Smartsheet, it’s a powerful tool that can be used for a wide variety of tasks. Plus, there are tons of online resources and add-ons to help you get the most out of Excel.

Each of these platforms has its own strengths and weaknesses, so it’s important to choose the one that best fits your needs. Airtable is a great option for users who need a flexible and customizable platform, but if you’re looking for something simpler, one of the other options might be a better fit.

Scroll supports you with Airtable

At Scroll, we’ve chosen to use Airtable. Among the various database management tools we’ve tested, it’s our favorite, and it’s the one we use to develop solutions for our clients. Our Airtable experts have enabled us to create the Airtable agency, a dedicated agency designed to meet your data management and manipulation needs. Do you want to integrate precise data into your website, app, or create a custom solution? Share your project with us, and let’s develop your tailored solution together. Don’t hesitate to contact us!