Bubble & Airtable: How to Combine the Two Solutions?

Want to connect your Airtable data to your Bubble app to leverage the best of both no-code tools? How and why should you combine Bubble and Airtable? We explain everything!

What is Bubble?

Bubble.io is a popular no-code tool for building applications. The platform is a SaaS application, so it’s accessible online with a subscription. Bubble is also known as ano-code app builder.

Like many no-code tools, Bubble is based on the drag-and-drop principle. Simply select predefined elements and add them to workflows to create logical sequences and bring the application to life. Not a single line of code is required. The developer’s task is to visually design the application, and Bubble handles generating the necessary code without any need for manual intervention.

Bubble is highly valued because it significantly improves the accessibility of application development and offers many advantages over traditional development methods.

Why use Bubble?

Bubble is a powerful tool that enables developers to build web applications without having to learn a new programming language. This allows developers to focus on the application logic rather than the syntax.

Synchronisation has a measurable cost on both sides, better established before building it. On the Airtable side, API throughput is capped at 5 requests per second per base, beyond that, a 429 response and a 30-second wait. On the Bubble side, every API call and every write consumes workload units, billed at $0.30 per 1,000 units beyond the included allowance. A synchronisation that replays the whole base every five minutes therefore costs twice over: it saturates Airtable’s throughput and inflates Bubble consumption. Good practice fits in two words: sync incrementally, over only the rows changed since the last run.

Bubble is extremely flexible. Applications can be built using any number of components and features. There’s no limit to what you can create with Bubble.

Bubble is also very easy to use. This means you can easily participate in the project to understand and follow it.

Before wiring the two tools together, one architectural question deserves settling: where does the source-of-truth data live? Two systems that write to each other eventually diverge, and arbitrating conflicts afterwards costs more than choosing at the start. The pattern that lasts is one where only one of the two platforms is authoritative, Bubble for application data, Airtable for what humans edit by hand, with the other holding only a copy. On Bubble, data also remains subject to privacy rules, enforced server-side: a data type created without a rule is readable by everyone through the app’s API. Data synchronised from Airtable inherits no protection: it has to be defined explicitly.

What is Airtable?

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

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.

To adapt to different structures, Airtable offers multiple pricing plans,from budget-friendly for small teams to custom pricing for large enterprises.

Why use Airtable?

Airtable is a highly useful and extremely flexible tool that can be customized to meet your team's specific needs. Here are some reasons why you might use Airtable:

With Airtable, work collaboratively on the same project at the same time.

It’s a very practical tool for remote teams, as it allows for easy sharing of files and information.

Airtable is extremely flexible.

It can be customized to meet your team’s specific needs. You can create custom tables and databases, add fields and columns, and choose how you want your data to be organized.

Airtable is easy to use and intuitive.

You can easily participate in your Airtable project developed by an expert to understand the process and make future modifications.

Airtable offers excellent user support.

If you have questions or issues, you can contact the support team 24/7 via chat or email. Additionally, there’s a rich community of Airtable users who share tips and advice on the platform.

Why combine Bubble and Airtable?

Bubble is an application development platform that allows developers to create web apps without coding. Airtable is a database platform that enables developers to manage their data without coding as well. By connecting Bubble and Airtable, developers can build web apps that use data stored in Airtable.

Developers can use Bubble to create user interfaces and workflows without coding. By connecting Bubble and Airtable, developers can access data stored in Airtable without writing code to query the database. This allows developers to focus on the application’s logic rather than data management. It also makes it easy to manage data with Airtable, create forms to integrate into a Bubble app, or connect numerous third-party tools available with Airtable.

How to combine Bubble and Airtable

Fortunately, it’s easy to connect Bubble and Airtable, allowing users to benefit from both platforms’ advantages.

Here’s how to connect Bubble and Airtable:

1. Log in to your Airtable account and access your database.

2. Click on the API icon in the left sidebar.

3. Under "Authentication", click on "Generate an API key".

4. Copy your API key and log in to your Bubble account.

5. Access your app editor and click on Settings.

6. Under "Connect to external data", click on "Airtable".

7. Paste your API key into the text field and click "Save".

You now have access to all your Airtable data in Bubble.

Scroll supports you with your Bubble/Airtable projects

At Scroll, our expertise with the no-code tools Airtable and Bubble has enabled us to create the Airtable agency and the Bubble agency. Two agencies to meet your needs for app development and database management. Whether you have a project on one of the two platforms or want to connect both, our experts are here to offer ultra-high-quality, tailored solutions! Feel free to contact us!