You start with a simple Excel file to track your projects. A few weeks later, you’re struggling with endless tabs, references that lead nowhere, and formulas that nobody understands anymore. Meanwhile, your colleague asks for the third time where the latest version of the document is. Sound familiar?
That’s where Airtable comes around the corner. It combines the familiarity of a spreadsheet with the power of a real database. You get overviews that actually work, automations that save time, and interfaces that your team actually uses.
Airtable: the company
Airtable was founded in 2012 in San Francisco and has since grown into one of the most popular low-code platforms in the world. The company focuses on teams that want to manage structured data without having to hire a database expert.
With more than 450,000 organizations using the platform, including well-known names like Netflix, Shopify, and Time Magazine, Airtable has proven that there’s enormous demand for flexible data solutions. The company continues to innovate with AI functionality and increasingly powerful automations.
Airtable is available through the browser and has apps for iOS, Android, macOS, and Windows. A Linux version is still missing, but the web application works fine on all operating systems with a modern browser.
Who is Airtable for?
Airtable is ideal for teams that work with structured data but don’t have an IT department at hand. Think of marketing teams tracking campaigns, production companies managing orders, or content teams organizing editorial planning.
You don’t need a technical background to get started. The interface feels like Excel or Google Sheets, but under the hood is a full-fledged relational database. This means you can link tables together, set up automations, and build custom interfaces.
Especially teams that have outgrown Excel or Google Sheets but aren’t ready for complex enterprise software find Airtable a perfect intermediate step. It scales with your growth and remains accessible to non-technical team members.
Airtable is less suitable for teams that mainly share text documents and notes, or for whom working offline is essential. Also, if you need a simple task list without database functionality, there are simpler alternatives.
What can Airtable do?
Airtable is packed with features that distinguish it from a regular spreadsheet. These are the most important ones:
- Interface Designer – Build custom dashboards and portals for your team without programming. Ideal for making complex data accessible to people who don’t need to dive into the underlying tables.
- Automations – Set up triggers and actions to automate repetitive tasks. For example: send a Slack message when a record is updated, or automatically create a new task as soon as a project reaches a certain status.
- Different Views – View the same data as Grid (spreadsheet), Kanban board, Gantt chart, Calendar, Gallery, or Timeline. You can filter and sort each view without changing the underlying data.
- Relational Database Linking – Link records from different tables to each other. For example, you can link customers to projects, and projects to tasks, keeping complex relationships organized.
- Airtable AI – Use AI to categorize data, generate text, or automatically fill fields based on patterns in your database. This saves time especially with large datasets.
- Sync Integrations – Synchronize data between different bases or pull in external data from tools like Google Calendar, Jira, or Salesforce. Note: this usually works in one direction only.
- Extensions & Reporting – Add extra functionality with extensions for charts, scripts, page designers, and more. Build reports that automatically update when your data changes.
The combination of these features makes Airtable extremely versatile. You can use it as a CRM, project management tool, content planner, inventory tracker, or virtually any other system that revolves around structured data.
What does Airtable cost?
Airtable has a free plan that allows you to create unlimited bases. The limitations are in the number of records (maximum 1,000 per base), storage space for attachments (1 GB per base), automation runs (100 per month), and the number of editors (maximum 5).
For many small teams or personal use, this free plan is sufficient to get started. You get access to all basic functionality and can get a good sense of whether Airtable fits you.
The paid plans start at $1 per user per month with annual payment (or $1 per month with monthly payment). This Team plan gives you 50,000 records per base, 20 GB attachments, 25,000 automation runs, and three years of history of your data.
The Business plan costs $1 per user per month with annual payment (or $1 monthly). Here you get 125,000 records per base, 1,000 GB attachments, 100,000 automation runs, and advanced features like admin panels and SAML single sign-on.
For large organizations, there’s also an Enterprise plan with custom pricing. This offers unlimited records, priority support, and extra security features.
All paid plans come with a free 14-day trial period, so you can test the premium features before you pay.
What should you watch out for?
Airtable is powerful, but not perfect. There are several things that users regularly run into.
The mobile app is a pain point. Users report that the app crashes when opening files, loads slowly, and lacks important functionality that the desktop version does have. If your team works on the go a lot, this is a serious limitation.
The price jump from the Team plan to the Business plan is enormous. You pay more than double, while many SMB companies actually only need one or two features from that more expensive plan. There’s no intermediate option, which is frustrating.
Sync with external apps usually only works one way. You can pull in data, but changes in Airtable aren’t written back to the source. For true two-way synchronization, you often need external tools like Make or Zapier, which brings additional costs.
The learning curve for advanced functionality is steep. Simple spreadsheet-like applications work immediately, but as soon as you want to build complex formulas, rollups, or interfaces, you need to invest quite a bit of time in tutorials and documentation.
Working offline is not possible. Airtable is completely cloud-based and requires an internet connection. For teams that regularly work without internet, this is a dealbreaker.
Finally: the record limits can be reached surprisingly quickly with growing databases. You then have to choose between archiving data, upgrading to a more expensive plan, or adjusting your workflow. This sometimes feels like an artificial limitation.
What do others think?
The general sentiment about Airtable is positive. Users especially praise the flexibility to build virtually any business process to measure without bringing in developers. The Interface Designer is often mentioned as a game changer because it makes complex databases accessible to non-technical team members.
The integration possibilities with tools like Make, Zapier, and Slack are also appreciated. Teams can automate their entire workflow by connecting Airtable to the apps they already use.
On the other hand, there are consistent complaints about the mobile experience. Users find the app unstable and miss functionality that is available on desktop. This makes mobile work frustrating.
The price increase of the Business plan is a frequently heard complaint. Many SMB companies find the jump from $1 to $1 per user per month too big, especially since they only use a fraction of the extra features.
On YouTube you can find extensive reviews that go deeper into specific use cases. The Automation Helpers channel has made a detailed review of Airtable in 2025, covering the new pricing and comparisons with Excel and Notion. GAP Consulting explains how to deploy the latest AI updates for more efficient workflows.
Users also warn about the learning curve with advanced formulas and relationships. What starts as a simple spreadsheet can grow into a complex system that’s difficult to maintain if you don’t document well.
Airtable alternatives
Doesn’t Airtable quite fit what you’re looking for? These are the best alternatives:
- Monday.com – More visual and user-friendly for beginners, but with less in-depth database functionality. Choose this if you’re looking for a project management tool with ready-made templates and a gentler learning curve.
- Notion – Better for documentation, wikis, and notes, but less suitable for complex data automations. Choose this if you want to combine notes, documents, and light databases in one flexible workspace.
- ClickUp – An all-in-one productivity suite with tasks, docs, and time tracking. Choose this if you’re looking for a complete platform including document management and not just focusing on data-driven workflows.
Each alternative has its own strengths. Monday.com wins on ease of use, Notion on flexibility for content, and ClickUp on completeness. However, Airtable remains the best choice if you specifically need a powerful, relational database that’s also accessible to non-technical users.
Frequently asked questions
Is Airtable free to use?
Yes, Airtable has a free plan that allows you to create unlimited bases. You are limited by restrictions: maximum 1,000 records per base, 1 GB storage space for attachments per base, 100 automation runs per month, and maximum 5 editors. For many personal projects and small teams, this is sufficient to get started.
What happens when I reach my record limit?
You can then no longer add new records to that base until you upgrade to a higher plan or archive and delete old data. Existing records remain accessible and you can still edit them. It’s wise to keep an eye on your record count before you hit the limit.
Can I use Airtable offline?
No, Airtable is a cloud-based application and requires an internet connection to save and synchronize changes. You can open bases if you were online before, but new changes are only saved once you have a connection again. For teams that regularly work without internet, this is an important limitation.
Conclusion
Airtable solves a real problem: it offers the power of a database without the complexity. For teams that have outgrown spreadsheets but aren’t ready for enterprise software, it’s an excellent choice.
The flexibility is impressive. You can model virtually any business process, from CRM to inventory management, and that without writing a line of code. The Interface Designer makes it possible to make complex data accessible to your entire team.
But there are clear limitations. The mobile app is subpar, the price jump to the Business plan is steep, and offline work isn’t possible. If these points are dealbreakers for your situation, look at alternatives.
The free plan is generous enough to test Airtable thoroughly. Start there, build a few bases for your own processes, and see if it fits how your team works. Chances are you won’t want to go back to Excel.
