People look for an Airtable alternative when the bill follows the number of editors, when a base hits its record ceiling, or when the data has to live on their own server. Most move to another table database with a different limit (rows per workspace, records per document, or a flat monthly fee), to an open source or self-hosted option, or to a work platform that treats the table as one part of a larger system.
Sebastiaan SmitsFounderShort answer: The first three alternatives to Airtable in our no-code database tool ranking are Baserow, NocoDB and Grist. Places 1 to 3 go to challengers, vendors outside the best-known brands in a category, wherever the category has them; the established names follow from place 4 in their ranked order. Choose Baserow if you want open source code and the option to host it yourself. All 11 alternatives below are ranked products from Best No-Code Database Tools in 2026, and each says where it differs from Airtable.
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Airtable charges every user with edit permission on a Team or Business workspace, at $20 and $45 per user per month billed annually (the pricing page quotes $24 and $54 when billed monthly). Read-only collaborators, form submissions and share links are free. A team where thirty people update records pays for thirty seats, while a tool with free guests or flat pricing can cost far less for the same group.
Records are capped per base: 1,000 on Free, 50,000 on Team and 125,000 on Business. The Free plan also allows only 5 editors, 1 GB of attachments per base and two weeks of revision history. At the cap you keep working but cannot add records until you upgrade, so a growing dataset forces a plan change even if the team size stays the same.
Airtable's help centre says each table exports as its own CSV from a grid view and that a whole base cannot be exported as a single file. The software is closed source and runs only on Airtable's cloud, with no server edition listed. A buyer who wants to keep a copy under their own control, or run the same tool on their own machine, has to look elsewhere.
| Alternative | Headquarters | Free option | Pricing | Key difference | Switch if | Our rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baserow | Netherlands | Yes | Free cloud plan; paid cloud per user per month, published; open source core you can self-host | Dutch database builder whose core code carries the MIT licence | you want open source code and the option to host it yourself | #1 |
| NocoDB | United States | Yes | Free cloud plan; paid per seat per month, published; community edition free to self-host | Spreadsheet interface over your own SQL database, with a source-available licence | your data already sits in a SQL database and you want a table front end | #4 |
| Grist | United States | Yes | Free plan; paid per user per month, published; Apache-licensed community edition | Spreadsheet-style relational database with an Apache-licensed self-hosted edition | your team thinks in spreadsheet formulas and wants a self-hostable Apache-licensed edition | #2 |
| SeaTable | Germany | Yes | Free plan up to 25 users; paid per user per month, published; on-premises edition | Mainz-based table database sold as cloud, dedicated cloud or server edition | you want a German vendor and many cheap users on one plan | #3 |
| Teable | United States | Yes | Free cloud plan; paid per seat per month, published; self-hosted edition available | Newer database spreadsheet with AI fields and an AGPL-licensed core | you want a large row allowance per space and an AGPL core you can host | #5 |
| Stackby | India | Yes | Free plan; paid per seat per month, published | Table database with API connectors, priced per seat with row caps | you pull data from other tools into tables and have small tables | #7 |
| Ragic | Not stated by the vendor | Yes | Free plan; paid per user or per concurrent user, published; on-premise option | Sheet-based database with a free plan, a concurrent-user model and on-premise hosting | staff share a few seats in shifts and you want a self-hosted option | #8 |
| Fibery | Cyprus | Yes | Free plan for up to 10 users; paid per user per month, published | Connected-database work platform with EU hosting and free observers | the database is one part of project work and many colleagues only need to view | #6 |
| Knack | United States | No free tier | Flat monthly plans by record count, published; trial without a card | Record-sized flat monthly plans with unlimited users for web apps | outsiders log in to your app and you want a fee that ignores user count | #9 |
| SmartSuite | United States | No free tier | Per seat per month, published; 14-day trial only | Solution-based work platform with record limits and a 14-day trial | a department wants one managed workspace and can meet a seat minimum | #10 |
| Notion | United States | Yes | Free plan; paid per member per month, published | Document workspace whose databases serve small teams, not heavy data | your tables are small and live next to documents and meeting notes | #11 |
Netherlands · Free cloud plan; paid cloud per user per month, published; open source core you can self-host
A Dutch company (Baserow B.V., Amsterdam) that publishes the core under the MIT licence and also sells a hosted version. Cloud Premium is $10 per user per month billed yearly. Rows are capped per workspace (3,000 free, 50,000 on Premium), and audit logs and role permissions start at Advanced.
Switch from Airtable if you want open source code and the option to host it yourself.
United States · Free cloud plan; paid per seat per month, published; community edition free to self-host
Puts a spreadsheet view on top of your own SQL database. The community edition costs nothing to run yourself, under a licence that limits commercial redistribution. Cloud Plus offers $12 per seat or $108 a month for unlimited seats, and external database connections need Business.
Switch from Airtable if your data already sits in a SQL database and you want a table front end.
United States · Free plan; paid per user per month, published; Apache-licensed community edition
Spreadsheet formulas on top of relational tables, from a New York company funded by its founders. Limits count records per document, not per workspace: 5,000 on Free, 100,000 on Pro at $10 a user monthly, 150,000 on Business, which has a five-user minimum.
Switch from Airtable if your team thinks in spreadsheet formulas and wants a self-hostable Apache-licensed edition.
Germany · Free plan up to 25 users; paid per user per month, published; on-premises edition
A Mainz-based GmbH offering cloud, a self-run server edition and a dedicated system. The Free plan covers 25 users and 10,000 rows. Plus is 7 EUR per user a month billed annually. Even Enterprise caps one base at 100,000 rows, and Python runs are limited per user.
Switch from Airtable if you want a German vendor and many cheap users on one plan.
United States · Free cloud plan; paid per seat per month, published; self-hosted edition available
A newer database spreadsheet with AI fields, run by Teable AI, Inc. of the United States. Pro is $13 per seat a month billed yearly, with 250,000 rows. The core is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and can be self-hosted. Free is limited to 1,000 rows and a one-time block of credits.
Switch from Airtable if you want a large row allowance per space and an AGPL core you can host.
India · Free plan; paid per seat per month, published
Per-seat plans with row caps per stack and API connectors that pull in data from other tools. Economy is $9 a seat monthly with 7,000 rows per stack, Business $18 with 50,000. The Free plan refreshes connector data by hand only and allows 5 editors.
Switch from Airtable if you pull data from other tools into tables and have small tables.
Not stated by the vendor · Free plan; paid per user or per concurrent user, published; on-premise option
Forms-first database where the sheet looks like a paper form. The Free plan gives 3 custom sheets of 1,000 records; Lite is $5 per user a month, Professional $19. A concurrent-user model suits shift teams, and an on-premises option has a 10-user minimum. The site states no country.
Switch from Airtable if staff share a few seats in shifts and you want a self-hosted option.
Cyprus · Free plan for up to 10 users; paid per user per month, published
A work platform in which databases link to docs, whiteboards and automations. Standard costs 12 EUR per user a month billed annually. Observers and guests are free, and the Free plan covers 10 users and 10 databases. Governed by Cyprus law with EU data residency from the Free plan.
Switch from Airtable if the database is one part of project work and many colleagues only need to view.
United States · Flat monthly plans by record count, published; trial without a card
Priced by record count and not by seat: the monthly price list shows Starter at $59 for 20k records, Pro at $130 for 50k, and Corporate from $300 for 125k. Every plan allows unlimited users and roles, so it fits customer portals. Evenly Odd, Inc. is the company behind it.
Switch from Airtable if outsiders log in to your app and you want a fee that ignores user count.
United States · Per seat per month, published; 14-day trial only
A work platform organised into solutions, with Team at $15 per seat a month billed annually and a minimum of 3 billable users. There is a 14-day trial and no permanent free plan. European data residency is listed only on Enterprise and Signature, and Team allows 5,000 records per solution.
Switch from Airtable if a department wants one managed workspace and can meet a seat minimum.
SmartSuite, #10 of 12 in our no-code database tool ranking →
United States · Free plan; paid per member per month, published
A document workspace whose databases sit next to pages and wikis. Free costs nothing; Plus is EUR 9.50 per member a month and Business EUR 19.50. It stores notes and light tables well, and it is not built around large relational record sets or per-table record limits you can plan around.
Switch from Airtable if your tables are small and live next to documents and meeting notes.
Airtable remains the sensible choice for a team that already built interfaces and automations on it, keeps its editor count low, and sits inside the record caps (50,000 per base on Team, 125,000 on Business). Read-only collaborators, form submissions and share links cost nothing, so a few editors feeding many viewers pay little. Business needs a private email domain, which suits companies and rules out personal accounts. If none of the exit or hosting points matter to you, the cost of rebuilding views, automations and interfaces elsewhere is usually larger than the saving.
List who edits at least one base, how many records the largest base holds, and which automations run each month (Free allows 100 runs per workspace, Team 25,000, Business 100,000). Then compare each candidate's own counting unit: seats, rows per workspace, records per document, or records on a flat plan. The same dataset can fit one tool's free limit and break another's.
Airtable exports one CSV per table from a grid view, so a base with eight tables means eight files, and attachments and links between tables need checking afterwards. Import one table into the new tool first, rebuild one view, and confirm that linked records and file attachments survive before you move the rest. Run both tools side by side for a billing period.
Airtable lists a Free plan, Team at $20 per user per month billed annually ($24 monthly), Business at $45 ($54 monthly), and Enterprise Scale at a custom price. Only users with edit permission are charged.
Records are capped per base: 1,000 on Free, 50,000 on Team and 125,000 on Business. At the limit you can keep using the base but cannot add records until you upgrade; Airtable says it never removes your data.
You can export any grid view as a CSV, one table at a time. The help centre states that exporting a whole base as a single file is not supported.
None is listed on the pricing or plans pages. Baserow, NocoDB, Grist, SeaTable and Teable each describe a self-hosted edition, under licences that differ, so read the licence before relying on one.
Knack prices by record count with unlimited users, and NocoDB offers an unlimited-seat monthly price on its Plus and Business plans. Fibery and Stackby give read-only guests or observers away for free, but still charge editors.
The terms name Formagrid Inc, doing business as Airtable, governed by California law, and its about page gives a San Francisco headquarters.
Founder of The Knowledge Engineers and of 2 Steps Ahead, an AI search visibility agency. Editorially responsible for every page on this site; research and drafting are AI-assisted.
Written, edited and fact-checked by Sebastiaan Smits. Last reviewed 20 October 2026. How we review.
