Overview
Airtable bridges the gap between spreadsheets and databases, letting users create sophisticated applications without code. Used by companies like Netflix, Shopify, and Time, it excels at content planning, inventory management, and complex data relationships. Airtable's power comes from its flexible field types, linked records, and formula capabilities that rival spreadsheets. The Interfaces feature lets you build custom front-ends for your data. However, this power comes with complexity - building a useful system takes significant time and often technical expertise. The pricing also jumps significantly for advanced features like automations and sync.
Pricing
Best for: Technical users building custom solutions
The Good
- Incredibly powerful data modeling capabilities
- Build any workflow imaginable with custom apps
- Best-in-class API and integrations
- Advanced automation engine
- Beautiful interfaces possible with effort
- Familiar spreadsheet paradigm
- Strong for content management and inventory
The Bad
- Requires developer mindset to use effectively
- Expensive at $20/user/mo for basic features
- Hours/days of configuration needed
- No native project management or tasks
- You become the system admin
- 1,000 record limit on free plan is restrictive
- Complex for non-technical users
Best For
Technical users building custom solutions
Airtable is a platform for building apps, not using them. You'll spend more time configuring databases than actually running your business. Great if you're technical and love building - exhausting otherwise.
Key Features
- 01Spreadsheet-database hybrid with relational linking
- 0225+ field types including formulas and lookups
- 03Interfaces for custom app-like views
- 04Automations with triggers and actions
- 05Sync with external data sources
- 06Extensions marketplace
- 07REST API for developers
Integrations
Use Cases
- Content Calendar
- Inventory Management
- CRM (DIY)
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See how it compares to an all-in-one solution.