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Short answer: if a small team works inside the base and nobody else logs in, Airtable is hard to beat and you may not need an alternative. People start looking when the base becomes an app: clients, field staff or members need their own logins, each should see only their own records, and the seat count, record cap or Portals add-on starts to set the budget. For that, look at a database app builder that ships logins, roles, record-level permissions and workflows as working parts, without a per-user price. Tadabase AI builds that kind of app from a description, with unlimited app users on every paid plan. This guide covers what Airtable's own pricing page includes (read on 2026-10-27), the alternatives by what they do, where Airtable is still the better pick, and how to move a base.
Describe the app you need — we’ll build it now.
We started the prompt for you. Edit it, or describe your own app.
What Airtable does well #
Airtable made the spreadsheet-database mainstream: linked tables, many views of the same data, forms, automations, Interface Designer and a long list of sync integrations. Its pricing page, read on 2026-10-27, lists a free plan with 1,000 records per base, up to 5 editors and 100 automation runs a month. Team is $20 per seat a month billed annually ($24 billed monthly) with 50,000 records per base and 25,000 automation runs. Business is $45 per seat a month billed annually ($54 monthly) with 125,000 records per base and SAML single sign-on. Enterprise Scale is custom-priced, with 500,000 records per base, audit logs, data loss prevention and HIPAA compliance.
For a team that lives in the grid, that is a strong product. The reasons people compare usually show up when the base has to serve people outside the team:
- Every editor is a seat. Paid plans are priced per seat, so the bill follows the number of people who edit.
- Outside users are an add-on. Guest access goes through Portals, sold in packs starting at $120 a month for 15 guests on Team and $150 on Business.
- Records are capped per base. 50,000 on Team and 125,000 on Business. A base that grows past the cap means a bigger plan or a split base.
- Compliance sits at the top. Audit logs and HIPAA compliance are listed only on Enterprise Scale, which is a sales contract.
What an app built on your data needs #
A base is a shared table. An app is the same data with people, rules and work attached. Check every alternative against this list:
| Part | Why it matters | What to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Linked data | Clients have projects, projects have tasks, jobs have visits. | Is the database relational, with relationships between tables? |
| Logins for outsiders | Clients, members and field staff need their own accounts. | Is there a per-user or per-guest price? |
| Record-level permissions | A client must see only their own records, even through the API. | Is the rule enforced on the server, per row, or by a filter on a view? |
| Workflows | Approvals, reminders, emails and documents are most of the work. | Are they built-in steps, and how many runs are included? |
| Room to grow | Records pile up faster than anyone plans for. | What is the record limit, and is it per base, per app or per account? |
| Your data, out | You will import from the base and may leave one day. | Is there CSV import and export? |
The Airtable alternatives, by what they do #
| Option | What it is | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Google Sheets | A spreadsheet with sharing and comments | Small lists one team keeps, where nobody needs separate access |
| Baserow or NocoDB | Open-source, spreadsheet-style databases you can host yourself | Teams that want the Airtable feel on their own servers |
| Softr | Portals and internal apps built from blocks, often on top of an existing Airtable base | Putting a front end on a base you want to keep |
| Knack | A database app builder with logins and roles | Database apps for outside users, built by configuration |
| Tadabase AI | Business apps built from a description: relational tables, roles, row-level security, workflows, hosting, and a React front end that syncs to GitHub | Apps that clients, staff or members log into, where who sees which record matters |
If the base is really a spreadsheet that outgrew itself, the wider list is at tadabase.com/blog/spreadsheet-alternatives. The Tadabase AI and Airtable side-by-side is at tadabase.com/vs/airtable.
Airtable and Tadabase AI, side by side #
| Airtable (airtable.com/pricing, 2026-10-27) | Tadabase AI | |
|---|---|---|
| What you get | A shared database with views, Interfaces and automations | A business app on a running backend, with a React front end |
| How it is priced | Per seat: $20 Team, $45 Business, billed annually | Per plan, with unlimited app users on every paid plan |
| People outside the team | Portals add-on, from $120 a month for 15 guests on Team | App users with logins and roles, included |
| Who sees which record | Interface permissions, shares and field and table editing permissions | Roles and row-level security enforced on the server |
| Business logic | Automations: 25,000 runs a month on Team, 100,000 on Business | Visual workflows: record triggers, buttons, schedules, emails, PDFs, API calls |
| Record limit | 50,000 per base on Team, 125,000 on Business | 25,000 per app on Starter, up to 500,000 per app on Business |
| Entry paid plan | Team at $20 per seat a month billed annually | Starter at $21 a month billed annually ($25 monthly) |
| SSO | SAML on Business | Business plan |
| Audit logs | Enterprise Scale | Business plan |
| Patient data (HIPAA) | Enterprise Scale | HIPAA-eligible plans with a BAA |
| Independent security audit | Not covered here | Built to SOC 2 guidelines, not independently audited |
If one team works in the grid, wants many views and dozens of sync integrations, and nobody else logs in, Airtable is the better tool and Tadabase AI is more than you need. If the people using the data outnumber the people editing it, the right-hand column is the one to test.
How to choose #
| If you need | Look at |
|---|---|
| A flexible grid for one team, with many views | Stay on Airtable |
| The Airtable feel on your own servers | Baserow or NocoDB |
| A portal on top of a base you want to keep | Airtable Portals or Softr |
| A client portal, CRM, work-order or case app with many logins | Tadabase AI: unlimited app users and server-side row-level security |
| Approvals, reminders and documents without writing scripts | Tadabase AI workflows |
| An app that stores patient data | A vendor that signs a BAA; Tadabase AI has HIPAA-eligible plans |
Customer and client records are the most common reason a base turns into an app; that case is covered at tadabase.com/blog/customer-database-software.
Moving an Airtable base to Tadabase AI #
Your data moves; the views and Interfaces are rebuilt as pages for each role. Plan for an afternoon per base, most of it spent on who sees what.
- Export each table. Download every table in the base as a CSV file.
- Describe the app. Tell Tadabase AI what the base is for and who uses it. It builds the tables, roles, rules and workflows with sample data.
- Import your data. Import each CSV into its table, mapping columns to fields. Linked-record columns become relationships between tables.
- Rebuild views as pages. The views each group relied on become pages for that role, and automations become workflows.
- Set the roles. Each role gets row-level security, so a client sees only records connected to them. The rule is enforced on the server, not by a filter on a view.
- Test with a real login. Sign in as a test user in each role and check what they can see and change before you invite anyone.
Build it on Tadabase AI #
Describe the app and the people who use it. For example:
A client portal for our design agency: clients, projects, deliverables and invoices. Clients log in and see only their own projects, approve deliverables and download invoices. Designers see the projects assigned to them and upload files. When a client approves a deliverable, the project manager gets an email.
The AI builds the tables, roles, rules, screens and workflows on a backend that is already running, so there is no server, database or login system to set up. Refine it in chat or in the editor, then publish; paid plans include a custom domain.
Common questions #
What are the best Airtable alternatives? For a self-hosted grid: Baserow or NocoDB. For a portal on top of a base you keep: Softr. For business apps with many logins, linked records and record-level permissions: Tadabase AI or Knack.
Is Airtable free? Yes. The free plan includes unlimited bases, 1,000 records per base, up to 5 editors, 100 automation runs a month and 500 AI credits per editor (airtable.com/pricing, 2026-10-27).
How much does Airtable cost? Team is $20 per seat a month billed annually ($24 monthly) and Business is $45 per seat billed annually ($54 monthly). Enterprise Scale is custom-priced. Portals for outside users are an add-on (airtable.com/pricing, 2026-10-27).
Is there an open-source Airtable alternative? Yes. Baserow and NocoDB are open-source, spreadsheet-style databases you can host on your own servers. Tadabase AI is a hosted platform, not open source; your data exports as CSV and the front end syncs to GitHub.
Can clients log into an Airtable base? Through Portals, an add-on sold in packs of guests, starting at $120 a month for 15 guests on Team. On Tadabase AI, clients are app users with their own logins and roles, unlimited on every paid plan.
Is Tadabase AI an Airtable alternative? Yes, when the base needs to become an app people log into: client portals, CRMs, work orders, case management. Airtable is the better grid for one team; Tadabase AI builds the app around the data, with server-side row-level security, visual workflows and unlimited app users.
Can I try Tadabase AI for free? Yes. Every account starts with a 14-day free trial, no card needed, and 300 AI credits to build with.
Where to start #
Count two numbers: the people who edit the base, and the people who should only see their own part of it. If the second number is zero, stay on Airtable. If it is clients, staff or members, export one table, describe the app to Tadabase AI during the free trial and test it with a login in each role. How AI app builders differ from spreadsheet-databases is covered at tadabase.com/blog/what-is-a-database-application.