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Short answer: a free online database is free in one of three ways. Spreadsheet-style databases such as Airtable have a free plan with a record cap per base. Developer backends such as Supabase and Firebase have a free tier sized for prototypes, and you write the app yourself. No-code app builders such as Zoho Creator have a free edition limited to one app, while others, such as Caspio, offer a trial instead of a free plan. The right choice depends on what the data is for: a shared list for a small team, the backend of an app you are coding, or a working app with logins, forms and rules for the people who use it. This guide compares the free options, explains where each one runs out, and shows when to describe the whole database app to Tadabase AI instead.
Describe the database you need — we’ll build it now, free.
We started the prompt for you. Edit it, or describe your own app.
What an online database is #
An online database keeps your records in the cloud, in tables with typed fields, so several people can read and change the same data from a browser. It differs from a spreadsheet in three ways that matter once a team relies on it: every field has a type, so a date is always a date; tables link to each other, so a client has many orders without copying the client's name into every row; and access can be controlled per person, not per file.
| Need | Spreadsheet | Online database |
|---|---|---|
| Several people editing at once | Works until two people sort the same sheet | Each record is saved on its own |
| Linked data (clients and their orders) | Copied names and lookup formulas | Linked tables |
| Data entry by people outside the team | Share the file, or a separate form tool | Forms that write straight into a table |
| Who can see which rows | Whole file or nothing | Roles and rules per record, depending on the product |
| History of who changed what | Version history of the file | Per-record history, depending on the product |
The free online database options worth knowing #
These are the options most small teams shortlist, grouped by how they are free. Each line was read on the vendor's own pricing or plan page on 2026-10-11; plans change, so check before you commit.
| Option | How it is free | Where the free plan runs out | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airtable | Free plan | 1,000 records per base, 1 GB of attachments per base, 5 editors, 1,000 API calls a month; the Team plan is $20 per user a month billed annually | A small team's shared list or tracker |
| SeaTable | Free cloud plan for up to 25 users | 10,000 rows, 2 GB for files, 3,000 API calls and 100 automations; Plus is from €7 per user a month | A team that wants a spreadsheet-style database with some automation |
| Supabase | Free plan for a hosted Postgres database | 500 MB database, 1 GB file storage, 2 active projects, and free projects pause after a week of inactivity; Pro is from $25 a month | Developers writing their own app |
| Firebase (Cloud Firestore) | No-cost Spark plan | 1 GiB stored, 50,000 reads, 20,000 writes and 20,000 deletes a day; above that you move to the pay-as-you-go Blaze plan | Developers building mobile and web apps |
| Zoho Creator | Free edition | One custom app | Trying low-code app building |
| Caspio | No free plan; a free trial | Paid plans start at Team, $300 a month (or $270 a month on an annual term) | Teams that already plan to pay |
What free actually costs #
- Record caps. A cap of a thousand records is enough for a pilot, not for a year of orders, tickets or patients. Count the rows you will have in twelve months, not today.
- Seat pricing. When the paid plan is priced per editor, every colleague you add raises the bill. Check how the price behaves at ten people, not at one.
- Paused projects. A free backend that pauses after a quiet week is fine for a prototype and wrong for a tool your team opens on Monday morning.
- The app around the data. Logins, forms, roles, email notifications and reports are where most of the work is. A free database that leaves all of that to you is free in license only.
- Leaving later. Check that you can export everything, records and files, in a format you can import elsewhere.
How to choose #
| If your situation is | Start with |
|---|---|
| A shared list for a few colleagues, under a thousand rows | A spreadsheet-style free plan |
| You are a developer and want a backend for an app you are coding | A developer backend's free tier |
| Clients, staff or students need to log in and see only their own records | A database app builder with roles and row-level security |
| Data comes in through forms and has to trigger emails or approvals | A database app builder with workflows |
| The data is regulated, such as patient records | A plan that covers it in writing; free plans rarely do |
When to build a database app instead #
Build when the database is the back office of a process: a client list with a portal, a work-order system with field staff, an inventory with orders, a school with families who log in. That is where Tadabase AI fits. You describe the app in plain words and it builds the tables, roles, rules, forms and workflows on a backend that is already running, so there is no server to keep awake and no login system to write.
| Spreadsheet-style free plan | Developer free tier | Tadabase AI | |
|---|---|---|---|
| People who can use the app | Editors are capped on the free plan | Your code decides | Unlimited app users on every plan |
| Screens, logins and forms | Views and forms inside the product | You build them | Built for you, then editable |
| Per-person access enforced on the server | Depends on the plan | You write the policies | Yes, row-level security |
| Emails, reminders, approvals | Automations with plan limits | You write them | Workflows and scheduled tasks |
| Who runs the servers | The vendor | The vendor; Supabase pauses idle free projects | Tadabase |
Build it on Tadabase AI #
Describe the database and the people who use it. For example:
A client database for our bookkeeping firm: clients, contacts, engagements and documents, with a portal where each client logs in and sees only their own engagements and uploads documents. Staff see their assigned clients, admins see everything. Email the assigned staff member when a client uploads a document.
The AI builds the tables, roles, rules and workflows with sample data. Then refine what it built:
- Your existing data. Import the spreadsheet you use today as CSV, one sheet per table.
- Typed, linked tables. Change a field type or add a link between tables as a setting, not a formula.
- Roles and row-level security. Clients get a policy scoped to records connected to the logged-in user. The rule is enforced on the server, not by a filter on the page.
- Forms and workflows. A form submission saves a record, and a workflow on that record sends the email, updates a status or creates a task.
- Room to grow. The Starter plan holds 25,000 records per app with 5 GB of files; higher plans go to 500,000 records per app.
Common questions #
Is there a completely free online database? Several have free plans, but each caps something: records, storage, editors, apps or activity. Pick the one whose cap you will not hit in the next year.
Are there free online databases with automations? Some free plans include a small automation allowance; SeaTable's free cloud plan, for example, lists 100 automations. Count how many records your automations will touch in a month before you rely on a free allowance.
Is Google Sheets a database? It stores rows in the cloud, but fields are not typed, tables do not link, and access is per file rather than per record. It is a good start and a weak back office.
What is the best free database for a small business? For a short shared list, a spreadsheet-style free plan. For anything customers or staff log into, a database app builder, because the logins and rules are the hard part.
Do I need to know SQL? Not for spreadsheet-style tools or Tadabase AI. Developer backends such as Supabase expect you to work with SQL or code.
How secure is a free online database? The hosting is usually the same as on paid plans; the difference is access control. Many free plans share whole tables or bases, so anyone with access sees every row. If clients or staff should see only their own records, you need row-level rules, which is what a database app adds.
When should I upgrade from a free plan? When you are within reach of the record or editor cap, when people outside the team need to log in, or when a process (approvals, reminders, invoices) still runs by hand next to the database.
Can I try Tadabase AI for free? Yes. Every account starts on the free plan with no card: 5 credits a day plus a one-time 300-credit welcome bonus. There is no trial clock.
Where to start #
Write down three numbers: how many records you will have in a year, how many people will edit them, and how many people outside the team need to log in. If all three are small, a free plan will do. If the third number is more than zero, describe the app to Tadabase AI; small businesses can start from the client management guide at tadabase.com/blog/client-management-software-for-small-business.