Airtable Reviews

Pros

Airtable brings actual structure to our working environment. We use for a team of 15 to track tasks, projects, and even for lightweight documentation of work done or where stuff is. I really like the flexibility and the ability to create just about anything with it and still make the finished product look nice. The UI is what people first comment on when I invite them to our shared set of bases--either "it looks great" or "this is easy" or something like that. I especially love the integration with Zapier so that if you need to go outside an Airtable base, you probably won't have to do manual entry--it can sync with your other app.

Cons

With the free version, you will hit the record limit will pretty easily. I wish they had a lower-priced plan that was above the free version, but below their much more expensive tiers.
A second huge miss is that there was really no way to do rich text. That severely limits the usefulness for using Airtable as any kind of repository for content or anything like that. Basically you convert everything to HTML markup and store it as plain text in Airtable, but like I said they have promised to fix this . . .

Pros

Airtable is a simple, collaborative database app. As long as the engineering team isn't too huge, working together on a bill of materials (BOM) is straightforward. One of my favorite features is the ability to create filtered views that are unique to each user.

Cons

When a company's workforce size increases, Airtable's price tag skyrockets. The options for exporting are restricted. Airtable is not the place to store documents. Airtable does not support complicated equations. The user interface isn't always the most obvious.

Pros

Being able to tag coworkers to review copy, graphics, and videos. Easy to upload content or create new updates for each day. Love the color coordination, helps when building our content for two brands.

Cons

Can be hard to review with multiple pieces of content slotted on day. Wish you could slide/move content around vs deleting and recreating.

Pros

I have been an Airtable user for years, and have always been impressed with its ease of use and the pace of improvements to the product itself.

Cons

Airtable has recently suffered from a lack of customer support while simultaneously (in my experience) a higher rate of usability issues/bugs. Now, they've changed their pricing structure to revoke email support from the lowest priced tier. They expect users to be able to solve their own problems via the community discussion boards and less-than-sufficient/often outdated self help articles/pages. If there was a robust library of documentation, this might be acceptable, but there is not. We might consider upgrading to the higher tier of service, but I have submitted at least 5 contact forms to speak with a salesperson, but have not received any outreach from their sales team. I suspect we will have no choice but to abandon Airtable, since we use it for critical business operations and cannot risk having it break without any customer support to troubleshoot, but also we have been unable to get in touch with any salesperson to upgrade to the higher-level accounts that come with email support.

Pros

A lot of templates to start with. Highly customizable.

Cons

Pricing depends on the number of users. A free account allows you up to 1000 registrations.

Alternatives Considered

BuzzStream and ClickUp

Reasons for Choosing Airtable

Looking for a solution with more options.

Switched From

Trello

Reasons for Switching to Airtable

Scalable paying options and the price is competitive.

Pros

Airtable is a user friendly platform. Because this is incredibly versatile and user-friendly. It’s like having a supercharged spreadsheet with the power of a database. The drag-and-drop interface and customizable templates make it easy to set up and manage projects of any kind

Cons

These reviews highlight the strengths of Airtable in terms of usability, collaboration, integration, customization, support, project management, and data visualization.

Pros

Customization, organization of files in dashboards, similar to Excel but more user friendly, transferring data

Cons

Can't share bases with many people at once

Pros

it has an intuitive and visually appealing interface, kain git easy for users to manage database.
flexibility
rich features

Cons

pricing; its limited in terms of storage and advanced features.
limited data capacity
complexity in scaling

Pros

I liked this for it's flexible database and ways of working system also it's speed.

Cons

Because of it's different features and working view.

Pros

Everything i like about airtable service very good

Cons

Airtable i like everything for me is a separate

Pros

I love that this works as an Excel document, but you can also do so much more with it - attach documents, check boxes, drop down options, and so many more things. It has great integrations with other platforms, and is easy to set up for various different functions that Excel could never offer. I also love the extra blocks you can use that give you more options for functions, such as creating pivot tables, sending texts, keeping an organizational chart, and even setting a countdown! It makes me want to explore more ways I can use this to help make our workflow better within my work team.

Cons

It does take a little getting used to at first if you are used to excel. It's not quite a replacement for Excel if you are trying to make a traditional sheet with borders, and it also isn't as easy to highlight select cells and copy/paste them in other places like in an Excel sheet. It also doesn't really support traditional Microsoft formatting which is kind of annoying when you try to copy information in. But seeing as how this is a better system for containing information, its pros outweigh the cons and you can easily use Excel and Airtable at the same time to support your various needs.

Alternatives Considered

Microsoft Excel

Reasons for Switching to Airtable

This was a step up from our old method of using a Google sheet to keep information in one place. It hasn't completely replaced Google Docs or Excel, but it has been a great service for us to keep certain records that are harder to keep track of on other less complex platforms.

Pros

First: It's a database that is actually aesthetically attractive. AND it's easier to use and manipulate than Excel. AND you can custom build what you need, rather than finagling a pre-built CRM for your specific needs. Also all of the different visual ways of looking at the data/records are key.

Cons

There are some features that are still lacking. Like the ability to read what's in a cell and do something with that information. It's also quite expensive, especially for a non-profit like us.

Alternatives Considered

Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT

Reasons for Choosing Airtable

So much easier to manipulate and search for constituents and records. The sortability, filterability, beautiful views, etc.

Switched From

Microsoft Excel

Reasons for Switching to Airtable

Raiser's Edge didn't really match our needs for very detailed and specific data collection. It also wouldn't have been as easy to onboard all of our staff, as queries and reports are a bit more difficult and less intuitive to run than simply sorting on Airtable or filtering.

Pros

Where to even begin! I love how it's the 21st century excel spreadsheet. I can collaborate and keep track of clients and projects all under one document. I also, love how it live updates and the amount of features that airtable could give my company keeps growing. Because it's such a broad type of software I can customize it to exactly my needs and exactly my preferences.

Cons

There are some limitations with the advanced features, but that is understandable because the free version (which I use) is already so powerful that I can't believe they are offering it for free.

Alternatives Considered

Microsoft Excel

Reasons for Choosing Airtable

I needed something that didn't require someone to have a Microsoft account and that could be on my phone or on my computer or where I was.

Switched From

Microsoft Excel

Reasons for Switching to Airtable

I wanted something that had pre-made templates and something that could be shared to anyone on any device.

Pros

The simplest form of using Airtable is still so much better than using Excel Spreadsheets. Airtable is fairly easy to use, however, does take a bit of time to learn about so many of the features it has to offer. I could probably apply more time in learning how it could further benefit the way I use it every day in my business.

Cons

I do find there are SO MANY great features, it might be nice to have an onboarding specialist... heck I've been such a long-time user maybe they have this. Their customer support is top-notch and quick to respond to any requests.

Alternatives Considered

monday.com and ClickUp

Reasons for Switching to Airtable

I had seen these other products about a year into using Airtable and was pretty content with my current situation, I took a look at ClickUp and it just seemed too bloated for what I needed. Monday also. Airtable is just a lot easier to use in a simple manner or a more complex manner when you are ready for it.

Pros

Automations! Automating workflows is very important for my business because we are very few and manage a huge customer base. This takes a lot off our plates and we can focus more on the tasks we can't automate. Workflows such as weekly digests, where we send a different message to customers in different views, with specific data respective to each group. For us, automation is the real deal!

Cons

I can't really complain about Airtable's shortcomings to be really honest. But I guess that's just me. However, one problem I assume new users face though is the realization that they still need a lot of their Excel and spreadsheet skills here with Airtable formulas. It is not as friendly in that department to inexperienced users. I suppose that could be a con for new users not proficient with Excel sheets or spreadsheets in general.

Pros

I love everything about the forms in Airtable. They are completely customizable. They populate the data in an easy-to-read spreadsheet. It sends me automatic notifications every time that someone fills out a form. It keeps all of my systems and my school organized because I have a form for everything and there are no limits on how many forms I can have it really has allowed me to create a beautiful system of collecting data.

Cons

There’s a ton of features in Airtable that I don’t use. I think when I first started I spent a long time trying to figure out how I can use their other features. However, I don’t think that every feature that they have is worth using. However, since there is no cost to Airtable that doesn’t matter.

Pros

I really appreciate how intuitive and easy-to-use Airtable is, It has a simple, user-friendly interface that makes it easy to quickly create and manage databases, collaborate with team members, and build powerful automations, It also offers a variety of integrations with popular cloud storage solutions and third-party apps, making it a great tool for teams looking for an efficient way to manage their data and workflows.

Cons

The one thing I like least about Airtable is that some of the more advanced features can be a bit confusing to use, particularly for users who are new to the platform, However, Airtable does offer great documentation and tutorials to help users get up and running quickly.

Alternatives Considered

Knack and Zoho Creator

Reasons for Switching to Airtable

We chose Airtable over the other products because it offered the best combination of features and price, It has a simple, intuitive interface that allows us to quickly create and manage databases, build powerful automations, collaborate with team members, and much more, It also has great integrations with popular cloud storage solutions and third-party apps, as well as a variety of tools for managing data, Also the pricing was very reasonable, making it an affordable solution for teams of all sizes.

Pros

I appreciate the adaptability. With the help of drop-down menus, department-specific colors, and the ability to sort data by any number of criteria, I can easily organize my data into useful chunks. Though I'm only just getting started with Airtable, I'm enjoying my time with it and am looking forward to learning all there is to know about it.

Cons

It can be cumbersome to keep track of which users have access to certain databases and tables, therefore you may prefer to use a different platform when communicating with stakeholders.

Pros

This product has been a game changer for my company. Being an Ecommerce business with inventory and teams. It has made it easy to set up bases, automations, dashboard to track a lot. It has made order management so seamless for easy for my teamm less clutter and so many features that has helped the business. Love that I can create multiple bases.

Cons

It has evolved over the years with their updates. But I think the dashboard can be better. They can definitely take a few features from clickup especially with things like tracking and notes.

Alternatives Considered

monday.com

Reasons for Choosing Airtable

Too expensive and theor formula feature wasn't the best.

Switched From

ClickUp

Reasons for Switching to Airtable

Because it was simpler to use, easier, affordable and we earn points. Really great functionalities and the automations have been so helpful.

Pros

Ease of use, basically a database without the complexity of being one. No more managing of tabulated data via spreadsheet or simple table in word processing software. I also like the fact that I can do data entry in expanded and table views (I have a base called “Ideas”, where each column correspond to an area of interest in idea generation, e.g. Problem, Market, Competition, Elevator Pitch etc. - which the preferred data entry method is in the Expanded Jew; where as for base such as my “Bank Transactions Tracker”, the table field is better.

I also like how they aren’t just focusing on being American (yay to company that bother to cater to ALL date format under the sky) although for some other colum type they haven’t got down to it yet (telephone number etc.).

Personally I am a big fan of the Pro feature Blocks, which I used to create performace dashboards for my freelance subscription business. The Blocks feature is the only reason I opt to pay, although I am paying mostly out of my credits accumulated during the earlier days of Airtable.

Also like the community that’s building on top of it, forum is very active and lots of power users to learn from.

Combine with with other IaaS tool such as Zapier and you get a really powerful tool.

Cons

Insufficient control (can be easy to make mistake such as accidental typing etc.), lack of data validation (upon data entry), and interface could use more customization (e.g. lots of empty/white spaces in Card views, can’t have multiple lines in field header etc.).

Pros

We've migrated several of our Operations Office processes to Airtable and couldn't be happier. Not only is Airtable easy to use, it's easy to integrate. It might not do everything we need, but by linking tools, like Zapier, it's so simple to manipulate data and let the data trigger actions in the other software that we use every day.

For example, we've built a base to track key distribution for our 210,000 sq. ft. facility. We have a table with records for each of the 858 unique keys in our inventory, which links to a table where we track all of the keys issued to individuals. With filtered views, it's easy to see who has past due keys or which rooms are at the greatest security risk. And because it's all web-based, we don't have to worry about who checks in a key because everyone's base is updated in real time.

As a relational database, Airtable lets you establish connections between two complex tables. We can click on a person to see all of the keys they've been issued, or we can click on a key to see all of the people who have it.

Not only are our processes more efficient, they're actually more productive. Working from a standard spreadsheet, the type of reporting we're doing now would not be feasible. With Airtable, getting the answer is almost as easy as asking the question, and with the mobile app, I can ask the question wherever I am in the building--or outside of it.

Cons

Airtable has a great feature set as a relational database, particularly for the price and ease of use, but there are some limitations--not enough to cost a star in any one category though. The nine bases we've built so far were all things that we migrated from a spreadsheet system. From that perspective, Airtable is missing the ability to use conditional formatting and it's a little lean on available functions in the formula field. So far I've managed to find workarounds for almost everything, but they're not always the most elegant. Despite these limitations, we recently upgraded to an annual paid plan after six months on the free plan.

Pros

Last year I was on the search for a solution to replace XLS and found Airtable. Previously we were using microsoft xls, as we found even GoogleDocs didn't work for our purpose.

We produce hundreds and up to thousands of products for one event and previously used xls to keep track of production and for by line item invoicing purposes. The ability to have all the data in one spreadsheet but then filter things out in a specific view that allows you to see only what you want is useful and makes it so you don't have to have multiple spreadsheets with the same data. For example we have an invoicing view, that's filtered easily to show costs. Then a post event inventory view where clients can see what they can use for next event. We also have a QC view where our team members can easily QC the product without all the unnecessary data in their view/way. We also use filters to easily show us what still needs to be approved and what is left to be produced for the event. It's a been a great way for us to manage large scale projects and our clients love it. Also, the fact that it has a phone app is helpful to us since we work events, we are constantly on the road traveling and not always at a computer.
The ability to download the spreadsheets is simple also, so when I need to create an XLS file to accompany our invoice, this is simple and easy for me to do.

Cons

The #1 priority for improvement that every Airtable user complains about is the lack of restrictive access. Access is "all or nothing" so if I give my clients "Read" access, they're only limited to one view and can't edit or note anything. If we give them "Edit" access they are able to edit anything in our entire database, including our pricing, so that doesn't work. We want, for example, a customer to be able to go and note/change info for one column and not be able to add/remove anything. For example they could go in and put "approved" for a line item that they approve for production, but can't change any cells not in that column.

I'm not confident in their tech support at this time . Recently we had some data loss issues that created mass concern. We added data to specific cells in an existing spreadsheet, and the next day the data was gone. Airtable keeps record of any change in a cell and there was no record of us ever entering the data, like it never happened. We provided specific examples and their explanation of "packet loss" on our end makes zero sense. Based on data that we entered that day, we added a photo, then added a date, photo, then date... all the photos stuck, the dates did not, so it would mean that every other second a packet data loss happened? They still haven't given a suitable answer to this, and if you can't rely on the data you enter being there, that's made us think twice about moving to the paid version, which we were about to.

Pros

This is the case, when I can only tell cons, however I am using Airtable every day, organizing all my business with it.
It's not a powerful database like Caspio for example, there are lots of things don't work as should. BUT it's a handy, internet based database, allowing you to easy create views, and see information sorted, to hide fields ot group by a field it's probably the best way in my opinion, you can view the information the way its most productive for you.
check boxes, multi-select or single select fields, autonumbering and a range of colors you can use to see information , easy way to introduce colaboration with "Make" - ex- Integromat , and Zapier and Jotforms and more makes Airtable a handy tool.
I would not give 5 starts to any of its features. And still is the application I use everyday to plan my jobwork.

Cons

Deduplication fields. Guys, please: I need to deduplicate all lines, pressing one button. Why can't you include the option 'dedup all' - on my own risk and I have to do it one-by-one and ask me if i agree?
And the 'merge option' is buggy.
Automations are buggy. It's a feature supposed to run javascript code, that's not exactly working here.
Also, to combine tables and fields, as they say it's handy but doing many things here one by one, and can't press to apply some rule to all , is really missing.
However, if you do small tasks, it's probably the best app.

Pros

The interface and ease of use are unbeatable, so much so that the competition does what it can to copy it.On the other hand, the speed and ease of maintenance makes it incredible for handling a large amount of data: filtering, automation, etc.

Cons

The price is incredible high for managing a small business but the free tier is enough for most of the tasks.

Alternatives Considered

Stackby

Reasons for Choosing Airtable

To get the best

Switched From

Stackby

Reasons for Switching to Airtable

This is the best even in mobile.

Pros

* lends itself well to building information tracking resources
* simple data-driven layout
* scalable project areas

my operations team uses airtable to manage a lot of information flow and have converted complex tracking resources into the airtable format. the fact that we now utilize the app for a lot of these solutions is a testament to its immediate strengths. i enjoy how airtable doesn't necessarily force me into any specific workflow, which has been the major reason why other project management solutions don't work--everyone has a different philosophy around project management.

Cons

* pricing model
* learning curve
* communication management
* lack of certain standard features

there are a lot of glaring pain points that my team encounters on a weekly basis which makes airtable, not necessarily the perfect solution but rather the best we've found so far.

first off, airtable is too expensive for my company based specifically on their pricing model. to note, airtable charges per user per workspace. each member of my team manages specific projects related to a different area of the business. for ease of organization, we have a separate airtable workspace built to accomodate each employee. for example, we have a workspace for finance projects and a workspace for customer support projects. from a visual project management standpoint, this makes the most sense. sometimes our finance manager will need to engage and comment on a project base going on in the customer support workspace and vice versa. this engagement occurs daily.

if you're a single user, incredibly small team or your company is client-based (where these costs would go into your billing), airtable's pricing model may not be much of a hinderance.

there is a high learning curve when you get started. this is about a week of tutorials and deep-diving into the app. a lot of this time was spent modifying personal workflows to best utilize airtable. after that week of hair-pulling and a lot of cursing at our computer screens everything immediately became easier.

one strong flaw in airtable is its team communication solutions. you have the ability to run comment strings on individual data rows, but an overall tab dedicated to general discussion would be immensely helpful to streamline discussion and reduce the amount of hunting/pecking for information.

for a project management solution, airtable is fairly weak at offering seemingly standard task management features like scheduled notifications and workback timelines. after enough online digging, you can sometimes stumble upon a "good enough" solution. on this subject, archiving is not at all available, which is one of the more "seriously?" missing features.