The Best Free Airtable Alternative

What Is Airtable?

Airtable is a hybrid tool that merges spreadsheet functionality with database storage capabilities. Howie Liu, Andrew Ofstad, and Emmet Nicholas founded the company in 2012 as a solution for businesses to better organize their information digitally.

If you don’t organize your information well, it can lead to a lower productivity level in your company. With its cloud database solution, Airtable gives you the ability to build anything from simple to very complex databases to organize all of your information. 

Building databases usually require help from engineers, but with Airtable, you can create these databases without having to worry about coding at all. Information stored on Airtable can be filtered and manipulated, helping you to better visualize large amounts of information.

Think of Airtable as a cross between excel and a database that’s loaded with more features.

Features of Airtable

Airtable has a few features to help you store and organize your data. 

An Airtable Workspace contains Bases, which contain all your project information. Each Workspace will ideally have a few unique Bases which contain organizational information relating to that area.

Bases contain Tables, which take some inspiration from spreadsheets. Information in Airtable is stored within Tables, and you can have multiple Tables within your Base.

For example, you could have a content workspace, which contains an editorial base. Your editorial base would then contain a few tables such as an article ideas table, a blog schedule table, and other tables relating to editorial.

After storing your data, you can switch between a few views including the classic Spreadsheet view, Kanban, Gallery, Calendar, and Gantt view. 

Airtable isn't exactly beginner-friendly, but if used correctly it can be a powerful tool to store and organize your information. To make things easier for beginners, Airtable has templates available to help kickstart your project since every project begins as a clean slate.

In contrast, Taskade is a better free alternative to Airtable because Taskade is intuitive and has a wide range of Templates to help you organize just about anything.

Airtable also works with Zapier and Workato so that you can integrate with other apps within your Airtable and also automate certain tasks.

Additionally, you can also create interactive apps in Airtable for your team to use. Apps that you create will be stored by Airtable which means that it’s quite a hassle-free experience. 

Airtable can be a powerful database tool to have, but that’s just about what it is. Sure, you can create customized reports and new workflows, but it simply isn’t a full project management suite that allows for real-time collaboration such as Taskade.

What Is Airtable Good For?

Every Airtable project starts as an empty sheet, which means that you can use it to input any sort of information. It is a flexible database tool that you can use to organize your data. You can use Airtable for accounting, inventory management, CRM, and more.

If spreadsheets are your cup of tea, then Airtable is for you. You can use it to create new processes and set up new sheets to help make reports easier to manage.

Although you can use Airtable for simple project management, we wouldn't recommend using it for more complex projects that require collaboration as Airtable has limited communication and collaboration features.

What Are Some Limitations of Airtable?

Although Airtable works well as a database management tool, it is not beginner-friendly. Seasoned Airtable users and spreadsheet experts can probably make full use of Airtable’s capabilities. 

However, if you’re a beginner, you’re likely to feel overwhelmed. If organizing information in excel is not your strongest suit, Airtable will probably be a complicated tool for you to master. You could learn how to use Airtable, but be prepared to invest some time in learning how to use it to your advantage.

If you’re here, it probably is because you’re looking for software to manage projects and to-do lists, and Airtable simply doesn't have enough features for you to do this efficiently.

Airtable lacks proper communication features to help you communicate with your team. When it comes to real-time communication for project management, Taskade is the best free Airtable alternative. This is because Taskade offers free and unlimited chat and video conferencing built-in to every project so that you can communicate with your team without having to toggle between apps.

Airtable also does not support linking between bases. This means that if you need to access information from multiple bases, you will have to manually toggle between them.

Airtable is more of a replacement for Excel, not a project management tool. It is hard to communicate and assign tasks within Airtable. Although it is a good software to use for organizing data, there are better alternatives out there. If you’re a user looking for a tool to manage your projects, Taskade would be a better option for you.

Airtable Pricing

Airtable has 3 main pricing plans which include the Free Plan, Plus Plan, and Pro Plan. There is also an additional Enterprise plan which can be unlocked by getting in touch with their team.

Airtable Free Plan

A Free Plan is perfect for you if you’re a beginner to Airtable. It comes with everything you need to try out Airtable such as unlimited bases and 2GB of maximum storage per base. The free plan also includes all available views within Airtable and gives you the ability to create 1 app per base.

The Free Plan comes with 1200 records per base.

Airtable Plus Plan

If you require more features, Airtable’s Plus Plan brings up the maximum number of records to 5000 with 5GB of max storage per base. Airtable will also store your version history for up to 6 months so that you can revert your project back to a previous version.

The Plus plan lets you collaborate with unlimited users and gives you the ability to create 3 apps per base.

Airtable’s Plus Plan starts at $10 per user per month.

Airtable Pro Plan

The Pro Plan gives you up to 50,000 records with up to 20GB maximum storage per base, which means that it is catered more towards bigger businesses. It unlocks the Gantt and Timeline views plus keeps your version history for up to a year.

You can also create up to 10 apps per base with the option to create personal views that only you can see.

Airtable’s Pro Plan starts at $20 per user per month.

What Is Taskade?

Taskade is a flexible productivity and project management tool that was founded by John Xie, Dionis Loire, and Stan Chang in 2017. The Y Combinator-backed startup aims to help remote teams and individuals get work done faster and smarter.

Taskade is where remote teams get work done. With Taskade, you can organize entire projects and easily break them down into tasks, change between multiple project views, automate repetitive workflows, collaborate via built-in video chat with your team, and more, via an all-in-one unified workspace. 

Get a headstart on your projects and find a suitable structure for your notes via Taskade’s versatile collection of templates. Simply choose from a wide variety of templates and add them to your projects to get started instantly!

Taskade is a supercharged productivity app that both individuals and teams can use to collaborate on projects in real-time.

Taskade is the best free Airtable alternative because Taskade was designed with a remote-first approach, allowing teams to collaborate and get work done together virtually. You can create unlimited tasks and projects even on the free plan, giving you the ability to plan heavier projects as soon as you get started.

With Taskade, you can create tasks and visualize them via multiple project views. You can also add collaborators to your Taskade project to collaborate with people within or even outside of your organization.

Taskade is the tool to use for project managers. Get started instantly for free today.

Key Features of Taskade

• Project Views. Visualize your projects in several different ways. Cycle between the List, Mind Map, Org Chart, and Board views to work the way you want. 

  • List View. This is the default view on Taskade. Create new lists here.
  • Board View. This view lets you work horizontally like a Kanban board. Visualize your workflow and tasks in this full-width view.
  • Mind Map View. This view lets you work in a horizontal tree-structured manner and map out what you have in mind.
  • Action View. Work in table view and stay organized with your task due dates, and more.
  • Org Chart View. Break down larger tasks into smaller ones to help you get things done.

• Fold/Unfold. Fold (collapse) a parent task/bullet element to hide its subtasks. Indent outline elements with ⌨️ Tab and unfold lists with ⌨️ Shift+Tab.
• Real-time Communication. Chat and video conference with your team while collaborating in real-time on the same page. 
• 500+ Templates. Choose from 500+ templates across 26 categories to improve your productivity and workflows. Customize existing templates or create new ones across your workspaces. Zoom In, Zoom Out. Get a bird’s-eye view of the workflow by zooming out on all project views, or zoom in to focus on a specific area.
• Multi-Select. Select and format multiple blocks or bulk assign them as tasks to other team members. You can also copy, paste, or indent selected blocks.

• Customize Sub-Tasks. Customize the format of your sub-tasks at individual levels. Choose from headings, numbered lists, shapes, and more.
• Recurring Tasks. Add due dates with start and end times to tasks within your project and set them to repeat daily, weekly, monthly, or even yearly.
• Move Tasks. Move and copy selected tasks to other projects across any workspace. You’ll receive a pop-up notification on completion.
• User Roles & Permissions. Manage collaborators and assign user roles/editing privileges (Owner, Admin, Editor, Checker, Viewer).

• Sort Tasks. Sort sub-tasks/children elements by completed/uncompleted stats or the due date. Task sorting can be accessed from a convenient pop-up menu.
• Search. Search within projects or globally across workspaces and subspaces. Instantly browse and jump between projects anywhere in the Taskade.
• Keyboard Shortcuts. Navigate projects, create content blocks, reorder elements, and complete tasks using a set of handy keyboard shortcuts.

• Team Calendar. Aggregate all tasks and projects in a shared calendar. The Taskade calendar integrates with Google (two-way), Apple, and Outlook. 
• Reorder Tasks. Lists in Taskade aren’t set in stone. Reorder tasks and find them a new home with intuitive drag-and-drop mechanics.
• Project History. See all the changes made by you and other collaborators. Click on the entries to navigate to the edited items within the project.
• Version History. Taskade saves snapshots of your project so that you can restore a previous version of your project with a single click.

• Export and Print. You can export your projects as plain text or markdown files. Attach them to emails, presentations, or for print.

• Cloud File Upload. Share files directly from Google Drive, Dropbox, Instagram, and Box in your projects with our integrations.
• Breakdown Larger Tasks. Organize your thoughts with Taskade’s unlimited hierarchy to break down large projects into tasks.
• Quick Search. Use CMD / CTRL + K to jump between any projects within Taskade web and apps.

For an exhaustive list of Taskade’s features, click here.

Taskade Pros

• Free-forever plan is loaded with features
• Unlimited tasks and projects even on the free plan
• Real-time collaboration within the same project 
• Free built-in video call and chat function in each project
• Customizable templates to give you a headstart
• Work and chat in the same window, in the same app
• Frequent updates based on user/your feedback and suggestions
• Tabbed workflow for working with multiple Projects

Taskade Cons

• No custom APIs (yet)

Taskade Pricing

Taskade Free Plan

• Unlimited Tasks & Projects
• Unlimited Members & Guests
• Unlimited Folders & Teams
• Templates, Calendar, Repeat Tasks
• Real-time Collaboration
• Built-in Free Chat and Video Call

Taskade Unlimited Plan - Starts from $5/month

• Everything in Free, plus:
• Version History
• Advanced Permission
• Cloud Upload Integration
• 2-Way Calendar Integration

Taskade is a better alternative to Airtable because it offers a more robust solution for your productivity needs at a competitive price. Taskade offers unlimited tasks and projects even with our free plan to help you organize your projects and to-do lists.

Click here for more information.

Is Taskade Right for You?

Taskade can be used by individuals and teams working from anywhere. Use Taskade individually or collaborate with your team on shared to-do lists, weekly agendas, team meetings, note-taking, project management, product roadmaps, and more. 

Make use of customizable board views to visualize your projects into digestible smaller tasks. Multiple board views are available even on Taskade’s free plan at a single click of a button, allowing you to get more work done the smarter way. 

Collaborate with your team in real-time with free and unlimited chat and video conferencing that’s available on every project. Automatic syncing ensures that your data is always up to date across devices.

Our customizable templates are available even with our free plan. Find the perfect template to help you get started with your project, and customize it to fit your needs!

Taskade is the simplest way to create task lists, checklists, and workflows. Manage projects and get more work done the simple way with Taskade.

Taskade is the best free Airtable alternative. Try Taskade for free today.