Best Airtable Alternatives: Free & Paid Options Ranked (2024)

Connectivity is key to productivity in project management. Airtable is one of the many project management software solutions that presents itself as the app to connect your data, workflows and teams. Airtable helps you build custom applications to streamline your business processes, workflow and the overall projects you’re managing. Yet, many people are searching online for an Airtable alternative.

Why seek an alternative project management solution? Let’s find out by first understanding where Airtable excels and where it falls short.

Reasons to Seek an Airtable Alternative

While Airtable sounds powerful, we wouldn’t be talking about the tool if there weren’t ample reasons for seeking an Airtable alternative. Let’s review some of the main disadvantages of the software.

Lack of resource management features: Airtable doesn’t have resource management features to manage your team’s workload, track resource utilization and identify resource over or underallocation.
Limited workflow management tools: Airtable’s task and workflow management are very limited in their capacity to help team leaders and project managers to manage the task sequences that help their teams complete a process and produce deliverables.
Overly basic task management tools: Some of Airtable’s task management tools such as its product roadmap, kanban board and calendar views lack advanced features such as critical path analysis, resource tracking or cost monitoring tools.
Project management features: Airtable is designed for helping teams manage their workflows and stay on top of their tasks, but lacks project management tools for planning, scheduling and tracking projects.
Steep learning curve: One big oversight, especially for an app that prides itself on collaboration, is the steep learning curve. Even if you’re an expert at Excel, you’ll find the tool hard to use and navigate.
Non-intuitive user interface: The tool seems to think of itself as a super-sized Excel, yet Airtable is even more complicated. For example, there’s a formula function on Excel that makes managing projects easier. Airtable doesn’t offer any sort of formula function. That absence alone is sure to have many seeking an Airtable alternative.
Limited team collaboration features: Even the communication tool, the foundation of collaboration software, is lacking. There’s no way to have a general dialogue with the project team. Yes, you can comment on individual data rows, but if you have to take time to search for those comments, then you’re wasting time and not collaborating
Expensive task management solution: And thanks to Airtable’s pricing, you’re also paying a premium to get a limited scope compared to some Airtable alternatives. For example, Airtable’s workspaces are separate and one cannot link to another unless you’re willing to pay twice as much for one person to have access to two workspaces. Data from different workspaces are hard to connect and this becomes an obstacle to integrated analytics.

Now let’s review the pros and cons of the best airtable alternatives to help you find the right solution for your projects.

2024 Best Airtable Alternatives Software Rankings

If you’re looking for Airtable alternatives, you’ve found the right list. The tool is suitable for larger organizations that can afford it, but most project managers looking for a solution that serves all of their purposes will be looking elsewhere. This is why we explored the 12 best Airtable alternatives and listed below in descending order.

1. ProjectManager

ProjectManager tops our list of Airtable alternatives for many reasons. One, it’s an award-winning project management software that’s easy to use; you can onboard your team in minutes and get started right away without any complicated setup or intensive training. Two, it’s a one-stop shop for all of your project needs. From task and resource management as well as time-tracking and timesheets to planning, monitoring and reporting, the software does it all—and in real time because it’s an online tool. Add workflow automation to streamline processes and task approval to ensure quality to make your decision that much easier. Plus there’s a free 30-day trial so you can try it out for yourself.

Work on Multiple Project Views

But that’s not all! Just as Airtable has multiple project views, so does ProjectManager. There’s a robust Gantt chart that filters for the critical path and sets a baseline to track project variance in real time. In addition, there’s a sheet, list, calendar and kanban view that all update simultaneously so there’s one source of truth keeping everyone working better together. That’s real-time collaboration across departments that appeals to teams whether they work in traditional, agile or hybrid methodologies. There’s even a global search feature to quickly find what you’re looking for across all of your tasks and projects.

Monitor Progress and Performance in Real Time

While Airtable has features that mimic dashboards, you have to install and set them up from third-party apps. ProjectManager beats that inconvenience with real-time dashboards that are ready to use when you are. There’s no setup required. The dashboards work automatically, collecting and calculating data to display across six project metrics, including time, tasks, workload and more. Now you can see your project’s performance and progress at a glance. For a deeper look at project data, use one-click reports, which can be filtered and easily shared to update stakeholders.

We’ve only covered the tip of the iceberg as to why so many users love ProjectManager. On top of all the features you get with this software, we were also impressed by its collaborative platform that connects teams no matter where or when they’re working. Users can comment and share files, plus email notifications and in-app alerts keep everyone updated on changes, which is more efficient than what we’ve seen with other Airtable alternatives. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.

ProjectManager Pros & Key Features

Best Airtable alternative for project management
Powerful task management tools and workflow automation features
Resource tracking tools like dashboards and workload management charts
Cloud-based software with unlimited file storage
Free trial
Mobile project management app for Android and iOS

ProjectManager Cons & Limitations

Limited tool customization features
No AI-powered task management features
Doesn’t offer as many third party integrations as Airtable
No free plan

ProjectManager Pricing

Team: $13.00 user/month
Business: $24.00 user/month
Enterprise: contact sales for a custom quote

ProjectManager Reviews

G2 review: 4.4 / 5
Capterra review: 4.1 / 5

2. Smartsheet

Smartsheet is an Airtable alternative that also takes its lead from Excel. The tool looks like a spreadsheet but with more flexibility. It aims to boost your team’s productivity and lives up to that promise with an easy-to-use UI, whether making plans or streamlining workflows. There are other tools that the software offerings including a card, calendar and Gantt view, which promise a more complete project management experience.

Smartsheet's timeline view, an Airtable alternative

However, that experience is tarnished when you try to use those features. This is especially true for the Gantt chart as it isn’t fully functional. Those who need an Airtable alternative that delivers real project management tools will be disappointed. There’s a lack of time tracking, a hole can be filled with third-party apps, but why would you want to add costs to an already pricy tool just to get features that are available on other Airtable alternatives we review on this list?

Smartsheet Pros & Key Features

Best Airtable alternative for project templates and spreadsheets
Ideal for teams that are migrating from spreadsheets to project management software
Workflow management features
Mobile app for Android and iOS
Free trial

Smartsheet Cons & Limitations

Some of its tools can be hard to setup and use, for example the spreadsheets require formulas
Project dashboards have an outdated look and feel compared to most Airtable alternatives
Generic spreadsheet-based tools are hard to adapt to the specific needs of your project

Smartsheet Pricing

Pro: $7 per user/month (maximum of 10 users)
Business: $25 per user/month (minimum of 3 users)

Smartsheet Reviews

G2 review: 4.4 / 5
Capterra review: 4.5 / 5

3. Monday.com

Monday is a work management software that can work as an alternative to Airtable because there’s some overlap in their feature sets. For example, both of them include Gantt charts, kanban boards, task lists and calendars so they can replace each other as a task or team management tool. Another area Airtable and Monday have in common is they both work for managing product planning, marketing and sales teams workflows. Further still, Monday offers some of the advanced customization that Airtable touts.

Monday.com task list, an Airtable alternative

In general terms, Monday.com is an Airtable alternative that’s ideal for busy teams that need a simple-to-use tool for managing their tasks and schedules. But while it’s a good task management tool, its main disadvantage is its lack of project management tools. It lacks features in critical areas such as risk monitoring, cost estimating, resource tracking or project budgeting tools.

Monday.com Pros

Best Airtable alternative for basic task management tools
Good for users that don’t need a very wide variety of project management tools but rather appreciates a more simple software
Friendly user interface and basic task management features
Mobile project management app for Android and iOS
Free trial

Monday.com Cons

Timeline view looks similar to a Gantt chart but lacks features like dependency tracking or critical path analysis
No project calendar tool, which is one of the basic planning tools any Airtable alternative should have
Some of its features are hard to set up and use
Limited team collaboration features

Monday.com Pricing

Basic: $8/user/month, billed annually
Standard: $10/user/month, billed annually
Pro: $16/user/month, billed annually
3-seat minimum

Monday.com Reviews

G2 review: 4.7/5
Capterra review: 4.6/5

4. Wrike

Wrike is a project management Airtable alternative with strong task management and team collaboration features. It offers Gantt charts for scheduling and users have responded positively to the many integrations that work with the software. There are also dashboards and reports, which are essential features when monitoring and tracking your project’s performance and progress. Workflow automation is another plus that makes this tool attractive to many.

Wrike task list, an Airtable alternative

What users might not find as attractive is how complicated Wrike can be to use. The learning curve is steep for both professionals and newbies. It’ll take a while for most to get comfortable with the tool, which takes time away from the project. That includes the onboarding process to the tool as users must be added manually. If you’re working with a large team, that’s going to cost you a significant amount of time. If you’re looking to analyze data, you’ll be disappointed in the lack of filtering options. There’s no proper task prioritization, either. While Wrike is one of the more robust of the Airtable alternatives we reviewed, these shortcomings are unattractive to many potential users.

Wrike Pros & Key Features

Best Airtable alternative for work management
Simple task management tools
Dashboard and project reporting features
Free trial
Mobile app available for Android and iOS

Wrike Cons & Limitations

Gantt chart lacks features project managers need to plan, schedule and track their projects
Limited resource management feature set
Some aspects of the interface can be improved improve the user experience

Wrike Pricing

Professional plan: $9.80 user/month
Business plan: $24.80 user/month

Wrike Reviews

G2 review: 4.2 / 5
Capterra review: 4.3 / 5

5. Zoho Projects

Zoho Projects is another strong contender in our Airtable alternatives list. It’s project management software that lets you plan projects, including subtasks, and has great communication features such as forums, activity streams and chat. The tool has timesheets and resource utilization charts to help with productivity. Another nice feature is that teammates can share files and other information that’s accessible by the whole team whenever they need it.

Zoho kanban board, an Airtable alternative

But there’s a reason it lands at the halfway mark for our Airtable alternatives. One glaring problem is search as there are no global search features. Although you can search for tasks in a project, if you’re working on more than one project and want to find a task across several projects, that’s not going to work on this app. Another big problem is the dashboard. Clients are going to want access to this high-level view, but you can’t add dashboards alphabetically, which makes it harder to find one specific one if there’s a list of many. All of this is problematic enough, but the main issue is that the tool isn’t easy to use. For those considering Zoho Projects, this might be a dealbreaker.

Zoho Projects Pros & Key Features

The best low cost and free Airtable alternative
Affordable solution that allows you to get Airtable’s key features such as Gantt charts, task lists and more
Mobile project management app for Android and iOS
Free trial
Free plan

Zoho Projects Cons & Limitations

Its Gantt charts, kanban boards and other project management tools are limited compared to other Airtable alternatives in this list
Lack of cost planning and resource tracking features
Software can be hard to use and setup

Zoho Projects Pricing

Premium: $4/user/month, billed annually
Enterprise: $9/user/month, billed annually

Zoho Projects Reviews

G2 review: 4.3/5
Capterra review: 4.4/5

6. Asana

Asana is a popular project management software, which might be due to aggressive marketing or ease of use. Either way, there are practical reasons why so many people seem to like it. It’s easy to use, which is always a plus, and there are many integrations to expand the scope of the tool. People love the collaborative features that allow you to invite others to the digital workspace, comment and more. The collaboration and task management feature earned Asana a place on our list of Airtable alternatives.

Asana kanban board, an Airtable alternative

What might detract from the experience is the lack of time-tracking features as it’s a major fault in Asana’s task management tools. In fact, most project management software on this list has time tracking because it’s simply that important. Time tracking is one of the main tools to keep you on schedule. On another note, even though Asana is easy to use, that doesn’t mean you’re going to jump in and just intuitively know everything. Newcomers to project management will have to get some experience under their belts before they can really take advantage of the software. Task management is another essential part of any project management software, but Asana’s task management capabilities are not where they should be. Perhaps our main gripe with Asana is that you can only assign one user to a task at any given time. These are only a few reasons why the tool falls to this spot on our Airtable alternatives.

Asana Pros

Best Wrike alternative for managing simple workflows
Task management tools are a good fit for managing simple business operations and projects
Dynamic task management reporting features
Free trial
Mobile project management app for Android and iOS

Asana Cons

Gantt charts are limited, they lack the functionality that’s needed to track resource and costs at the task level
Limited project management feature set, it’s better suited for basic task management
The user interface of certain tools is confusing, such as workload management graphs which aren’t ideal for displaying workload utilization data.

Asana Pricing

Premium plan: $10.99/user/month, billed annually
Business plan: $24.99/user/month, billed annually

Asana Reviews

G2 review: 4.3/5
Capterra review: 4.5/5

7. Notion

Notion is project management software where teams can plan, implement and track their projects. There are various tools, such as kanban boards, lists and calendars, which can have customized workflows. A wiki collects everything from goals to office policies and contact information. There’s also document management, whether videos, code, bookmarks or images, all of which can be tracked. All of these positives make it a powerful Airtable alternative.

Notion project portfolio, an Airtable alternative

What weakens its placement on our list of Airtable alternatives is that the software takes a significant amount of time to set up. It’s not plug-and-play such as others on our list. If you want to take advantage of its collaboration features, you’re going to have to do some major configurations. Another area that could use improvement is its search and navigation, which requires more than a keyword to be effective. Depending on what type of project you’re working on, these can be minor inconveniences or major disruptions.

Notion Pros

Best Airtable alternative for managing simple workflows and task lists
Helps teams manage their workload and track their task completion progress
Simple project and task management tools
Free trial
Mobile project management app for Android and iOS

Notion Cons

Limited variety of project planning tools, only offers task lists, kanban boards and product roadmap makers
Limited project management feature set, it’s better suited for basic task management
Focuses heavily on product development teams, which limits its usefulness for teams in other industries

Notion Pricing

Plus: $8/user/month, billed annually
Business: $15/user/month, billed annually

Notion Reviews

G2 review: 4.7/5
Capterra review: 4.8/5

8. ClickUp

ClickUp is a cloud-based project management tool that streamlines projects and workflows, organizes tasks, tracks changes and helps to manage teams. You can use it to create schedules, organize calendars, manage capacity and track time spent on tasks. There are also collaboration tools that connect teams and reporting features that can customize reports and securely share that information. These are some reasons it made our top-10 Airtable alternatives.

Clickup project tasks, an Airtable alternative

All those features are great, but not when they’re designed in such a way that the overall software becomes too complex, a major complaint from users. Even the automation features, which should streamline processes, are reportedly difficult to use. The fact that you can configure everything is like having an unlimited choice that can be paralyzing, especially when you’re setting up the tool for the first time. A lot of users who have tried this Airtable alternative have complained that it’s buggy, so you might want to try different software altogether.

ClickUp Pros

Best Airtable alternative for team collaboration tools
More flexible feature set than Airtable makes it a good fit for most types of teams
Helps team members collaborate in real time with features such as whiteboards or document processing
Mobile project planning for Android and iOS
Free plan

ClickUp Cons

Most users are overwhelmed by its wide feature set, especially when first learning to use the software
Many of its features don’t overlap with Airtable’s feature set
Software user interface can get cluttered as users work on their projects
No free trial

Clickup Pricing

Unlimited: $5/user/month, billed annually
Business: $12/user/month, billed annually
Business Pro: $19/user/month, billed annually

Clickup Reviews

G2 review: 4.7/5
Capterra review: 4.7/5

9. Jira

Jira is a well-known project management software that specializes in creating tools for product planning, software development or agile project management. It has project management features that can be compared with Airtable such as kanban boards, task lists and project calendars. These tools are especially good for planning agile sprints and reporting on their performance.

Jira board with an epic, an Airtable alternative

Jira’s has focused its efforts into becoming the go-to tool for managing agile software development projects, which is a double-edged sword because that also means its set of tools is not the right fit for teams in other industries. However, at an additional cost, the software offers a wide variety of integrations that help you overcome some of its project management limitations.

Jira Pros

Best free Airtable alternative for software development teams
Good for users that work in agile sprints
Solid kanban board functionality
Mobile project management app for Android and iOS
Free trial
Free plan

Jira Cons

There are no Gantt charts, only a timeline view which is a lightweight version of a Gantt chart software tool
Lack of versatility, only works for teams working with agile, scrum or kanban project management methodologies
Limited project management feature set

Jira Pricing

Standard: $8.15/user/month, billed annually
Premium: $16/user/month, billed annually

Jira Reviews

G2 review: 4.7/5
Capterra review: 4.6/5

10. Basecamp

Basecamp is another online Airtable alternative that focuses on collaboration, tracking tasks, deadlines, files and discussions. It’s more of a collaboration app than a project management app, though it could be used to manage some projects. Think of it as a virtual hub for your team, which is especially helpful for those organizations that are working with distributed teams. It’s easy to use and flexible with enough integrations to help close the gaps in the software.

Basecamp communication board, an Airtable alternative

Those gaps are substantial if you’re more in the market for a project management Airtable alternative. The biggest gap in managing a project on Basecamp is the lack of Gantt charts. For some, it’s impossible to even consider managing a project without one. It also has no features that help you monitor and track the details of a project to make sure everything is coming together according to the schedule. In reality, this is a good communication tool. However, if you’re looking to manage a project, you’ll have to use it as a piece of a larger collection of other apps.

Basecamp Pros & Key Features

Best Asana alternative for managing everyday tasks
It’s designed to help teams manage their workflows and stay on top of their task due dates
Easy-to-use task management tools that work well together such as task lists and kanban boards
Mobile app for Android and iOS
Free trial

Basecamp Cons & Limitations

Limited project management feature set compared to other Airtable alternatives
Doesn’t have Gantt charts, which are important feature to look for when choosing an alternative to Airtable
Lack of resource planning and project cost tracking features

Basecamp Pricing

Basecamp: $15 user/month
Pro Unlimited: $299/month

Basecamp Reviews

G2 review: 4.1/5
Capterra review: 4.4/5

11. Trello

Trello is another Airtable alternative that has particularly strong kanban boards among the other project management features you might want. The visual workflow of a kanban board is easy to understand and use. It’s also great for agile project management. With Trello, there’s some automation and you can use third-party customization to get more usability out of the app.

Trello task management kanban board, an Airtable alternative

Putting all of your eggs in one basket can be problematic. For example, kanban boards are great for what they do, but if you’re working on bigger, more complex projects with lots of tasks and you’re going to get frustrated. There’s also no Gantt chart or way to link task dependencies and filter for the critical path, all essential for project scheduling. The bottom line is it’s not a fully-featured project management tool with tracking and reporting. Even if you’re working in an agile environment you’ll be disappointed in its lack of roadmaps and inability to review iterations. Even if you love kanbans and need no other tool, you’ll find better Airtable alternatives with more robust kanban boards, which is why this tool lands at the bottom of our list.

Trello Pros

Best Airtable alternative for users who like to manage work with kanban boards
The software features can be expanded through paid third-party add ons
Can be used by agile and scrum teams
Mobile app available for Android and iOS
Free plan
Free trial

Trello Cons

Limited variety of project management tools to visualize project tasks, only kanban boards and calendars available
You’ll likely need to acquire power-ups, integrations that add features to the software at an extra cost.
Doesn’t have Gantt charts, which are present in most Airtable alternatives in this list

Trello Pricing

Standard: $5 user/month
Premium: $10 user/month
Enterprise: $17.50 user/month

Trello Reviews

G2 review: 4.4/5
Capterra review: 4.5/5

12. Nifty

Nifty is project management software for large-scale projects that employ multiple teams. It helps you organize the tasks in your project, track their time and manage your teams all within one tool. The time tracking feature includes monitoring how long teams are taking to complete their tasks, which is a helpful addition. This software is also included on our Airtable alternatives list due to collaborative tools and unlimited guest and client use.

Nifty project timeline, an Airtable alternative

Nifty is still a relatively new product, though, and with that comes the occasional glitch, especially when integrating with third-party apps. Other issues that might stem from its short time on the market are recurring tasks, project templates and task management. Some users have complained about the calendar being cluttered and the mobile app as customers may avoid it due to the time it takes to load. There are no online tutorials or any sort of user manual to help train new users which are going to be an obstacle for some users to clear when choosing an Airtable alternative.

Nifty Pros & Key Features

Best Airtable alternative for creating roadmaps
Team collaboration and communication tool for sharing messages and files
Multiple task management tools including Gantt charts, kanban boards and task lists
Mobile app available for Android and iOS
Free trial

Nifty Cons & Limitations

Offers more project management tools than Airtable but still doesn’t have enough features for helping with all the phases of the project life cycle
Limited project tracking and reporting tools
Lacks features for tracking resource capacity, utilization and availability

Nifty Pricing

Starter: $5/user/month
Pro: $10/user/month
Business: $16/user/month

Nifty Reviews

G2 review: 4.7/5
Capterra review: 4.6/5