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Founder, No Code MBA
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Airtable vs Bubble

An in-depth head to head comparison

In this article, read a side-by-side comparison between two no-code tools: Airtable and Bubble. We'll compare pricing, the benefits, the drawbacks, give examples of what you can and can't build, as well as our overall recommendation.

What is Airtable?

Airtable works like a spreadsheet but gives you the power of a database to organize anything.
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Learn everything you need to know about Airtable

Our in-depth course will take your from a beginner to expert

The Complete Guide to Airtable

What is Bubble?

Bubble introduces a new way to build a web application. It's a no-code point-and-click programming tool. Bubble hosts all applications on its cloud platform.
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Learn everything you need to know about Bubble

Our in-depth course will take your from a beginner to expert

Build AI Apps with No-Code

Learn everything you need to know about Bubble

Our in-depth course will take your from a beginner to expert

The Complete Guide to Bubble

Pricing

Airtable pricing

  • Free plan with limited data storage
  • $10/month - $20/month per seat for more data storage, automatic table syncing, editing permissions, and more features

Bubble pricing

  • Free basic plan with the bubble.io domain, Bubble branding, limited data storage
  • $25/month - $115/month for custom domains and no branding, scheduled workflows, dev versions, and additional data storage

Benefits

Airtable benefits

  • Similar to a spreadsheet, but more user-friendly and structured as a relational database
  • Includes add-on apps and automations
  • Templates
  • Many view options (grid, calendar, etc)
  • Collaborative
  • Integrates well with Zapier
  • Great community

Bubble benefits

  • Powerful web app builder
  • Can build just about any type of web app
  • Can integrate APIs
  • Lots of templates
  • Active community

Drawbacks

Airtable drawbacks

  • Takes time to set up your database
  • Some formulas can be tricky compared to Google Sheets

Bubble drawbacks

  • More difficult to create your app's design than other tools. However, as of November 2021, Bubble released a new responsive designer, which makes designing easier than in the past.
  • Published apps can be slightly slow

What you can build

Airtable use-cases

  • Internal apps like a CRM or project management tool
  • A database that connects to Webflow
  • Basic automations like posting to Twitter from Airtable

Bubble use-cases

  • Complex web apps - just about anything can be built
  • Apps that connect to APIs
  • Apps that scale

What you can't build

What you can't build with Airtable

  • Customer facing apps or websites (check out Glide or Bubble)

What you can't build with Bubble

  • Native mobile apps

Overall Recommendation

Airtable recommendation

Airtable is similar to using Google Sheets, but more structured and includes lots of features to help with productivity.

Some examples of use-cases areas a CRM for leads, a content planning tool, and a project management tool.

Another great use is as a database for a complex Webflow site. You can use Airtable as the database for your site, and use Zapier or PowerImporter to sync your Airtable database to your Webflow database.

Bubble recommendation

Bubble is best for more complex web app MVPs and for building scalable web apps.

It's a really powerful tool that can build just about any web app, but also comes with a higher learning curve.

I’d use Bubble in cases where your use-case is too complex for Glide or Webflow.

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Bring Your Ideas to Life with AI and No Code

Unlock premium step-by-step tutorials building real apps and websites
Easy to follow tutorials broken down into lessons between 2 to 20 minutes
Get access to the community to share what you're building, ask questions, and get support if you're stuck
Access all of this with No-Code MBA Unlimited
Unlock premium step-by-step tutorials building real apps and websites
Easy to follow tutorials broken down into lessons between 2 to 20 minutes
Get access to the community to share what you're building, ask questions, and get support if you're stuck
Friendly Tip!
Companies often reimburse No Code MBA memberships. Here's an email template to send to your manager.

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