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Airtable vs Softr

An in-depth head to head comparison

In this article, read a side-by-side comparison between two no-code tools: Airtable and Softr. 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 Softr?

The easiest way to build powerful portals and tools on top of your business data—flexible, fast, and no coding required.
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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

Softr pricing

  • Free basic plan with unlimited app visitors, 5 internal / 100 external app users, 5 workspace collaborators, CRUD, Global data restrictions, 1 custom domain
  • $49/month for custom CSS/JS, 10 internal / 1000 external app users, Embed Softr apps, Option to buy extra custom domains, 
  • $139/month - $269/month for 100 internal / 10000 external app users, 15 workspace collaborators, Conditional Forms, Downloadable mobile apps (PWA), No Softr branding, 

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

Softr benefits

  • Easy to use, no-code interface allows non-technical users, such as operators, analysts, and team leads, to create and manage their own tools.
  • Build internal tools or portals on top of your data with AWS-powered server-side security
  • Integration with a variety of data sources, including SQL Databases (MySQL, Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MariaDB), Airtable, Google Sheets, HubSpot, BigQuery, SmartSuite, Xano, SupaBase.
  • Customize layout and design to align with your brand
  • Advanced user groups and custom permissions
  • Custom code (Javascript, HTML/CSS) available 
  • Responsive design, plus option to create mobile applications as PWAs
  • Hundreds of templates for use cases across various verticals and departments.
  • Integrate with 30+ tools including Zapier and Make
  • 24/7 high quality support, regardless of plan.

Drawbacks

Airtable drawbacks

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

Softr drawbacks

  • Can't build more complex logic into web apps (check out Bubble or Glide for more complex logic
  • Can't fully customize design

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

Softr use-cases

  • Internal tools and portals for businesses such as client portals, team intranets, inventory management, HR portals, employee directories, CRM, reporting dashboards
  • Public facing apps

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 Softr

  • Fully custom designed websites

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.

Softr recommendation

Softr is best for building powerful internal tools and client portals incredibly fast, without needing any coding skills. It’s ideal if you’re looking for a solution that doesn’t require high-level design flexibility but offers ease of use, affordability, and the ability to build apps for both internal and external use.

If you want more control over the design and more complexity, I'd recommend Webflow connected to Memberstack for a membership site, but that also comes with a higher learning curve.

If you're looking to build a web app with more complex logic I'd recommend checking out Bubble or Glide.

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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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