Alternatives · 2026
6 Airtable alternatives, honestly compared.
Airtable made databases feel friendly — and then the record links started piling up in Slack, the automations hit their plan limits, and someone in compliance pointed out that all of it lives in US-jurisdiction cloud, with no self-host option today. Structured data is often the most sensitive data a team has: customers, pipelines, HR lists.
This guide compares six real alternatives for structured data and table tools. One of them is our own product; we say so on its card and apply the same honest-caveat rule to it as to everyone else.
Five questions worth asking before you switch.
- (01)
Where do your records live?
Tables tend to hold customer, pipeline and HR data. US cloud only, or can you keep it in the EU — or on your own servers, under your keys?
- (02)
Database or work management?
Some tools are true relational databases; others are boards with database-ish features. Know which one you actually need.
- (03)
Where does the conversation happen?
If every record discussion is a link pasted into chat, context leaks. The closer the table sits to the team's conversation, the less gets lost.
- (04)
What do automations really cost?
Metered automation runs make the bill grow with your success. Check what's included before you build your processes on it.
- (05)
What are your exit options?
CSV export, real APIs and open-source editions decide how hard leaving will be later. Structured data deserves a structured exit.
The six contenders.
- 01(01)
Polybase
Our productThe sovereign team workspace
Full disclosure: Polybase is our product. Read this entry as the maker's perspective — the caveat below is as real as everyone else's.
Polybase Tables give every channel an Airtable-style database — typed columns, formulas, lookups, linked records, kanban views, forms and CSV import — living next to the chat, tasks, documents and calls about the same work. Flows automate what happens when a row changes, and discussing a record means posting in the channel, not pasting a link into another app. The workspace runs as EU-region cloud, in your own VPC, or fully self-hosted including air-gapped setups.
- Best for
- Teams tired of pasting record links into chat, and organisations that need structured data on infrastructure they control.
- Hosting model
- EU cloud, private VPC, or self-hosted / air-gapped (Docker Compose).
- Honest caveat
- As a pure database Airtable runs deeper — more field types, interface designer — and Tables is a €10 per-user add-on on top of Core (€10); SOC 2 and ISO 27001 are on the roadmap, not held.
- 02(02)
NocoDB
Open source, on top of your real databases
NocoDB is an open-source Airtable alternative with a twist: it can sit on top of existing MySQL or Postgres databases and turn them into a spreadsheet-style interface with views, forms and APIs. Self-hosting via Docker is the natural path, with a hosted cloud as the alternative.
- Best for
- Technical teams that want a spreadsheet UI over databases they already run.
- Hosting model
- Self-hosted (Docker) or NocoDB's hosted cloud.
- Honest caveat
- Interface polish and depth still trail Airtable, and getting the best out of it assumes some database comfort.
- 03(03)
Baserow
Open-source no-code database from Amsterdam
Baserow is an open-source no-code database built in the Netherlands — a clean, browser-based grid with forms, views and an API, self-hostable or hosted. For teams that want an Airtable-style tool under European jurisdiction, it is one of the most direct answers.
- Best for
- Teams that want an Airtable-like database from an EU vendor, cloud or self-hosted.
- Hosting model
- Self-hosted (open source) or Baserow's hosted cloud.
- Honest caveat
- Open core: some advanced features are reserved for premium and enterprise editions, and the template and integration ecosystem is smaller than Airtable's.
- 04(04)
Grist
Spreadsheet-database hybrid with Python formulas
Grist is a spreadsheet-database hybrid with an open-source core and a distinctive superpower: formulas written in Python. Data structuring is rigorous, access rules are fine-grained, and the core engine can run on your own servers.
- Best for
- Data-minded teams that hit the ceiling of normal formulas and want real control.
- Hosting model
- Self-hosted (open-source core) or Grist's hosted cloud.
- Honest caveat
- The spreadsheet-plus-Python approach appeals most to technical users, and the ecosystem around it is comparatively small.
- 05(05)
SeaTable
Excel-flavoured tables, made in Germany
SeaTable comes from the team behind Seafile in Germany and reads like an Excel-flavoured Airtable: rows, rich column types, automations and scripts, offered as EU-hosted cloud or self-hosted editions.
- Best for
- European organisations that want spreadsheet-style databases with an EU vendor and a self-host path.
- Hosting model
- SeaTable Cloud (EU-hosted) or self-hosted editions.
- Honest caveat
- Less widely known than Airtable, and a number of capabilities are reserved for the paid editions.
- 06(06)
monday.com
Work management with database-ish boards
monday.com is the colourful heavyweight of this list — technically a work OS built on flexible boards rather than a pure relational database. If what you actually need is visual work management with some structured data on the side, it is a polished, well-supported option.
- Best for
- Teams that want visual work management more than a true relational database.
- Hosting model
- SaaS only.
- Honest caveat
- Cloud only, per-seat tiers add up, and it is not a relational database — linked records and data rigour take real effort.
Where Polybase wins — and where we don't win yet.
You are reading this list on our site, so here is the part vendors usually skip.
- Tables inside the workspaceThe database lives in the channel where your team already chats, assigns tasks and holds calls about that data — discussing a record means posting, not pasting a link.
- Your records, your serversAirtable is a cloud service under US jurisdiction. Polybase runs on our EU cloud, in your VPC or fully air-gapped — your servers, your keys. The reach of the US CLOUD Act ends where your infrastructure begins.
- Automation as part of the platformFlows trigger on rows, messages and schedules, with conditions, loops and actions — visual workflow automation on infrastructure you can run yourself.
- Plain pricingCore is €10 per user/month and Tables is a clearly priced €10 add-on — instead of a database bill plus a chat bill plus a meetings bill.
- AI with the whole contextBring your own model — Anthropic, OpenAI, Gemini or self-hosted via Ollama. The assistant works across tables, conversations and documents as one context, and your content isn't used to train foundation models.
- Pure-database depthAirtable has more field types, an interface designer and a large template gallery. Polybase Tables cover the working core — typed columns, formulas, lookups, linked records, forms, CSV import and multiple views.
- CertificationsNot certified yet — SOC 2 and ISO 27001 are on our roadmap. We answer security questionnaires and architecture questions today.
- Enterprise sign-onSSO/SAML/SCIM are on the roadmap; today sign-in is email/password and magic links.
- Importers and native appsCSV import works today, but there is no guided Airtable importer yet — we offer migration assistance during onboarding, with automated importers on the roadmap. Desktop and mobile apps are available.
Choosing an Airtable alternative.
It depends on your binding constraint. Open-source self-hosting: NocoDB, Baserow or Grist. An EU vendor with EU hosting: Baserow or SeaTable. Visual work management rather than a database: monday.com. Tables living inside the workspace next to chat, tasks and calls: that is the case Polybase is built for — we're biased, so read the side-by-side comparison too.
NocoDB, Baserow and Grist all have open-source editions you can self-host. SeaTable offers self-hosted editions as well. Polybase is not open source, but it can be fully self-hosted, including air-gapped deployments.
Every tool on this list can work from Airtable's per-table CSV exports. In Polybase, CSVs import into Tables and you rebuild column types, formulas, lookups and linked records in the column editor. We offer migration assistance during onboarding; automated importers are on our roadmap.
Yes, several. Baserow is built in the Netherlands, SeaTable in Germany, and both offer EU hosting and self-hosting. NocoDB and Grist self-host anywhere. Polybase adds the workspace angle: EU cloud or self-host, with the tables living next to the team's chat, tasks and calls.
Polybase Core is €10 per user/month, and Tables is a €10 per-user add-on — both stated plainly. Whether that beats your Airtable bill depends on what sits around it: if Airtable plus Slack plus Zoom is carrying one team, consolidation is where the saving comes from. A demo walks through your actual stack.
See Polybase next to Airtable, feature by feature.
Book a 30-minute demo and we'll map your bases onto tables inside one workspace — or start with the detailed side-by-side comparison.
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