Airtable is a highly flexible software platform that allows you to create custom databases, workflows and applications. With uses across teams, projects and organizations, Airtable provides solid functionality even in their free tier. However, to unlock more advanced capabilities, Airtable offers paid Plus and Pro plans with more features.
In this article, we’ll break down Airtable’s pricing in detail across their tiers. We’ll look at exactly what you get at each level, where there’s room to upgrade, and how to maximize value. We’ll also covering pricing factors, discounts and answer some common questions around Airtable costs.
- Airtable Pricing Plans
- Is Airtable’s Pricing Fair Based on Features?
- Tips to Maximize Value From Airtable Before Upgrading
- Key Factors That Make Up Airtable’s Pricing
- Discount Options Can Improve Airtable Affordability
- Answers to Common Airtable Pricing Questions
- Decide If Airtable’s Pricing Fits Your Team’s Needs
Airtable Pricing Plans
Airtable offers three pricing tiers: a free plan, Plus, and Pro. Each level builds in functionality, storage, records and support.
What You Get in the Free Plan
Airtable’s free plan allows you to dip your toes into their platform and see if it’s a fit. With the free tier you can create:
- 1 Base: A base is an individual database or project workspace.
- 1,200 Records Per Base: Records are like rows in a database table, with each holding item data.
- 2GB of Storage: For files attached across records.
- 5 Views Per Base: Views allow you to configure interfaces into your database.
This free tier is great for basic test projects. But with no 3rd party integrations, throttled records, and strict base/view allowances—teams will likely require upgraded plans.
Plus Plan Capabilities (+$10/month per base)
By default, the Plus plan is $10 per active base you have, billed monthly. These added capabilities may be worthwhile for growing teams:
- Unlimited Bases: No restrictions on how many project bases you use.
- 5,000 Records Per Base: Significantly more rows of data to work with.
- 5GB Storage Per Base: Added file attachment space before overages.
- 50 Views Per Base
- 3rd Party Integrations: Connect to apps like Zapier, GitHub, Slack.
- Interfaces & Embeds: Embed bases into websites or create shareable views.
The Plus plan lifts most major restrictions, providing enhanced power better suited for collaborators.
What the $20/month Pro Plan Enables
Stepping up one more tier, the Pro plan adds priority support and enhanced limits for $20 per active base/month:
- 50,000 Records Per Base
- Double Storage at 10GB Per Base
- Set Field Permissions
- Longer Revision History
- Conditional Formatting of fields
- Priority Email Support
Pro accounts also gain access to end user controls and advanced process automation features through Airtable Blocks.
For teams with complex data needs, Pro plans unlock increased potential. But you pay for access.
Quick Price Comparison Table
| Plan | Bases Allowed | Records per Base | Storage per Base | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | 1 | 1,200 | 2GB | $0/month |
| Plus | Unlimited | 5,000 | 5GB | $10/base/month |
| Pro | Unlimited | 50,000 | 10GB | $20/base/month |
Is Airtable’s Pricing Fair Based on Features?
How can you know if Airtable’s paid plans are worthwhile or not? Let’s evaluate the key features unlocked at each tier and whether value aligns to pricing.
Comparing Functionality Across Plans
Even in the free version, Airtable still provides solid database features that enable custom systems to be built. With relational linking between bases, formatted interfaces through views, and integrations with 300+ apps via Zapier, you can accomplish quite a bit.
But if we assess the major limitations of free accounts, the Plus and Pro plans address those constraints. Unlimited bases lift the single base restriction that hinders multi-project use cases. Elevated storage and records also increase capacity for assets and data lines. And native integrations reduce manual work of linking Airtable with productivity tools teams already use.
Then when weighing the Pro package, the main draws are quadrupled records (up to 50k/base), doubled storage (10GB), and priority email support which guarantees a 12-hour response time. For larger organizations, those limits make more sense at scale.
So as you assess feature comparison, Airtable’s paid plans target offering clearly increased value. But are those bumps in functionality worth 2-4X the investment?
Considering Pricing by Common Use Cases
If we analyze Airtable’s pricing plans based on how different users may leverage the platform, value alignment shifts.
For personal users or freelancers, the free base allowance could be perfectly suitable. $0 lets you still build standalone project bases while limiting complexity.
For small teams collaborating, the unlimited bases in Plus plans empower group workflows. And unlocking 5,000 records invites more expansive tables the whole group can use. So the $10/$20 per month cost (depending on user counts) brings justified alignment.
As for larger businesses, group work is amplified further. Even more granular permissions, conditional formatting, and over 50 times the records (from free plans) makes the $20 per base pricing fit bigger needs.
And if we compare costs amongst the no-code database landscape, Airtable rings in extremely affordable. Competitors like Ninox, Quickbase or Retool all markup higher given their SMB and enterprise focuses.
When Considering Airtable Upgrades
- Personal Use: Free plan should suffice
- Small Teams: Upgrade to Plus
- Large Businesses: Pro plans align value
So Airtable’s paid plan pricing ladders appropriately based on use cases. calculator Whether you’re an individual, small team, or big business, aligning to the right tier brings price and functionality into balance.
Tips to Maximize Value From Airtable Before Upgrading
Because Airtable layers so well across users and maintains useful free options, you don’t have to overspend to tap into its power. By following a few best practices, you can maximize value from lower plans before upgrading:
Start With Lean Bases
Rather than creating bloated, catch-all bases from the start, compartmentalize data into multiple lightweight bases. You can link records across them while avoiding free storage limits.
Streamline Workflows
Use Zapier to connect workflows instead of approaching limits. You can stitch other software into Airtable’s foundations this way.
Audit Where You’re Capped
Periodically check your account’s base count, storage levels, and record usage. Identify specifically what caps your team keeps hitting before knowing whether to upgrade.
Compare a Few Upgraded Extras
If you have power users willing to cover a few extras, have them upgrade to test features while others maintain free plans. See if capabilities merit broader upgrading.
Following these tips allows you to cost justify Airtable’s pricing at each tier. Growing into upgraded plans is then based on precisely how much added potential justifies added costs.
Key Factors That Make Up Airtable’s Pricing
To really understand what goes into Airtable’s pricing, you have to look at how several underlying factors influence costs. Depending on your team’s needs around these facets, paid upgrades bring appropriately more accommodation:
Records & Storage Drive Costs
At its core, Airtable exists to store, manage and connect data points in adaptable ways. So the record and storage allotments provided in each paid tier directly factor into value being enabled.
Consider Plus plans jump from 1,200 records per base to 5,000. This may suit an average use case with some headroom. But Pro plans scale dramatically higher to 50,000 records, fitting enterprise-level data rather than individual projects. Storage works the same, progressively suiting bigger media needs.
So Airtable prices plans based on satisfying increased data loads that teams will realistically handle. More records and attachments means more value…but also added hosting costs behind the scenes that enable it.
Multiple Bases Require Collaboration
If bases are individual workspaces, then multiple bases allow groups and processes to compartmentalize while still integrating data points across the whole portfolio.
So Airtable builds its pricing to charge per active base, scaling potential bases from 1 to unlimited across plans. This empowers teams collaborating across different databases/projects under the same umbrella.
Add the ability for base-level permissions under Pro, and both decentralized users as well as centralized data control becomes possible for organizations. Enabling group use cases lets far more value emerge from otherwise limited software.
Priority Support Carries Overhead
Under Pro plans, Airtable includes priority email support with guaranteed 12-hour response times during business hours. This SLA improves over slower responses in lower tiers to ensure production issues don’t idle.
But such elevated support requires additional overhead in staff, resources, and ensuring shorter response protocols are maintained. Thus priority access rightfully marks up Airtable’s higher-tier pricing to embed this reliability factor for users that need it.
Processing all the pieces that make up Airtable’s capabilities starts revealing why its pricing aligns well to value provided at each level.
Discount Options Can Improve Airtable Affordability
While valuable for its flexibility, Airtable sits at the higher end of no-code data platforms if going beyond entry-level access. So qualifying teams or use cases may find ways to trim costs through:
- Nonprofit & Education Discounts
- Verified groups gain 50% off Plus & Pro plans
- Annual Billing Saves ~2 Months
- Prepay yearly base subscriptions for a 10-12% effective discount
- Review Base Needs Quarterly
- Turn off unused bases to not pay for then
The main limit with chasing discounts comes through losing access to features that higher-tier plans include. So make sure stunted capabilities still work before lowering costs. Know precisely what your team requires to operate on Airtable.
Main Risks of Seeking Airtable Discounts
- Losing core features/capacity needed
- Managing more technical platform oversight
- Less flexibility if needs change
Answers to Common Airtable Pricing Questions
How much is Airtable for personal use?
For individual use, Airtable’s free plan often provides what a single user needs. You can create one customizable database with basic views, records/storage limits, and external Zapier workflows. If you hit caps, upgrading to Plus runs just $10/month.
Is Airtable affordable for small businesses?
The Plus plan is Airtable’s sweet spot for entire teams, running just $10 per active base used monthly. This provides unlimited databases, 5k records per base, native app integrations, etc. So for under $100/month businesses can leverage Airtable widely.
When is upgrading to Pro pricing justified?
For larger enterprises, upgrading to Airtable’s Pro plan brings 50 times more records (50k vs. 1.2k), 5 times more storage (10GB vs 2GB), and dedicated support reps for $20 per base monthly. This expanded capacity and service fits bigger collaborator groups and live production cases.
Can I lower costs through custom plans?
No – Airtable only offers the tiered plans of Free, Plus, and Pro. But those upgrading yearly through annual prepayment save 10-15%. And verified nonprofits/education groups qualify for 50% off Plus and Pro pricing.
What add-ons bring additional fees?
Airtable doesn’t charge extra for core features like views, linked bases, or built-in interfaces. However, some Blocks functionality that adds premium forms, charts, workflows or automation can incur add-on fees if activating those specific capabilities.
Decide If Airtable’s Pricing Fits Your Team’s Needs
Airtable manages to ride the line of packing professional features that over 100,000 organizations leverage while maintaining lean enough pricing models to foster wider access too.
Hopefully by covering Airtable’s detailed plans, inclusions, discounts and other pricing factors we’ve revealed what provides genuine value vs what simply enables it. Audit your own use case needs, growth plans, and budget to decide if Free, Plus or Pro tiers align best.
And if signing up, remember applying optimization tips that maximize lower-tier access first. Only scale up features based precisely on what added potential justifies added cost next.