Looking for a low-code platform that will organise your data and is simple to use? You might have heard about Airtable.
Airtable has stood out as a powerful tool for managing projects, tracking data, and collaborating with teams. But as versatile and popular as it is, Airtable has limitations,
Some users may find it cost-prohibitive as their needs grow, while others might seek more specialised features or better scalability for their expanding teams. This is where exploring alternatives becomes essential.
Welcome to our definitive guide on the top five Airtable alternatives in 2024! We've scoured the digital landscape to bring you the most innovative, user-friendly, and feature-packed options today.
Let's dive in!
A quick look at Airtable
You're here because you've heard about Airtable and are looking for alternatives before you commit, or perhaps you’re already using it and have outgrown it. So, we won't go into too much detail here.
With its intuitive interface and versatile features, Airtable has gained immense popularity among businesses, creatives, and individuals. It seamlessly combines the functionalities of a spreadsheet and a database, allowing users to organise data, track projects, and provide services in a highly customisable and visually appealing way.
Paired with its free templates to store specific data like facilities assets or IT equipment, we can see why users choose Airtable — but it's not the only platform worth looking at.
1. ClickUp
ClickUp is a comprehensive project management tool designed to streamline workflows and enhance productivity for teams of all sizes.
Known for its versatility, ClickUp provides a single platform for seamlessly managing tasks, projects, and communications. Like Airtable, the platform also provides plenty of templates to add important data.
Benefits of ClickUp
Extensive customisation
ClickUp offers a high degree of customisation, allowing users to tailor tasks, projects, and workflows to fit their needs. This flexibility makes it suitable for a variety of industries and project types.
Integration capabilities
With its robust integration capabilities, this platform effortlessly connects with various apps and services, allowing you to seamlessly merge multiple workflow elements into a single, cohesive system.
Detailed reporting
ClickUp provides robust reporting features and time-tracking tools that help teams monitor progress, identify bottlenecks, and optimise productivity. These features are crucial for project planning and resource management.
Disadvantages of ClickUp
Data management limits
As ClickUp is a project management platform, data management has been added as an afterthought. Their data tracking is akin to having a spreadsheet of data.
Steep learning curve
Due to its extensive features and customisation options, ClickUp can overwhelm new users. Understanding and utilising all its capabilities may require a significant time investment.
Cluttered interface
The abundance of features and customisation options can make the interface feel cluttered and less intuitive, causing frustration by hindering usability for some users.
ClickUp is ideal for teams needing robust project management and collaboration capabilities. Its extensive customisation, integration options, and detailed reporting make it a powerful tool for managing complex projects.
For users where data management is the focus, they should be prepared for a limited experience with a steeper learning curve and a busy interface if choosing this platform.
2. Asset Panda
Asset Panda is a cloud-based data management platform focused on efficiently managing assets throughout their lifecycle.
If you're using Airtable to mainly track asset data, this could be a good alternative. It provides robust tools for tracking, maintaining, and optimising asset usage across various industries.
Benefits of Asset Panda
Asset tracking specialists
Asset Panda allows users to track assets from acquisition to disposal, providing real-time visibility into asset location, status, and usage history.
Customisable
The platform offers extensive customisation options, allowing users to tailor asset-tracking fields and workflows to their specific needs.
Mobile-friendly
Asset Panda is accessible via mobile devices, enabling asset management on the go and facilitating seamless updates and audits from anywhere.
Disadvantages of Asset Panda
Complex set-up
The setup may require a significant initial configuration effort. Users need dedicated resources or assistance from Asset Panda's support team to optimise the platform according to their specific requirements.
Only asset management
If you want to do more general data management or run services on your assets, Asset Panda requires external tools such as FreshService to do this. Adding on extras bumps up your costs significantly.
Cost
While AssetPanda offers scalability with different pricing plans, those with large asset portfolios or complex needs may find the costs associated with additional features or user licences to be prohibitive.
Asset Panda is a powerful asset tracking and management solution suitable for various industries. Its customisable fields and workflows, mobile accessibility, integration capabilities, and robust reporting features make it a valuable tool for optimising asset utilisation and streamlining operations.
Yet, potential users should consider that asset tracking and management is the extent of Asset Panda’s capabilities. If they want to work with non-asset data or more service and project management capabilities related to assets they will need to integrate additional platforms.
3. ServiceNow
ServiceNow is a robust cloud-based platform for managing and automating enterprise IT operations.
Initially focused on IT asset and service management (ITSM), ServiceNow has expanded its capabilities to include all types of data management from facilities management, digital asset management (DAM), customer service management (CSM), and other enterprise functions, making it a versatile tool for large organisations.
Benefits of ServiceNow
IT data management
ServiceNow offers a range of modules for IT service management, operations management, and business process automation, providing a comprehensive solution for IT data, infrastructure, and services.
Scalability opportunities
The platform is scalable thanks to its enterprise pedigree, ServiceNow can handle many transactions and users. This scalability ensures smooth, efficient operations, and accommodates future growth.
Automation
ServiceNow automates routine data related tasks and workflows, reducing manual effort and improving efficiency. It also integrates seamlessly with other enterprise systems, such as ERP and CRM platforms.
Disadvantages of ServiceNow
Inflexible architecture
ServiceNow can be complex to implement and inflexible when you need to track new or custom data. Making changes to your data can be costly due to the significant investment required for training or consultants.
Implementation costs
Due to its robust capabilities, implementing and customising ServiceNow can be costly. Extensive configuration and integration efforts are required, increasing implementation and maintenance expenses.
Overall cost
ServiceNow can be expensive, particularly for smaller organisations or those with limited budgets. The pricing model is based on the number of users and modules, which can add up quickly.
ServiceNow best suits large organisations looking for a comprehensive, scalable solution to manage and automate IT operations and enterprise services.
Its extensive features and robust integration capabilities make it a powerful tool for enhancing IT or other types of service delivery.
Potential users should be prepared for a steep learning curve and higher costs associated with its implementation and use.
4. Excel
Microsoft Excel is one of the most widely used spreadsheet programs globally. It’s known for its versatility and extensive functionality. Excel allows users to organise, analyse, and visualise data through its comprehensive tools and features.
Benefits of Excel
Familiarity
Excel is widely used and familiar to many individuals and organisations, making it an accessible data management and analysis option.
Data analysis
Excel offers powerful tools for data analysis, including pivot tables, complex formulas, and data visualisation options such as charts and graphs.
Customisation
You can customise spreadsheets with all the data that you need, macros, VBA scripting, and various add-ons, allowing for highly tailored solutions.
Disadvantages of Excel
Error prone
It's easy to accidentally enter the wrong information into a cell. Research suggests 90% of spreadsheets have errors, meaning you can be making decisions off incorrect data.
Scalability issues
Excel can struggle with large datasets, leading to performance issues. It isn’t designed to handle large-scale data management tasks that require database-level capabilities.
No automation
Many tasks in Excel require manual input and management, which can be time-consuming and prone to user errors without proper controls, causing more hassle than needed.
Excel is ideal for individuals and teams looking for a free, powerful, flexible tool for data analysis, visualisation, and simple asset tracking.
Its familiarity and extensive functionality make it a go-to for many data management tasks.
More specialised tools may be necessary for those needing advanced automation features, real-time project management, or handling large-scale data.
5. Starhive
Starhive is an innovative newcomer in the data and project management space.
Offering a fresh approach, Starhive focuses on providing a user-friendly and intuitive interface with unique features tailored to enhance team productivity and data management.
Benefits of Starhive
Data first
Starhive was built with broad data management in mind from the start. Users get the flexibility to track the data they want, instead of being constrained by the limitations of a project management tool.
Competitive pricing
The platform offers competitive pricing models, making it an attractive option for startups and growing businesses looking for robust tools and high-quality solutions that don't come with a hefty price tag.
User-friendly interface
Starhive's interface is designed to be intuitive and easy to navigate, with AI assistance to help you get started with managing your data. This reduces the learning curve and allows teams to get up and running quickly.
Disadvantages of Starhive
Developing integrations
Starhive currently has fewer integrations with third-party apps and services than more established competitors — but there are big plans to provide more integrations for users soon.
Still growing
Like any new platform, growing pains may impact the user experience. But Starhive's customer service is out-of-this-world so bugs are ironed out as soon as they’re found.
Developing features
Starhive has new features are coming like fully customisable service portals and user interfaces, even more powerful automations, and templates to get started faster.
Starhive is an excellent choice for those looking for a fresh, innovative project and data management approach.
Its unique features, competitive pricing, and user-friendly interface make it an attractive option for small to medium-sized teams.
What to do with these Airtable alternatives
When exploring Airtable alternatives, it's essential to consider your team's or project's specific needs and unique requirements.
While Airtable remains a strong and versatile tool, these alternatives offer diverse functionalities that may better suit different use cases, from automation and collaboration to advanced project management and data visualisation.
For a more in-depth comparison of these platforms, check out our dedicated comparison page using the button below.
