Should I use Airtable or Stackby?

Use Airtable if you need native apps, more views, built-in reporting, and room to scale; use Stackby if you want Airtable-style relational tables at a much lower per-seat price, from $4.20/user/month billed annually. Reviewers report that Stackby's automations and formulas can be unreliable.

Is Airtable cheaper than Stackby?

No — Airtable starts at $20/user/month billed annually (Team), while Stackby starts at $4.20/user/month billed annually or $9 monthly (Economy). At 20 editors, Airtable Business costs $900/month against about $166/month for Stackby Business, both billed annually.

Does Stackby have a free plan?

Yes — Stackby's free plan covers up to 5 editors and 50 read-only guests, 20 stacks, 1,500 rows per stack, and 2GB of attachments. Airtable also has a free plan, with capped records and attachments.

Does Airtable have a desktop app?

Yes — Airtable runs on Windows and macOS as well as web, iOS, and Android. Stackby is web-only, with no native desktop or mobile apps.

Airtable vs Stackby (2026)

By Noahlast updated October 23, 2026

Verdict: Choose Airtable if you need a mature platform with desktop and mobile apps, grid, kanban, calendar, gallery, and Gantt views, built-in reporting, and room to scale to hundreds of millions of records. Choose Stackby if you want Airtable-style relational tables for a small team at a fraction of the per-seat price, from $4.20/user/month billed annually, with a free plan for 5 editors and 50 guests. Price versus maturity decides it: 20 editors cost $900/month on Airtable Business against about $166/month on Stackby Business (both billed annually), but reviewers report Stackby's automations and formulas can be unreliable.

Airtable

A spreadsheet-database hybrid for building custom business apps and workflows without code.

Pricing: Free tier · paid from $20/mo
License: Freemium

Best for Small-to-midsize teams that need a relational database with a spreadsheet UI to run project trackers, content calendars, or lightweight CRMs without writing code.

Visit airtable.com Read our review

Stackby

A no-code spreadsheet-database platform combining tables, automation, and AI fields for small teams, with a free plan and paid tiers from $9/user/month.

Pricing: Free tier · paid from $9/mo
License: Freemium

Best for small teams building CRMs, project trackers, or inventory systems who want Airtable-style relational tables with built-in automation and AI fields at a lower per-seat price

4.8/5 on Capterra (82 reviews)

Visit stackby.com Read our review

Which should you choose?

Choose Airtable if…

wins 3/6 use cases

You need native apps on Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android, not only a browser
You want grid, kanban, calendar, gallery, and Gantt views over the same data
You expect to outgrow Stackby's 250,000-row-per-stack ceiling and want HyperDB's hundreds of millions of records on Enterprise Scale
You rely on native integrations with Slack, Google Drive, Salesforce, Jira, or Zendesk
You need dependable automations and reporting more than the lowest seat price

Choose Stackby if…

wins 3/6 use cases

You want the lowest per-seat price: $4.20/user/month billed annually on Economy against Airtable Team's $20
You need a free plan that covers up to 5 editors and 50 read-only guests
You want API connector blocks that pull live data from other services into the grid
You want AI-powered database fields built into the table
Your team prefers a tool rated low on learning curve over one rated moderate

Airtable vs Stackby: feature comparison

Feature	Airtable	Stackby
Free tier	Yescapped records and attachments	Yes5 editors, 50 read-only guests, 20 stacks, 1,500 rows per stack
Cheapest paid tier	Yes$20/user/mo billed annually (Team)	Yes$4.20/user/mo billed annually, $9 monthly (Economy)
Business tier	Yes$45/user/mo billed annually	Yes$8.30/user/mo billed annually, $18 monthly
Cost for 20 editors	Yes$900/mo (Business, billed annually)	Yesabout $166/mo (Business, billed annually)
Platforms	Yesweb, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android	Partialweb only
Relational linked tables	Yeslinked records across tables	Yesrelational tables in a spreadsheet grid
Views	Yesgrid, kanban, calendar, gallery, Gantt	Unknown
Automation	Yesmore automations on Team and Business	Partial1,000 to 100,000 runs/month by tier; reliability complaints
AI features	YesAI-assisted app building and AI agents	YesAI-powered database fields
Integrations	YesSlack, Google Drive, Salesforce, Jira, Zendesk, plus a REST API	YesAPI connector blocks inside the grid
Forms and app pages	Yesno-code interfaces	Yesform builder and page designer
Data scale	YesHyperDB to hundreds of millions of records (Enterprise Scale)	Partialup to 250,000 rows per stack (Enterprise); lag reported as stacks grow
Reporting	Yesbuilt-in reporting	Partialmore limited than Airtable
SSO	YesEnterprise Scale, custom pricing	YesSAML SSO on Enterprise, custom pricing
Learning curve	Partialmoderate	Yeslow
Adoption	Yes500,000+ organizations	Unknown
External rating	Unknown	Yes4.8/5 from 82 reviews (Capterra)

Airtable vs Stackby: pricing

Every tier both tools publish, as we last checked them — not just the entry price.

Airtable

FreeFor individuals and very small teams; core building blocks with capped records and attachmentsFree
TeamPer user, billed annually; adds more records, automations, and views for growing teams$20/mo
BusinessPer user, billed annually; adds admin controls, more automation/API allowance, and advanced permissions$45/mo
Enterprise ScaleCustom pricing; unlimited org units/workspaces/bases, HyperDB scale, SSO/RBAC, and dedicated supportCustom

Verified October 1, 2026Latest pricing

Stackby

FreeUp to 5 editors and 50 read-only guests, 20 stacks, 1,500 rows per stack, 2GB attachment storage.Free
Economy$9/user/month billed monthly, or $4.20/user/month ($149/year for 3 users) billed annually; 25 stacks, 7,000 rows per stack, 6GB attachment storage, 1,000 automation runs.$9/mo
Business$18/user/month billed monthly, or $8.30/user/month ($299/year for 3 users) billed annually; most popular tier. 50 stacks, 50,000 rows per stack, 20GB attachment storage, 25,000 automation runs.$18/mo
Pro$35/user/month billed monthly, or $12.50/user/month ($449/year for 3 users) billed annually; 100 stacks, 100,000 rows per stack, 50GB attachment storage, 100,000 automation runs.$35/mo
EnterpriseCustom, invoice-based pricing; unlimited stacks, 250,000 rows per stack, 1TB attachment storage, SAML SSO, priority support.Custom

Verified September 14, 2026Latest pricing

Airtable vs Stackby pricing: which costs less?

Stackby costs far less per seat, from $4.20/user/month billed annually ($9 monthly) against Airtable Team's $20/user/month billed annually.

Stackby Business costs $8.30/user/month billed annually or $18 monthly, and Stackby Pro costs $12.50 annually or $35 monthly; annual billing runs roughly 50-70% below monthly. Airtable Business costs $45/user/month billed annually, so a 20-person team pays $900/month on Airtable Business against about $166/month on Stackby Business. Both have free plans: Stackby's covers 5 editors, 50 read-only guests, 20 stacks, and 1,500 rows per stack, while Airtable's caps records and attachments. Both Enterprise tiers are custom-quoted.

Which is more reliable, Airtable or Stackby?

Airtable is the safer choice for reliability, since reviewers report that Stackby's automations, formulas, and filtering can be unreliable and that Stackby slows down as stacks grow.

Stackby's listing notes at least one user describing core automations as broken, plus data stability issues at larger row counts, and Stackby's business intelligence and reporting tools are more limited than Airtable's. Airtable reports more than 500,000 organizations on the product and offers HyperDB for enterprise workloads in the hundreds of millions of records. Airtable's weak spot is different: complex bases with many linked tables and automations can become hard for new users to navigate.

Which is easier to use, Airtable or Stackby?

Stackby is easier to use, with a low learning curve rating against Airtable's moderate rating.

Stackby combines a spreadsheet-like grid, a database builder, forms, a page designer, and automation, and its apps marketplace offers templates for CRM, project tracking, and inventory. Airtable offers more depth, with linked tables, five view types, automations, no-code interfaces, AI-assisted app building, and AI agents, but complex Airtable bases with many linked tables can become hard for new users to navigate.

Can Stackby replace Airtable?

Stackby can replace Airtable for small teams running CRMs, project trackers, or inventory systems on a budget, but not for teams that need native apps, deep reporting, very large datasets, or Airtable's integration catalog.

Stackby offers relational tables, 1,000 to 100,000 automation runs per month by tier, AI fields, API connector blocks, and SAML SSO on Enterprise. Stackby is web-only, caps Enterprise stacks at 250,000 rows each, and has more limited reporting. Airtable runs on web, Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android, integrates natively with Slack, Google Drive, Salesforce, Jira, and Zendesk, and provides a documented REST API.

Strengths and weaknesses

Airtable

Pros

Relational linking between tables goes well beyond what a flat spreadsheet like Google Sheets can do
Built-in automations, interfaces, and reporting reduce the need for separate tools for simple internal apps
Free plan is usable for individuals and very small teams before any payment is required
Native integrations with Slack, Google Drive, Salesforce, Jira, and Zendesk plus a documented REST API for custom work

Cons

Per-editor seat pricing gets expensive fast once a team grows past a handful of active editors
Free and Team tiers cap records and attachments per base, forcing upgrades as data volume grows
Enterprise-grade features (SSO, advanced RBAC, unlimited workspaces) are locked behind custom-quoted Enterprise Scale pricing
Complex bases with many linked tables and automations can become hard to navigate for new users

Stackby

Pros

Free plan supports up to 5 editors and 50 read-only guests, more generous than many competitors' free tiers.
Combines spreadsheet, database, automation, and AI fields in one tool without needing separate integration apps.
Lower per-seat pricing than Airtable at comparable tiers, especially on annual billing.
Templates and an apps marketplace speed up setup for common use cases like CRM and inventory tracking.

Cons

Automation, formulas, and filtering have been reported as unreliable by some users, undermining core workflows.
Performance lag and data stability issues reported as stack size and row counts grow.
Business intelligence and advanced reporting tools are more limited than competitors like Airtable.
No native desktop or mobile apps; web-only access.

Which fits your use case?

Use case	Pick	Why
Small team on a tight budget building a CRM	Stackby	Stackby Economy costs $4.20/user/month billed annually, against $20/user/month for Airtable Team, and Stackby's apps marketplace includes ready-made CRM templates.
Nonprofit or agency sharing a tracker with many read-only stakeholders	Stackby	Stackby's free plan includes 5 editors and 50 read-only guests across 20 stacks.
Enterprise needing SSO, role-based access, and very large datasets	Airtable	Airtable Enterprise Scale adds SSO, RBAC, and HyperDB scale into the hundreds of millions of records; Stackby Enterprise tops out at 250,000 rows per stack.
Team that manages work from phones and desktop apps	Airtable	Airtable has native Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android apps, while Stackby is web-only.
Operations team whose workflows depend on automations firing every time	Airtable	Reviewers report Stackby's automations, formulas, and filtering can be unreliable; no comparable reliability complaints appear in Airtable's listing.
Marketing team pulling live data from other services into one table	Stackby	Stackby's API connector blocks bring live data from other services directly into the grid without separate integration tools.

Neither a match?

Both lists carry verified pricing and honest weaknesses for every option.

7 alternatives to Airtable 4 alternatives to Stackby

Popular comparisons

Airtable vs Stackby: migration FAQ

Should I use Airtable or Stackby?: Use Airtable if you need native apps, more views, built-in reporting, and room to scale; use Stackby if you want Airtable-style relational tables at a much lower per-seat price, from $4.20/user/month billed annually. Reviewers report that Stackby's automations and formulas can be unreliable.
Is Airtable cheaper than Stackby?: No — Airtable starts at $20/user/month billed annually (Team), while Stackby starts at $4.20/user/month billed annually or $9 monthly (Economy). At 20 editors, Airtable Business costs $900/month against about $166/month for Stackby Business, both billed annually.
Can Stackby replace Airtable?: Yes for small teams running CRMs, trackers, or inventory systems on a budget, since Stackby offers relational tables, automation, AI fields, and API connectors. Stackby is web-only, scales to 250,000 rows per stack on Enterprise, and has weaker reporting than Airtable.
Does Stackby have a free plan?: Yes — Stackby's free plan covers up to 5 editors and 50 read-only guests, 20 stacks, 1,500 rows per stack, and 2GB of attachments. Airtable also has a free plan, with capped records and attachments.
Does Airtable have a desktop app?: Yes — Airtable runs on Windows and macOS as well as web, iOS, and Android. Stackby is web-only, with no native desktop or mobile apps.