Hey I’m Seth!

Founder, No Code MBA
Each week I share the latest No Code MBA tutorials, interviews, and tool recommendations with 20,000 subscribers.
I'd love for you to join as well.
2 min read only
Practical lessons
Free access to content
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form...
00
D
00
H
00
M
00
S
MEMORIAL DAY SALE: SAVE 50% →

Airtable vs Zapier

An in-depth head to head comparison

In this article, read a side-by-side comparison between two no-code tools: Airtable and Zapier. 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.
Go to tool

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 Zapier?

Easy automation for busy people. Zapier moves info between your web apps automatically, so you can focus on your most important work.
Go to tool

Learn everything you need to know about Zapier

Our in-depth course will take your from a beginner to expert

The Complete Guide to Zapier

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

Zapier pricing

  • Free plan with 100 tasks/month and 5 zaps
  • $19.99/month for 750 tasks/month and 20 zaps, plus multi-step zaps
  • $49/month - $299/month for unlimited zaps and additional advanced features

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

Zapier benefits

  • Easily build automations with thousands of apps
  • Easier to use than Make
  • More integrations than Make
  • Run automations on Make

Drawbacks

Airtable drawbacks

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

Zapier drawbacks

  • More expensive than Make
  • More limited in complexity versus Make

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

Zapier use-cases

  • Automations that connect different apps together

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 Zapier

  • May not be able to connect to the tool you need (though Zapier has more connections than Make)

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.

Zapier recommendation

Since Zapier and Make are so similar, all the recommendations from Make's section apply here!

In general, Zapier is easier to use and has more integrations, but is more expensive.

Make is more powerful, has less integrations and is less expensive.

I recommend people start with Zapier, and move over to Make when they are ready for something more powerful but with a higher learning curve.

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.

Bring Your Ideas to Life with AI and No Code

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.

More tool comparisons