In this guide · 8 sections
- 01Airtable vs Google Sheets at a glance
- 02Limits and pricing compared (October 2026)
- 03Signs your spreadsheet has outgrown itself
- 04Permissions, automations and integrations
- 05How to move from Google Sheets to Airtable
- 06When to build a small app instead
- 07Do it yourself or get help?
- 08Frequently asked questions
Short answer
Stay on Google Sheets for calculations, reports and simple lists. Move to Airtable when you track linked records such as clients and jobs, need forms and per-person views, or keep breaking formulas. Airtable's free plan caps a base at 1,000 records; Team costs US$20 per editor per month billed annually.
Airtable vs Google Sheets at a glance
The quick version, with figures from Airtable's pricing page, Airtable's plan documentation and Google's file size limits, checked October 2026.
Google Sheets
Default choiceIncluded in Google Workspace
- Up to 20 million cells per spreadsheet
- Strong formulas, pivot tables and charts
- Everyone already knows how to use it
- Permissions are per file, plus protected ranges
Best for: Calculations, budgets, reports and simple lists.
Airtable
When data is linkedFree, then US$20/editor/month (annual)
- Free plan: 1,000 records per base, 5 editors
- Linked records between tables, like a real database
- Built-in forms, kanban, calendar and gallery views
- Interfaces give staff a simple screen instead of the raw table
Best for: Tracking clients, jobs, stock or bookings across several tables.
Limits and pricing compared (October 2026)
Airtable charges per user who can edit at least one base in a paid workspace. Read-only collaborators, form submissions and share links are not charged, according to its pricing FAQ. Airtable lists its prices in US dollars.
| Google Sheets | Airtable Free | Airtable Team | Airtable Business | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Included in Workspace (from S$9.40/user/month, Business Starter flexible) | US$0 | US$20/editor/month annual, US$24 monthly | US$45/editor/month annual, US$54 monthly |
| Size limit | 20 million cells or 100 MB per spreadsheet | 1,000 records per base | 50,000 records per base | 125,000 records per base |
| Editors | Unlimited (file sharing) | 5 editors | Billed per editor | Billed per editor |
| API calls | Apps Script quotas apply | 1,000 per month | 100,000 per month | Unlimited |
| Attachments | Drive storage | 1 GB per base | 20 GB per base | 100 GB per base |
| Revision history | Version history | 2 weeks | 1 year | 1 year |
Two practical points: Airtable record limits are per base and add up across all tables in that base, and Airtable's Business plan requires a company email domain, not Gmail. Workspace pricing is from Google's Singapore pricing page.
Signs your spreadsheet has outgrown itself
Most businesses do not need Airtable on day one. These are the signals that the spreadsheet is now costing you time or errors.
Outgrown-spreadsheet checklist
If three or more apply, a database-style tool will likely save time. If only one applies, a Sheets fix (protected ranges, a Google Form, a filter view per person) is usually enough.
Permissions, automations and integrations
This is where the two differ most in daily use.
- Permissions. Sheets shares whole files, with protected ranges to stop edits to certain cells. Airtable has workspace and base roles, and Interfaces let you build a simple screen where a staff member sees and edits only certain fields or records.
- Forms. Google Forms feeds a sheet well. Airtable forms write straight into a table and can fill linked fields.
- Automations. Sheets uses Apps Script, which is flexible but is code. Airtable has built-in automations (for example, email a client when status changes), with a cap on the number of automations per base on each plan.
- Integrations. Both connect to Zapier and Make. Our Zapier vs Make guide compares the two if you plan to link either tool to your CRM, email or accounting software.
- Offline and Excel users. Sheets handles Excel files and works offline in Chrome. Airtable exports a view as CSV, one table at a time.
If what you really want is task and project tracking rather than records, look at our Notion vs ClickUp vs Asana comparison before choosing either.
How to move from Google Sheets to Airtable
The migration itself is quick. The planning is what decides whether it works.
Draw your tables on paper
List the 'things' you track (clients, jobs, products, invoices) and how they link. Each thing becomes a table.
Clean the data in Sheets first
One row per record, one header row, no merged cells, consistent dates and status values. Remove duplicates.
Import each tab as its own table
Airtable can import from Google Sheets or CSV. Check that field types (date, number, single select) were detected correctly.
Replace copied columns with linked records
Instead of typing the client name into the jobs table, link to the client record and use lookup fields for phone and email.
Rebuild views and forms
Create a view per person or status, a form for new enquiries, and an Interface if staff need a simpler screen.
Run both for a week, then lock the sheet
Keep the old sheet read-only as an archive once the team is working in Airtable.
When to build a small app instead
Airtable is ideal for teams of a few editors. As a process becomes central and the team grows, per-editor pricing and plan limits start to matter. At US$20 per editor per month, ten editors on Team cost US$2,400 a year before any add-ons.
A custom tool makes sense when the process is stable, used daily by many people, needs customers or contractors to log in, or must connect tightly to other systems. You pay once to build it and then only hosting, and the data sits in your own account. It is the wrong choice if the process is still changing every month; prove it in Sheets or Airtable first.
Do it yourself or get help?
Moving a single list into Airtable, or tidying a sheet with forms and protected ranges, is very doable yourself in an afternoon. Getting help is worth it when the data has several linked parts, or you want automations that send emails, WhatsApp messages or invoices without anyone copying data.
IT Sorted's Workflow Automation (S$390 per workflow) connects a form, sheet or Airtable base to email, WhatsApp or your accounting app, built in your own Make, Zapier or Apps Script account. When the process has outgrown both tools, a Custom Tool or Dashboard (from S$1,990) is scoped in writing with a fixed quote, and the source code is yours.
Frequently asked questions
Not in general. Google Sheets is better for calculations, financial models, charts and simple lists. Airtable is better when you track several kinds of linked records, such as clients and their jobs, and need forms, per-person views and simple automations. Many businesses use both.
Airtable's Free plan costs nothing but limits each base to 1,000 records and 5 editors. As of October 2026, the Team plan is US$20 per editor per month billed annually, or US$24 monthly, with 50,000 records per base. Read-only users and form submissions are not charged.
Google Sheets does not set a separate row limit; the limit is up to 20 million cells or 100 MB per spreadsheet created in or converted to Sheets. In practice, very large sheets become slow, especially on phones, well before that limit.
Yes. Airtable can import from Google Sheets or CSV files. Clean the data first so there is one header row and one row per record, import each tab as a separate table, then replace copied columns such as client names with linked records.
Consider a custom app when a process is stable, used daily by many staff, needs outside users such as customers to log in, or must connect closely to other systems. Per-user subscription costs then add up, and a one-off build in your own account can be cheaper over a few years.