Airtable vs Zapier Comparison 2026
Both cover project management. Here is what separates them on price, billing, what you can take with you, and coverage.
A database that behaves like a spreadsheet
Wire the tools together without writing code
At a glance
- Airtable starts cheaper, at $20.
- Both have a genuinely free tier.
Side by side
Airtable | Zapier | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $20 | From $29.99 |
| Pricing model | Free plan, paid tiers | Free plan, paid tiers |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | Not stated | Not stated |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Data export | Not stated | Not stated |
| Their cut | None | None |
| Runs on (they differ) |
Shaded rows are where the two answers disagree and both listings have answered. A row where one side has not stated a fact is left plain, because silence is not a difference.
Airtable
A database that behaves like a spreadsheet
Airtable looks like a spreadsheet and works like a database, which is why so many content calendars, sponsor pipelines and asset libraries end up in it. Views, linked records and automations turn a table into something a small team can run on. Per-seat pricing gets expensive the moment collaborators outnumber the tables.
Our note
Portals for outside collaborators are priced apart from seats, starting at $120 a month for fifteen guests. If sponsors or clients need to see the calendar, price that line first. It can cost more than the whole team.
Zapier
Wire the tools together without writing code
Zapier connects one app's event to another app's action, which is how most creator plumbing gets built: a new YouTube upload posts itself to Discord, a form submission opens a task, a purchase adds someone to a list. It matters most when the tools you already pay for do not talk to each other and the alternative is doing it by hand every week. Pricing counts tasks rather than seats, so cost follows how much actually runs.
Our note
Count the tasks a workflow will actually consume before picking a tier, because a busy trigger can burn a month's allowance in a week. Start on the free plan and let the first thing you hit tell you which limit matters.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.