Databases
The spreadsheet-database layer most automations read from and write to. Two of these three can live on your own server; the biggest one cannot.
Every tool in this category
| Airtable | Baserow | SeaTable | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free plan | 1,000 records per base | cloud 3,000 rows self-hosted unlimited | 10,000 rows per base up to 25 users |
| Entry paid tier | $20/seat/mo annual 50,000 records | $10/user/mo annual 50,000 rows | €7/user/mo annual 50,000 rows |
| Self-hosting | not available on any plan | Open Source Edition MIT, no per-user fee | SeaTable Server free up to 3 users |
| Licence | closed source | MIT | source-available in parts |
Checked August 2026 against each vendor's own pricing page. Annual figures unless stated.
5 pages
HEAD TO HEAD
MIT with paid feature gates against fair-code with everything free — the January 2026 licence split decides it.
DEEP DIVE
No row or user caps — the limits are licence gates and your hardware. Server sizing with numbers.
EXPLAINER
There is no self-hosted Airtable. What a move to Baserow or NocoDB keeps and what it loses.
HEAD TO HEAD
Closed and cloud-only against MIT-licensed and free to self-host.
HEAD TO HEAD
10,000 free rows per base against Airtable's 1,000, and German data centres.