Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Airtable VS SimpleDB

Compare Airtable VS SimpleDB and see what are their differences

Airtable logo Airtable

Airtable works like a spreadsheet but gives you the power of a database to organize anything. Sign up for free.

SimpleDB logo SimpleDB

Amazon SimpleDB is a simple database storage solution that allows developers to simply store & query data items via web services requests, saving time.
  • Airtable Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-19
  • SimpleDB Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-01

Airtable

Release Date
2013 January
Startup details
Country
United States
State
California
Founder(s)
Andrew Ofstad
Employees
250 - 499

Airtable features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    Airtable provides an intuitive, visually appealing interface that makes it easy for users to create, manage, and navigate complex data sets without extensive technical knowledge.
  • Customizability
    Airtable offers robust customization options, allowing users to tailor databases and views to their specific needs, including various field types, multiple views, and linked records.
  • Collaboration Features
    Airtable supports real-time collaboration, enabling multiple users to work on the same database simultaneously while tracking changes and maintaining version history.
  • Integrations
    Airtable integrates with various third-party applications and services such as Slack, Google Drive, and Zapier, allowing for seamless workflow automation and enhanced productivity.
  • Templates
    Airtable offers a wide range of pre-built templates for different use cases, which helps users get started quickly without having to build everything from scratch.
  • Mobile App
    Airtable's mobile application allows users to access and manage their databases on the go, ensuring flexibility and continuous productivity.

Possible disadvantages of Airtable

  • Cost
    While Airtable offers a free tier, many of the more advanced features and higher usage limits are locked behind a subscription model, which can become costly for larger teams or extensive use.
  • Performance Issues
    Some users have reported performance issues with Airtable when working with very large databases, including slow load times and laggy interface responsiveness.
  • Limited Offline Access
    Airtable relies heavily on an internet connection, and its offline capabilities are limited, which may be a drawback for users who need consistent access without reliable internet.
  • Data Export Options
    Data export options are somewhat limited compared to other database management tools, making it more difficult to extract data in certain formats for use outside of Airtable.
  • Learning Curve
    Despite its user-friendly interface, the extensive features and customizability of Airtable can present a learning curve for new users, requiring time to explore and understand its full capabilities.
  • Lack of Advanced Features
    Airtable may lack some advanced features found in more specialized or traditional database management systems, making it less suitable for particularly complex or highly specific data management needs.

SimpleDB features and specs

  • Scalability
    SimpleDB automatically manages server infrastructure on behalf of users, allowing it to scale in response to application demand without manual intervention.
  • Ease of Use
    It is designed to be simple, with a straightforward API that makes it easy to get started without needing to manage the complexities of traditional database systems.
  • Flexible Data Model
    The schema-less nature of SimpleDB allows users to store structured data without predefining the data types, making it adaptable to changes in data format or structure.
  • Indexing and Querying
    SimpleDB provides automatic indexing of all attributes, which facilitates quick querying and retrieval of data without requiring users to manage indices.
  • Integration with AWS Services
    Seamless integration with other AWS services like S3 and EC2, allowing users to build comprehensive cloud solutions.

Possible disadvantages of SimpleDB

  • Limited Query Functionality
    SimpleDB's querying capabilities are more limited compared to relational databases; it does not support complex queries or joins.
  • Storage and Throughput Limitations
    There are limitations on storage size per domain and concurrent read/write throughput, which could be restrictive for large-scale applications.
  • Consistency Model
    SimpleDB trades off strong consistency for high availability, which means applications must be designed to handle eventual consistency.
  • Cost
    While SimpleDB can be cost-effective for small applications, costs can accumulate quickly with large-scale data operations due to its pricing model based on data usage.
  • Obsolescence
    With the advancement and growing use of more robust AWS databases like DynamoDB, SimpleDB has become less appealing and might not receive the same level of support or updates.

Analysis of Airtable

Overall verdict

  • Airtable is a highly effective tool for individuals and teams looking for an easy-to-use, versatile platform to manage data and collaborate. It is especially suitable for users who need more functionality than a traditional spreadsheet but donโ€™t require a full-scale database management system.

Why this product is good

  • Ease of use
    Airtable offers a user-friendly interface that combines the simplicity of spreadsheets with the power of a database, making it accessible for users without technical expertise.
  • Flexibility
    It provides flexibility in terms of creating customizable databases, allowing users to adapt it for various use cases such as project management, inventory tracking, and more.
  • Integrations
    It integrates with a wide range of third-party applications and services, enhancing its utility and reach.
  • Collaboration
    Airtable supports real-time collaboration, enabling teams to work together seamlessly and share updates instantly.

Recommended for

  • Small to medium-sized businesses
  • Project managers
  • Creative teams
  • Freelancers
  • Non-profits
  • Product development teams

Airtable videos

Airtable Review | Features, Pricing & Team Use

More videos:

  • Tutorial - Airtable API Tutorial With cURL and JavaScript
  • Review - Airtable Blocks for Project Management
  • Review - Airtable vs. Google Sheets
  • Review - airtable review

SimpleDB videos

No SimpleDB videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Airtable and SimpleDB)
Project Management
98 98%
2% 2
Databases
0 0%
100% 100
No Code
99 99%
1% 1
Task Management
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Airtable and SimpleDB

Airtable Reviews

  1. Sanjana Shah
    ยท Data Scientist at Boston Institute of Analytics ยท
    Airtable: Spreadsheets + Databases = Efficiency

    Airtable is a powerful cloud-based software that combines spreadsheets and databases, offering real-time collaboration and customizable features for efficient task management1.

    ๐Ÿ Competitors: monday.com, ClickUp, Smartsheet
    ๐Ÿ‘ Pros:    Free forever plan and affordable paid options starting at $10 per month.|Visually appealing and user-friendly interface.|Pre-made templates for easy setup and use.|Real-time collaboration and communication.|Customizable features for task management.
    ๐Ÿ‘Ž Cons:    Limited project customization without a paid plan.|Top-tier accounts required for gantt tools.|May take time to learn and grasp advanced features.

The Top 7 ClickUp Alternatives You Need to Know in 2025
Benefits:Airtable's ability to integrate various data sources into one platform allows teams to maintain a centralized source of truth while leveraging powerful visualization tools6.
Top 10 Notion Alternatives for 2025 and Why Teams Are Choosing Ledger
Airtable blends spreadsheets with database features, offering teams a powerful way to organize structured information. While its flexibility is impressive, it's not purpose-built for communication or team collaboration at scale.
25 Best Asana Alternatives & Competitors for Project Management in 2024
Airtable is one of the most popular Asana alternatives. Itโ€™s project management tool that helps teams create detailed databases for their work. Users can group and sort data in custom fields with views like Grid to include only the relevant project information.
Source: clickup.com
Top 10 Microsoft Power Apps Alternatives and Competitors 2024
Airtable Pricing: Airtable offers a freemium plan with limited features for individual users. Paid plans start at $10 per user per month for additional features and functionalities. Enterprise plans with custom pricing cater to large-scale deployments.
Source: medium.com
The 10 best Asana alternatives in 2024
If you're looking for a project management app that leans more toward data management, try Airtable. Out of the box, Airtable's default view looks like a spreadsheet. It offers a few project templates based on your team type (such as marketing or sales), or you can build a "base" from scratch. From there, you can add highly customizable fields (or columns) to each row, so...
Source: zapier.com

SimpleDB Reviews

We have no reviews of SimpleDB yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Airtable seems to be a lot more popular than SimpleDB. While we know about 132 links to Airtable, we've tracked only 6 mentions of SimpleDB. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Airtable mentions (132)

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SimpleDB mentions (6)

  • Amazon is laying off another 9,000 employees across AWS, Twitch, advertising
    Amazing that this managed DB service is still running: https://aws.amazon.com/simpledb/. Source: over 2 years ago
  • What is the difference between Dynamo and DynamoDB?
    Over the years, Amazon also developed another NoSQL database called SimpleDB. Unlike the original Dynamo, SimpleDB is a managed service so it's easy for teams to adopt and operate. However, SimpleDB can't grow past 10 GB and its performance doesn't scale well (maxes out at around 25 writes per second). Source: almost 4 years ago
  • Amazon EC2-Classic Is Retiring
    You can actually still use SimpleDB: https://aws.amazon.com/simpledb/. - Source: Hacker News / about 4 years ago
  • AWS Quicksight: Authenticating users without SSO but simple DB
    Are you talking about SimpleDB (https://aws.amazon.com/simpledb/) ? If so, I had no idea anyone used this anymore. Source: about 4 years ago
  • Why Google Cloud is less trustworthy than AWS or Azure
    About deprecation: the gold standard is what AWS is doing with SimpleDB: essentially, never. The thing here is that if you run hundreds of services in production - many of which work smoothly and you don't need to touch often, you will find that Google's habit of forcing you to change how to use their tooling will generate a huge burden... They discourage you from using it and make it clear that for every use case... - Source: Hacker News / over 4 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Airtable and SimpleDB, you can also consider the following products

Trello - Infinitely flexible. Incredibly easy to use. Great mobile apps. It's free. Trello keeps track of everything, from the big picture to the minute details.

Ninox - Ninox is a human-friendly database. Create your own Business Application with Ninox that matches your workflow. Ninox lets you integrate CRM, ERP, HR and many more...

Asana - Asana project management is an effort to re-imagine how we work together, through modern productivity software. Fast and versatile, Asana helps individuals and groups get more done.

MongoDB Atlas - The best way to host MongoDB in the cloud. Deploy on AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud Platform. Try it free!

monday.com - The most intuitive platform to manage projects and teamwork

SAP HANA - SAP HANA is an in-memory, column-oriented, relational database management system.