Compare/Alternatives

Airtable alternatives

4 tools our write-ups put next to Airtable, with starting price, free tier, MCP and API side by side.

Airtable from $20/user/moFree tier14 day free trialMCP serverAPI

Closest alternatives

The short answer

Manatal : A real ATS from $15 a user a month with resume parsing and job posting built in, for teams that would rather not build their own tracker. From $15/user/mo
Attio : A flexible CRM with a free plan that suits agency client and candidate relationships, with email and calendar sync built in. From $35/user/mo
Zoho Recruit : Free plan plus a staffing-agency edition with sourcing, parsing and client submittals, a ready-made path for agencies outgrowing a spreadsheet. From $25/user/mo
Zapier : Automation glue rather than a database: connects your ATS, inbox and job boards, and often pairs with Airtable instead of replacing it. From $19.99/mo

Why people look past Airtable

It is not an ATS: there is no built-in job board posting, resume parsing or candidate email sequencing, so those come from other tools. Record caps (1,000 per base on Free, 50,000 on Team) fill up fast with a candidate database, and pricing is per editor.

What we noted

Not a full ATS: no resume parsing, job posting or sequencing
Record limits per base fill quickly with candidate data
Paid per editor, which adds up for larger teams

Not the right fit for

Agencies that need resume parsing, job posting and compliance reporting built in
Teams with candidate databases in the hundreds of thousands
Recruiters who want a ready-made workflow with no setup

Worth keeping in mind: You design the tracker around your own desk: linked tables for candidates, jobs and clients, kanban and calendar views, forms that feed applications straight in, and automations on top. The Fall 2026 release made Omni, its built-in AI agent, available on every plan, and its official MCP server lets Claude or ChatGPT read and update your bases.

Airtable alternatives compared

Tool	Free tier	From	MCP	API	Head to head
Airtable (the one you are on)	✓Yes	$20/user/mo	✓Yes	✓Yes
Manatal A real ATS from $15 a user a month with resume parsing and job posting built in, for teams that would rather not build their own tracker.	–No	$15/user/mo	✓Yes	✓Yes	Head to head
Attio A flexible CRM with a free plan that suits agency client and candidate relationships, with email and calendar sync built in.	✓Yes	$35/user/mo	✓Yes	✓Yes	Head to head
Zoho Recruit Free plan plus a staffing-agency edition with sourcing, parsing and client submittals, a ready-made path for agencies outgrowing a spreadsheet.	✓Yes	$25/user/mo	✓Yes	✓Yes	Head to head
Zapier Automation glue rather than a database: connects your ATS, inbox and job boards, and often pairs with Airtable instead of replacing it.	✓Yes	$19.99/mo	✓Yes	✓Yes	Head to head

What each one does differently

Manatal

$15/user/mo 14 day free trial MCP API

Why it comes up: A real ATS from $15 a user a month with resume parsing and job posting built in, for teams that would rather not build their own tracker.

Stands out: A $15 per-user start with AI ranking and browser capture included.

Watch out: MCP is Enterprise Plus only, and monthly billing is $19 rather than $15.

Best for

Small in-house teams
Boutique agencies
Desks that live in Chrome while sourcing

4.6 on Capterra from 141 reviews

Read the Manatal write-up Airtable vs Manatal

Attio

$35/user/mo Free tier 14 day free trial MCP API

Why it comes up: A flexible CRM with a free plan that suits agency client and candidate relationships, with email and calendar sync built in.

Stands out: A hosted MCP server and REST API are available on every plan, including Free, with a 14-day Pro trial.

Watch out: Plus caps at 10 seats. Call Intelligence, sequences, and AI agents sit on Pro. Extra workspace credits are add-on packs.

Best for

Startups replacing a rigid CRM with custom objects
Small teams that want Free (3 seats) before paying
RevOps that will run Claude against the CRM via MCP

Read the Attio write-up Airtable vs Attio

Zoho Recruit

$25/user/mo Free tier 15 day free trial MCP API

Why it comes up: Free plan plus a staffing-agency edition with sourcing, parsing and client submittals, a ready-made path for agencies outgrowing a spreadsheet.

Stands out: Zoho CRM sync plus a genuine free tier at a low per-user price.

Watch out: Employee licences are sold in separate packs, so the recruiter seat is not the whole bill.

Best for

Companies already paying for Zoho
Small in-house talent teams
Small agencies that want a free tier

4.5 on Capterra from 1,282 reviews

Read the Zoho Recruit write-up Airtable vs Zoho Recruit

Zapier

$19.99/mo Free tier 14 day free trial MCP API

Why it comes up: Automation glue rather than a database: connects your ATS, inbox and job boards, and often pairs with Airtable instead of replacing it.

Stands out: Zapier MCP is on every plan, including Free, and connects AI assistants to the same 9,000-app catalog.

Watch out: Each MCP tool call uses two tasks. Free Zaps are limited to two steps, and Professional is a single-user plan.

Best for

Ops teams connecting SaaS apps without code
People who want Claude or ChatGPT to act in Gmail and Slack
Solo users who fit on one Professional seat

Read the Zapier write-up Airtable vs Zapier

Common questions

What is the best Airtable alternative?

It depends on what sent you looking. We compare 4 alternatives to Airtable: Manatal, Attio, Zoho Recruit and Zapier. Each one's "Why it comes up" line says what it does differently, and the table above shows all 4 on price, free tier, MCP and API.

Is there a free alternative to Airtable?

Yes. Attio, Zoho Recruit and Zapier carry a free tier on our listing, so you can try the product without a card. Free tiers are capped, so check the limits against your volume before you move a team across.

What is the cheapest Airtable alternative?

Of the published starting prices here, Manatal is lowest at $15/user/mo. Starting price is the entry plan, not the seat count you will end up on, so read the plan table on each listing.

Which Airtable alternatives have an MCP server?

Manatal, Attio, Zoho Recruit and Zapier ship a first party MCP server, so you can drive them from Claude or ChatGPT without building against the API yourself.

Does Airtable have a free trial?

Airtable offers a 14 day free trial on our listing. Trial terms move, so confirm on the vendor site before you plan around it.

Keep looking

Back to the Airtable write-up Every Workflow automation tool we list Search the whole directory

Editorial listings, never paid rankings. Prices checked 10 Nov 2026. Confirm current terms on the vendor site. Spot an error?