With new models of hybrid work emerging faster than ever, the competition between tools to manage data and workflows is following suit.
And at the center of that competition are Monday and Airtable. If you're wondering what’s the difference between Airtable and Monday, you aren’t alone—it’s one of the most common questions we get from prospective customers. And we’ve got answers.
At a high level, both Airtable and Monday both help teams manage their workflows. But in this article, we’re going to explore the pros and cons of each, and where both products excel.
What is Monday?
Monday is a project management platform that integrates your project communication and collaboration into one tool, giving teams clarity on who’s responsible for what, by when. It’s most useful for managers who want to stay on top of their team’s to-do list.
What is Airtable?
Airtable helps teams to create applications that support the unique way they work. Teams start by structuring and connecting their data using Airtable’s interactive relational database. From there, teams create custom interfaces on top of that data with a drag-and-drop experience. You don’t have to be a developer or designer to create an application on Airtable.
Airtable empowers anyone to adapt the platform to their needs, regardless of technical skill. So rather than forcing your workflow and processes to fit rigid tools, you can shape Airtable into the perfect solution for your team.
Project management is one way to use Airtable. But projects and tasks are just one type of data. Airtable is a way to structure and connect any type of business data.
What are the advantages of using Airtable?
- Flexible data model: A common example of this is tracking your deliverables. With a more task-based product like Monday, contributors often attach the deliverable to the task and then it can get lost with an outdated task forever. With Airtable, you can create a real-time database or asset library as you go, so no past work gets lost in old, completed tasks. That living database is a source of truth for your entire organization.
Airtable is also built for a multitude of functions—and job functions—ranging from product operations to marketing to inventory management. It even offers a range of solutions from content calendars to campaign trackers to asset libraries, all of which have provided templates you can use to get started. - Room to grow: Each Monday board has a limit of 10,000 line items. Airtable’s bases allow for 100,000. Enough said.
- Connectedness: Monday allows linking items between Boards, but doesn’t not support syncing an entire table or syncing with external business systems like Salesforce.
Airtable allows teams to link records within a base, sync entire tables between bases with Table Sync, and sync entire reports from external systems such as Salesforce.
What are the similarities between Monday and Airtable?
- User-friendly interface: Both boast a vibrant and well-designed platform for your data that allow anyone, at any level, to build a custom solution. With drag-and-drop elements, color-coded priorities, and beyond, they are relatively straightforward to use and simple to organize visually.
- Mobile app: Both Airtable and Monday have mobile apps, so you can take your tools with you on the go.
- Tiered plans: Airtable offers various plans from free to Enterprise. Monday has a similar plan structure, including free, Pro, and Enterprise options.
- Views: Both Airtable and Monday allows you to save unique views on the same underlying information.
Specific product highlights
Airtable:
- Flexible and functional: Airtable offers templates and solutions to get you started, but you're free to scrap, shape, or structure however makes the most sense for you.
- See things your way: Every team member can organize their data in one place, or transform that data into personalized views like Gantt, Kanban, and more.
- Update once, update everywhere: With linked records, all your data is connected. Changes made once are made everywhere—and in real-time.
- Automate anything: Only Airtable has an expansive library of plug-and-play automations. Seamlessly integrate the tools you’re already using, like Trello, Slack, Basecamp, Jira, Salesforce, and more.
- Operate at any scale: Companies of all shapes and sizes trust Aritable to organize their data. Whether you’re a start-up, pop-up, or large organization, we can meet you where you are.
How much does Airtable and Monday cost?
Conclusion
If you’re looking for a low-friction, high-impact tool that allows you to keep track of projects and tasks, Monday is a strong, design-forward product. But Airtable was built for builders, making it a better choice for teams that are interested in creating a custom solution to fit their business.
View other product comparison guides:
• Compare and learn about Airtable vs Asana
• Learn more about Airtable vs Smartsheet