Airtable vs n8n
Updated Jul 16, 2026 · pricing verified for both tools
n8n wins on cost for teams because every plan includes unlimited users — Starter is €20/month total, while Airtable Team is $20 per user per month, so a ten-person team pays $200/month against n8n's €20. Airtable wins when you need the data and the interface, not just the automation: relational bases up to 125,000 records with forms, views, and Interface Designer. Pick Airtable to build an app your team clicks around in; pick n8n to wire systems together, especially self-hosted, where the Community edition is free.
- Airtable starts at
- $20/user/mo
- n8n starts at
- €20/mo
- Airtable free tier
- Yes
- n8n free tier
- Yes
Both prices were verified against the official pricing pages on Jul 3, 2026.
Side by side
| Dimension | Airtable | n8n |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free tier; Team $20/user/mo; Business $45/user/mo — per seat, billed annually | ✓ Community self-host free; Starter €20/mo; Pro €50/mo; Business €667/mo — billed annually |
| Cost as the team grows | Per seat — a 10-person team on Team costs $200/mo before any usage | ✓ Per execution — every plan includes unlimited users; Starter covers 2,500 executions/mo |
| Free tier | 1,000 records per base, up to 5 editors, 1 GB attachments per base | ✓ Self-hosted Community edition with unlimited workflows and no seat limit |
| Data and interface layer | ✓ Relational bases up to 125,000 records on Business, with forms, views, and Interface Designer | No native database or UI builder — state lives in whatever system you connect |
| Workflow depth | Automations from a fixed action library; advanced logic and two-way sync gated to Business at $45/user/mo | ✓ Code nodes for arbitrary logic, unlimited steps per execution, and transparent agent execution traces for debugging |
| Platforms | Web and native mobile apps, plus an API | Web, API, and CLI; self-hostable via Docker, but no mobile app |
| API access | REST API available across plans | ✓ Public API plus webhook nodes, so any workflow can become an HTTP endpoint |
| Self-hosting and lock-in | Fully hosted only — no self-host or offline mode | ✓ Fair-code licensed and self-hostable, though embedding it commercially needs a separate agreement |
Pricing, verified
Airtable
FREEMIUM| Plan | Price |
|---|---|
| Free | Free |
| Team | $20/user/mo |
| Business | $45/user/mo |
| Enterprise Scale | Custom |
n8n
FREEMIUM| Plan | Price |
|---|---|
| Community | Free |
| Starter | €20/mo |
| Pro | €50/mo |
| Business | €667/mo |
| Enterprise | Custom |
When to pick Airtable
- You need a database with a face on it. Airtable gives you relational bases, forms, views, and Interface Designer, so non-technical colleagues get a real UI to work in — n8n has no data or interface layer at all.
- Your team includes people who only look. Viewers and form submitters are not billed, so a client-facing portal or an intake form does not multiply your seat count.
- You want it to work on a phone. Airtable ships native mobile apps alongside the web app; n8n is web, API, and CLI only, so field updates and on-the-go review are out of scope.
When to pick n8n
- Your headcount is the problem. n8n bills executions, not people: Starter is €20/month with unlimited users and 2,500 executions, where Airtable Team charges $20 per user per month before anyone runs anything.
- You need logic Airtable will not express. Code nodes let you drop into real code mid-workflow, steps per execution are unlimited, and agent runs expose a readable execution trace when something breaks.
- You want control of where it runs. The Community edition is free and self-hostable via Docker, so data never leaves your infrastructure — a door Airtable does not open at any price.
Bottom line
These tools overlap in the middle and diverge at the edges, so the honest question is which edge you are standing on. If the job is “structured data plus a UI plus some automation” — an ops tracker, a content calendar, a client portal — Airtable is the faster path and nothing in n8n replaces Interface Designer or its mobile apps. If the job is “make these six systems talk to each other,” n8n wins decisively, and the pricing model is why: unlimited users on every plan versus $20/user/month means the cost curves invert the moment your team grows past a couple of people. The trap on each side is worth naming. Airtable’s per-seat billing punishes headcount, and its free tier caps out at 1,000 records per base, which is prototype territory. n8n’s Business tier leaps to €667/month with nothing between it and Pro at €50, and self-hosting for free means running Docker yourself. Small technical teams should start with the n8n Community edition; teams that need non-technical people in the data should start with Airtable.
Frequently asked questions
Is Airtable better than n8n?
n8n wins on cost for teams because every plan includes unlimited users — Starter is €20/month total, while Airtable Team is $20 per user per month, so a ten-person team pays $200/month against n8n's €20. Airtable wins when you need the data and the interface, not just the automation: relational bases up to 125,000 records with forms, views, and Interface Designer. Pick Airtable to build an app your team clicks around in; pick n8n to wire systems together, especially self-hosted, where the Community edition is free. Updated Jul 16, 2026.
Is Airtable cheaper than n8n?
They start at the same price: $20/user/mo for Airtable and €20/mo for n8n. Both prices were verified against the official pricing pages on Jul 3, 2026.
Do Airtable and n8n have free tiers?
Yes — both do. Airtable has a free tier (the Free plan). n8n has a free tier (the Community plan).
Can I use Airtable and n8n on mobile or via an API?
Airtable runs on the web, mobile and offers an API. n8n runs on the web, the command line and offers an API.