Airtable's Business plan runs $45 per user per month billed annually, and its REST API stays capped at 5 requests per second per base no matter which plan you're on. That data also lives inside Airtable's proprietary storage layer, so there's no way to run a SQL query against your own base or point a BI tool straight at the underlying tables. Mathesar and Teable both sit directly on PostgreSQL, so a base can be queried with plain SQL or locked down with native Postgres roles instead of an API rate limit. NocoDB layers its grid UI on top of a database you already run without migrating the data, and Grist packages each base as a portable SQLite file that moves between Docker hosts with a single file copy.
| Name | Main Category | Sub-Category | Target Alternative | Free Tier Summary | Self-Hostable? | Short Description | Primary Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
NocoDB | Databases & Backend-as-a-Service | Visual Database / Spreadsheet UI for Existing Databases | Airtable / Google Sheets | 100% Free Self-Hosted (Sustainable Use License) - Unlimited Users & Storage, AI Fields/SSO/Audit Logs Paid | Yes - Docker / Binary | Turns an existing MySQL, Postgres, MariaDB, or SQLite database into a spreadsheet UI with grid, kanban, gallery, and form views, plus REST APIs and webhooks. The self-hosted Community edition removes Airtable's seat and record caps entirely. | |
Teable | Databases & Backend-as-a-Service | Visual Database / Postgres-Native Spreadsheet | Airtable / Notion Databases | 100% Free Self-Hosted (AGPL-3.0) - Unlimited Rows & Attachments; AI Fields on Paid Plans | Yes - Docker / Binary | A spreadsheet-grade interface built directly on PostgreSQL, designed to hold millions of rows without the performance ceiling most Airtable-style tools hit. Real-time collaboration and a full REST API come standard on the self-hosted edition. | |
Baserow | Databases & Backend-as-a-Service | Visual Database / No-Code App Builder | Airtable / Smartsheet | 100% Free Self-Hosted (MIT Core) - No Row, Storage, or History Limits; Premium & Enterprise Modules Paid | Yes - Docker / Kubernetes | A Postgres-backed no-code database with real-time collaboration, form views, and a plugin system for extending functionality. The self-hosted Docker image ships with the same core features as Baserow Cloud, minus the row limits. | |
Mathesar | Databases & Backend-as-a-Service | Visual Database / Direct Postgres UI Layer | Airtable / phpMyAdmin | 100% Free Forever (GPL-3.0) - No Paid Tier, Maintained by a Nonprofit Foundation | Yes - Docker / Binary | Connects straight to an existing Postgres database and exposes its schemas and tables as an editable spreadsheet, enforcing access with your existing Postgres roles instead of a separate permissions layer. There's no proprietary storage format to migrate out of later. | |
Grist | Databases & Backend-as-a-Service | Visual Database / Relational Spreadsheet | Airtable / Google Sheets | 100% Free Self-Hosted (Apache-2.0) - No Per-Seat Fees; SSO & SCIM on Paid Enterprise Tier | Yes - Docker / Binary | Combines spreadsheet-style formulas, including full Python, with relational structure and formula-based access rules. Each base is stored as a single portable SQLite .grist file, making backups and server migrations as simple as copying a file. |
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