From startups to Fortune 500 companies, efficient project management and communication tools are essential for any team. When deciding which tool is best for you, Airtable vs Notion arises as a common debate. Both tools offer a variety of features to streamline project management and communication, but which one is best for your team? In this article, we’ll cover the two tools in detail, going over specifics such as:
- What is Notion?
- What is Airtable?
- Airtable vs Notion: User Interface
- Airtable vs Notion: Features
- Airtable vs Notion: Pricing
Why trust us with the major decision on what tool your team should use? It’s because we’ve been there. Here at Slam Media Lab, we’re a remote and fast-paced web design agency that depends heavily on operational tools, from team sprints to basic communication when we’re thousands of miles apart from each other. We’ve tried out all the tools under the sun, spendings 100+ hours of research and application on what tool is best and why. Now, we create products & resources to help teams like yours not go through the iterative hassle and reach peak operational efficiency in minutes rather than months.
Looking through our resources, you’ll probably get a good idea of which tool we prefer. But let’s go over why in this article.
What is Airtable?
Airtable is a cloud-based collaboration platform that combines the functionalities of a database with the ease of use of a spreadsheet. It allows users to create and manage databases, offering a flexible and intuitive interface to organize, track, and manage various types of information and projects.
Airtable is designed to be highly customizable, supporting a wide range of use cases from project management to inventory tracking and customer relationship management. Users can create tables to store information and link them together to create complex relational databases. The platform offers various field types, such as text, numbers, dates, attachments, and dropdown lists, allowing users to tailor their databases to their specific needs.
In addition to its robust database capabilities, Airtable provides powerful collaboration features. Multiple users can work on the same database simultaneously, making real-time updates and changes. This makes Airtable an excellent tool for teams who need to collaborate on projects and share information efficiently. Users can also comment on records, assign tasks, and set up notifications to keep everyone on the same page.
Airtable’s versatility is further enhanced by its ability to integrate with various third-party applications and services. It supports integrations with popular tools like Slack, Google Drive, and Zapier, allowing users to streamline their workflows and automate repetitive tasks. Additionally, Airtable offers a rich API for developers to create custom integrations and applications.
What is Notion?
Notion is a versatile and powerful productivity tool that functions as an all-in-one workspace, allowing users to create, organize, and manage various types of content and information. It combines elements of note-taking, project management, knowledge base creation, task management, and collaboration within a single platform.
Notion is designed to adapt to diverse workflows and organizational needs, making it popular among individuals, teams, and organizations seeking a flexible and customizable workspace solution. There are three main features that Notion is well-known for:
- Flexibility
- Customization
- Collaboration
Flexibility
Notion employs a modular approach with pages, databases, and blocks. Users can create pages for different purposes (e.g., projects, notes, databases) and customize them by adding various blocks such as text, images, to-do lists, calendars, and more. This is why Notion users are able to create more complex and unique dashboards, Notion Wiki templates, and even Notion websites.
Customization
Notion offers a wide range of customizable templates for different use cases. These templates provide pre-built structures that users can modify to fit specific needs. At Slam, we’ve built our own array of templates that businesses can use on Notion, from a Notion Vision Board to Notion Assignment Tracker templates. We use these in our day-to-day work cadence, so you can trust they lead to great results.
Collaboration
Multiple users can collaborate on Notion pages simultaneously, making real-time edits, comments, and updates. This feature enhances teamwork and facilitates seamless communication within teams or across departments. We use these features on the regular here at Slam, and it helps us move projects 10x faster as we’ve built tools like the Notion Sprint Template to make real-time project management a breeze.
Airtable vs Notion: User Interface
When comparing Airtable and Notion, it's important to consider their user interfaces, as these significantly impact the user experience and overall efficiency. Both platforms are designed to help users organize information, manage projects, and collaborate with team members, but they approach these tasks in different ways. This section will explore the user interfaces of Airtable and Notion, highlighting their unique features and how they cater to different user needs.
Airtable’s User Interface
Airtable’s user interface is designed to be intuitive and user-friendly, making it accessible to both novice and advanced users. The platform resembles a spreadsheet, which helps users quickly understand the basic functionalities. However, Airtable extends beyond simple spreadsheets by incorporating database features, offering a more dynamic and interactive experience.
At the core of Airtable's interface is the table view, where users can input and organize data into rows and columns. Each table can contain various field types, such as text, numbers, dates, and attachments, allowing for diverse data entry. The interface supports easy navigation and data manipulation, with features like drag-and-drop for rearranging columns and rows, filtering, sorting, and grouping data to fit specific needs.
The left-hand sidebar is a crucial element of Airtable’s interface, providing quick access to different tables and views within a base (Airtable’s term for a database). Users can switch between different views, such as grid, calendar, gallery, and Kanban, depending on their data visualization and management preferences. This flexibility helps users to see their data from multiple perspectives and enhances their ability to manage projects efficiently.
Airtable also includes a top navigation bar that offers access to important functions like sharing, automation, and integration with other apps. This bar is designed to keep the most frequently used tools within easy reach, streamlining the workflow.
Collaboration is seamlessly integrated into Airtable’s interface. Users can easily invite team members to collaborate on a base, with real-time updates and changes reflected instantly across all users. The interface also supports commenting on individual records, facilitating communication and collaboration directly within the context of the data being discussed.
Overall, Airtable’s user interface is clean, organized, and highly customizable, allowing users to tailor their workspace to their specific needs while maintaining ease of use and accessibility.
Notion’s User Interface
Notion’s user interface is built around flexibility and customization, offering a clean and minimalist design that adapts to various workflows. The core of Notion’s interface is its modular system, where users create pages and populate them with different types of content blocks. This modularity allows users to build their workspace in a way that suits their unique needs, from simple note-taking to complex project management.
The left-hand sidebar in Notion serves as the primary navigation tool, providing easy access to different pages, databases, and workspaces. Users can create a nested structure of pages and sub-pages, allowing for a hierarchical organization of information. This feature is particularly useful for keeping related content grouped together, making it easier to navigate and manage large volumes of information.
Notion’s main workspace is highly interactive, supporting a wide range of content blocks such as text, headings, images, videos, to-do lists, databases, and more. Users can drag and drop these blocks to rearrange content within pages, enhancing the flexibility of how information is presented and organized. This drag-and-drop functionality, combined with the ability to customize blocks, allows users to create tailored layouts that meet their specific needs.
One of the standout features of Notion’s interface is its extensive library of templates. At Slam, we’ve created countless Notion templates that we use in our daily workflow. From our Notion Assignment Tracker to never miss a deadline, to our comprehensive Notion Agency Meeting template, you can check out our resources now!
Airtable vs Notion: Features
When it comes to features, Airtable and Notion offer a rich set of tools designed to enhance productivity and streamline workflows. While both platforms have similarities in regards to table views, automation capabilities, and template variety, they have distinct characteristics that may better align with your team’s specific needs.
Airtable Features
Airtable’s core feature is its flexible table views, which allow users to organize data in various ways:
- Grid View: Resembling a traditional spreadsheet, the grid view is ideal for data entry and organization. Users can easily add, edit, and delete records, as well as sort, filter, and group data to gain different insights.
- Calendar View: This view is perfect for tracking dates and deadlines. Users can visualize records with date fields in a calendar format, making it easy to manage schedules and timelines.
- Kanban View: Inspired by Kanban boards, this view allows users to manage tasks and projects visually by moving records through different stages. It’s particularly useful for project management and workflow tracking.
- Gallery View: The gallery view displays records as large cards, which is great for visual content like images and descriptions. This view is popular among users managing creative projects or inventories.
- Form View: This view allows users to create forms for data entry, which can be shared with others to collect information directly into Airtable.
Airtable’s blocks feature allows users to add modular, app-like components to their bases. This includes features like charts to visualize data, page designer to create custom print layouts and PDFs directly from your data, maps to plot records with address fields, and pivot tables to summarize and analyze large datasets.
Automations are also the platform’s strong suit. Airtable’s automation features help streamline workflows and reduce repetitive tasks using triggers and actions. These help users set up automated workflows based on specific triggers and define corresponding actions. If building workflows is not your jam, Airtable also offers a range of pre-built automation templates. If you’re interested in using Airtable, you could also use templates like our Airtable Content Calendar to organize your months.
Notion Features
With recent updates such as the ability to publish Notion websites, Notion is a powerful tool with endless use cases. Here are just some of the features that and your team can use:
- Pages and Blocks: Notion organizes information into pages that can contain various types of content blocks, such as text, headings, images, videos, embedded files, code snippets, and more. This modular approach allows for flexible content creation and customization within notes.
- Rich Text Formatting: Users can format text with headings, bullet points, numbered lists, and inline styles (bold, italic, underline). Notion supports Markdown for quick text formatting.
- Inline Databases: Notion allows users to create inline databases within pages. These databases can be customized with different properties (e.g., text, number, date, select options) and filtered or sorted to organize and view information efficiently.
- Linked Databases: Databases can be linked across pages or databases, creating relational databases where changes in one database reflect across all linked instances. This feature supports complex data management and cross-referencing.
- To-Do Lists and Kanban Boards: Notion offers task management features with to-do lists that can be organized into Kanban boards for visual project tracking using drag-and-drop functionality.
- Deadlines and Reminders: Users can set due dates, reminders, and recurring tasks to stay organized and on schedule.
- Team Collaboration: Notion supports team collaboration by allowing users to share pages, databases, and projects with team members. Real-time editing and commenting streamline teamwork and communication.
- Permission Controls: Admins can manage permissions to control who can view, edit, or comment on specific pages or databases, ensuring data security and privacy.
- Integration with Other Apps: Notion integrates with popular tools like Slack, Google Drive, GitHub, and more through APIs and embeds. This allows for seamless data sharing and workflow integration across different platforms.
- Embeds: Users can embed external content like websites, files, videos, and maps directly into Notion pages, consolidating information and reducing the need to switch between applications.
- Accessibility: Notion is accessible via web browsers, desktop applications (Windows, macOS), and mobile apps (iOS, Android), ensuring users can access and update information from any device.
Airtable vs Notion: Pricing
Beyond the capabilities of each platform, it’s also important to consider pricing. Airtable and Notion provide completely different packages, so let’s break down both to see which best suits your budget.
How Much Does Airtable Cost?
Airtable offers four pricing plans, each with different features and limitations. The free plan includes unlimited bases for up to five members, each with up to 1,000 records. As you move along the pricing tiers, this limitation is lifted and more features are introduced:
- Free: Unlimited bases, 1,000 records and 1GB attachments per base, 5 editors, and 1000 automations.
- Team ($20/user/month): 50,000 records and 20GB attachments per base, 20,000 automations, integrations, expanded views, and advanced formatting.
- Business ($45/user/month): 125,000 records and 100GB attachments per base, 100,000 automations, two-way sync, and admin panel.
- Enterprise Scale (Contact): 500,000 records and 1,000GB attachments, 500,000 automations, enterprise hub, integrations management, and audit logs.
How Much Does Notion Cost?
Notion’s pricing packages are much more cost-effective and provide fewer limitations than AirTable. While the free plan is very limited for teams, each paid package is priced to scale alongside your needs:
- Free ($0): Collaborative workspace, integrations, basic analytics, 7-day page history, 10 guests limit.
- Plus ($8/user/month): Unlimited blocks, unlimited uploads, 30-day page history, 100 guest limit.
- Business ($15/user/month): Private teamspaces, bulk exports, advanced analytics, 90-day page history, 250 guest limit.
- Enterprise (Custom): Advanced security, audit log, customer success manager, workspace analytics, unlimited page history, compliance integrations.
Which Free Plan is Better?
While Notion and Airtable offer a similar free plan for small teams, with Notion offering unlimited pages and Airtable offering unlimited bases. Despite these similarities, Notion’s free plan offers twice as many editors, a variety of other integrations, and more features within their workspace.
While both tools offer a generous free plan, Notion takes the cake as it provides a more comprehensive experience at this price point. However, the plan is designed for individuals, so keep in mind that teams will face limitations with block usage on Notion’s free plan.
Airtable vs Notion: Why Slam Uses Notion
Fun fact: Slam used to use Airtable before we transitioned into Notion. Though Airtable was a great tool for our operational and project management processes, Notion has become a comprehensive hub that holds everything from client kickoff calls to internal meeting notes and content trackers.
It all really comes down to Notion productivity and Notion organization meeting our needs. At Slam, we are a fast-paced and remote agency that needs a comprehensive, collaborative, and customizable hub for our projects. Notion empowers us to streamline work processes, enhance productivity, and manage information effectively across personal, professional, and team environments.
And when we say we both like and depend on Notion, we mean it (this isn’t an ad, so you can trust us on this). We use Notion so diligently that we’ve developed templates for our team that we now share as resources for folks like you, who may want to integrate new tools into their work cadence but don’t know where to start.
We always come out with new templates, but here is the running list so far:
- Notion Vision Board Template
- Go-to-Market Strategy Template
- Notion Agency Meeting Template
- Notion Assignment Tracker Template
- Notion Company Wiki Template
- Notion Content Creation Template
- Notion Documentation Template
- Notion Feedback Template
- Notion Meeting Notes Template
- Notion Social Media Planner Template
- Notion Sprint Template
- Notion Task List Template
- Notion Website Template
- Startup Roles & Responsibilities Template
- Technical SEO Audit Template
- Tiktok Content Planner Template
- TikTok Script Template
- Webflow Launch Checklist Template
See what we mean? We’re kinda obsessed. Though you don’t have to follow our lead, we’re here to help you with your operational woes, so you can always contact us if you want to get a glimpse of how we roll. Still not sure which tool is best for your team? Check out our other comparisons below:
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