Airtable Vs. Smartsheet: How To Choose The Right Tool For Your Team?

Business software is meant to make life easier, not turn your day into an endless game of digital Tetris. But as teams grow, it’s easy to fall into the trap of creating workarounds. Firstly, it feels smart, using spreadsheets and task boards to cover things together, but after hours of fiddling, you understand you’ve just created another problem to solve.

That’s where tools like Smartsheet and Airtable come in. Both offer flexibility, adapt to your workflows, and aim to bring order to the chaos. The catch? They tackle the challenge in very different ways. Smartsheet sticks to a more traditional spreadsheet approach, blending project management features into that familiar structure. Airtable, alternatively, supports modern databases, sleek interfaces, and customizable options designed for a more tech-forward approach.

So, which one is actually better? Let’s dig into their strengths, weaknesses, and best use cases.

Quick Comparison: Airtable vs. Smartsheet

Before we unload details, here’s a print of how the two stack up:

Smartsheet: The Supercharged Spreadsheet

Smartsheet didn’t try to reinvent the wheel. Instead, it doubled down on what people already know, like spreadsheets and layered project management features on top.

How does it work?

• Sheets: Close to Excel or Google Sheets, with rows, columns, formulas, and formatting tools. Unique extras incorporate task hierarchies (indentation for subtasks) and attachments/comments per row.
• Reports: Customizable reports that can pull from numerous sheets, providing managers with a high-level view of work in progress.
• Dashboards: Visual canvases for KPIs, charts, text, and project summaries, working as an entry point for stakeholders who require clarity without working with raw sheets.

Why Do People Like It?

Smartsheet feels quickly similar. Anyone who has employed Excel in the last 20 years can jump in with slight training. The bonus is how it scales: you can graduate from simple task lists to Gantt charts, calendars, and resource management without transferring platforms.

Where Does It Shines?

• Large teams managing complex projects (construction, operations, and enterprise initiatives).
• Businesses that need governance, compliance, and security.
• Leaders who love dashboards, portfolio management, and reporting.

Airtable: The Database That Doesn’t Feel Like One

Airtable starts from a different foundation: the relational database. Don’t panic at the word “database, “Airtable hides the complexity behind an intuitive, refined interface that looks more like a modern spreadsheet.

How does it work?

• Grid View (Spreadsheet): Airtable’s baseline. Cleaner than Smartsheet, with quicker inline editing.
• Multiple Views: Gallery, Kanban, timeline, list, and Gantt. Each is well-designed enough that you never need to fall back to the grid if you don’t want to.
• Relational Links: The game-changer, allowing you to link tables together (e.g., products to warehouses), ensuring data is always linked and up to date.

Why Do People Like It?

Airtable is adaptable enough to work as a database, content calendar, CRM, applicant tracker, or trivial project manager. Views are easy to spin up, allowing teams to answer questions on the fly (e.g., “how many blog posts are in draft?”) without hours of setup.

Where Does It Shines?

• Small to medium businesses that want personalized workflows.
• Creative teams (marketing, design, product) require visual variety.
• Builders who enjoy tinkering with apps, portals, and interfaces.

The downside? 

Price. At \$24/user/month for its core “Business” plan, Airtable is more costly than Smartsheet for developing teams.

Usability: Familiar vs. Forward-Thinking

• Smartsheet: Feels like stepping back into the comfort of Excel. For teams that resist change, this makes adoption painless.
• Airtable: Prioritizes modern UX. Switching between Kanban, gallery, or Gantt is seamless, and everything feels lighter and quicker.
• Verdict: If your team is traditional and values familiarity, Smartsheet wins. If you want agility and aesthetics, Airtable takes the crown.

Data Handling: Spreadsheet vs. Database

This is the biggest philosophical difference.

• Smartsheet = Spreadsheet first, project manager second.
• Airtable = Database first, Spreadsheet second.

Smartsheet is best at managing projects and processes, while Airtable excels at managing data and connections. For instance, connecting warehouses to inventory in Airtable takes seconds. In Smartsheet, it’s possible but clunky, often relying on formulas or manual duplication.

Project Management: Smartsheet’s Home Turf

Smartsheet gleams through portfolio tools:

• Control Center: Manage multiple projects, approvals, and workflows from one hub.
• Dynamic View: Ensure employees follow processes while managers control critical data.
• Resource Management: Allot people, track time, and forecast workloads.

Airtable can imitate project management, but it’s not its natural strength. Smartsheet is purpose-built for project managers, while Airtable is built for data engineers and creative tinkerers.

App Building: Interfaces vs. WorkApps

Both tools allow you to build lightweight “apps” on top of your data.

• Smartsheet WorkApps: Combine sheets, reports, and dashboards into one app. Perfect for permissions and enterprise workflows, but looks and feels like a dressed-up spreadsheet. Accessible only in high-stage plans.
• Airtable Interfaces: Intuitive drag-and-drop builder for developing dashboards, portals, and workflows. Lately expanded with Portals (for client access) and ProductCentral (for product teams). Inexpensive, prettier, and easier to build.
• Verdict: Airtable dominates in design and flexibility, and Smartsheet in governance.
• AI Features: A Small but developing authority
• Smartsheet AI: Helps with formulas, charts, and portfolio insights. Located as a project manager’s assistant.
• Airtable AI: More ambitious. Can auto-generate apps, categorize data, summarize long text, and create drafts. Reasonable at \$6/month add-on.

If AI-driven automation motivates you, Airtable is further along.

Pricing: The Deal-Breaker for Many

Smartsheet:

• Free: 2 sheets, two editors.
• Pro: \$9/user/month.
• Business: \$24/user/month.
• Enterprise: Custom pricing.

Airtable:

• Free: Row limits, basic views.
• Team: \$24/user/month.
• Business: \$54/user/month.
• Enterprise: Custom pricing.

Takeaway:

Smartsheet is far inexpensive for large teams. However, Airtable’s pricing stings as you scale but gives earlier access to advanced features without waiting for enterprise quotes.

Who Should Use a Smartsheet?

• Enterprises with hundreds of employees.
• Teams requiring resource management, compliance, and thorough reporting.
• Leaders who focus on structure and oversight over adaptability.

Examples: Construction firms, corporate operations, healthcare, government contractors.

Who Should Use Airtable?

• Small to mid-sized teams (marketing, design, product, startups).
• Businesses need databases, relational links, and quick prototyping.
• Builders who like to customize tools without coding.

Examples: Creative agencies, SaaS startups, nonprofits managing stakeholders.

Can You Use Both?

Yes. Some businesses run Smartsheet for operations and Airtable for creative or customer-facing tools. With Zapier or other integrations, data can stay in sync. The risk, of course, is complexity, as there are two tools to manage instead of one. But for bigger organizations, the trade-off can be worth it.

Final Decision: Which Is Better?

Choose Smartsheet if you’re scaling into the enterprise world and require project management structure, reporting, and governance. It’s accustomed, affordable for big teams, and future-resilient.

Choose Airtable if you value adaptability, relational data, and building custom solutions. It’s overpriced but better suitable for agile, tech-savvy teams who want freedom from inflexible processes.

Briefly, Smartsheet is best for control and structure and Airtable for its flexibility and creativity. Both are excellent, but the “better” one relies completely on the size of your team and how much liberty you want over structure.

How Veridian Solutions Can Help?

Choosing between Airtable and Smartsheet is only the first step; the real challenge is making sure the tool truly works for your team. That’s where Veridian Solutions comes in. As a Smartsheet Gold Partner, we focus on consulting, implementation, and customization to help you get the very best out of Smartsheet. Whether it’s building smarter dashboards, automating workflows, or creating reports that actually make sense, our experts shape the platform around your processes, not the other way around. With Veridian as your partner, Smartsheet grows with your business, making it easier to streamline work, improve efficiency, and scale with confidence.