Airtable vs Smartsheet

Airtable and Smartsheet are both tools people compare when choosing between productivity and project management options. Here's how they compare on official platforms, features, and positioning — sourced from each vendor's own site, not from ratings or reviews.

Side-by-side summary

ComparingAirtableSmartsheet

CategoryProductivityProject Management

Alternatives tracked33

PlatformsWeb, macOS, Windows, iOS, AndroidWeb, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android

Best for Airtable

Positioned for teams in product, marketing, project management, operations, sales, design, HR, and finance who want to move off spreadsheets toward custom interfaces and automations.

Best for Smartsheet

Project and portfolio managers, enterprise PMOs, and IT teams who want spreadsheet-familiar tools with enterprise-grade governance.

Feature comparison

Every feature listed here comes directly from each vendor's own official site.

Airtable

Relational database foundation shared across a team
Multiple customizable views for the same underlying data
No-code, AI-assisted app building
Workflow automations
Interface Designer for building custom drag-and-drop apps
Reporting and analytics

Smartsheet

Grid and spreadsheet-style work views
Gantt charts for timeline and dependency tracking
Workflow automation to reduce manual work
Forms and centralized intake and approval workflows
Role-based dashboards and reporting
Resource planning and workload balancing
Integrations with Microsoft, Salesforce, Slack, and Jira

Pros and cons

Airtable

Pros

Relational database foundation shared across a team
Multiple customizable views for the same underlying data
No-code, AI-assisted app building
Workflow automations
Interface Designer for building custom drag-and-drop apps
Reporting and analytics

Cons

We don't publish a "cons" list for either product. No vendor's official site documents its own product's weaknesses, so there's no sourced basis for one — and we'd rather say that plainly than invent one.

Smartsheet

Pros

Grid and spreadsheet-style work views
Gantt charts for timeline and dependency tracking
Workflow automation to reduce manual work
Forms and centralized intake and approval workflows
Role-based dashboards and reporting
Resource planning and workload balancing
Integrations with Microsoft, Salesforce, Slack, and Jira

Cons

Key differences

Airtable is categorized under Productivity, while Smartsheet is categorized under Project Management.
Airtable lists Relational database foundation shared across a team, Multiple customizable views for the same underlying data, No-code, AI-assisted app building, Workflow automations, Interface Designer for building custom drag-and-drop apps, Reporting and analytics that Smartsheet doesn't list.
Smartsheet lists Grid and spreadsheet-style work views, Gantt charts for timeline and dependency tracking, Workflow automation to reduce manual work, Forms and centralized intake and approval workflows, Role-based dashboards and reporting, Resource planning and workload balancing, Integrations with Microsoft, Salesforce, Slack, and Jira that Airtable doesn't list.

Choose Airtable if…

Choose Airtable if this fits: Positioned for teams in product, marketing, project management, operations, sales, design, HR, and finance who want to move off spreadsheets toward custom interfaces and automations.

Choose Smartsheet if…

Choose Smartsheet if this fits: Project and portfolio managers, enterprise PMOs, and IT teams who want spreadsheet-familiar tools with enterprise-grade governance.

Facts on this page are sourced from each vendor's official site (linked below), not from ratings or reviews. Products change — verify anything that matters to your decision directly on the vendor's own site before switching. See our Disclaimer and Sources Policy.