Airtable vs. Microsoft Excel

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Airtable
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
Airtable is a project management and collaboration platform designed to enable content pipelines, product management, events planning, user research, and more. It combines spreadsheet,database, calendar, and kanban functionality within one platform.
$24
per month per user
Microsoft Excel
Score 8.7 out of 10
N/A
Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet application available as part of Microsoft 365 (Office 365), or standalone, in cloud-based and on-premise editions.
$6.99
per month
Pricing
AirtableMicrosoft Excel
Editions & Modules
Team
$24
per month per user
Business
$54
per month per user
Enterprise
Custom Pricing
Excel with Microsoft 365
$6.99
per month
Excel for 1 PC or Mac
$139.99
perpetual license
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
AirtableMicrosoft Excel
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
YesYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
AirtableMicrosoft Excel
Features
AirtableMicrosoft Excel
Project Management
Comparison of Project Management features of Product A and Product B
Airtable
7.1
Ratings
7% below category average
Microsoft Excel
-
Ratings
Task Management9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Resource Management9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Gantt Charts8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Scheduling6.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Workflow Automation9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Team Collaboration10.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Support for Agile Methodology8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Support for Waterfall Methodology8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Document Management5.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Email integration7.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile Access3.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Timesheet Tracking5.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Change request and Case Management5.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Budget and Expense Management8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
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AirtableMicrosoft Excel
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Score 8.8 out of 10
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Score 8.3 out of 10
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Score 8.8 out of 10
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User Ratings
AirtableMicrosoft Excel
Likelihood to Recommend
9.9
(0 ratings)
9.1
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.0
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.0
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Availability
9.0
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Performance
9.0
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.2
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
In-Person Training
8.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
9.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.0
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
Configurability
9.0
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
9.0
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
8.0
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
8.0
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
8.0
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
AirtableMicrosoft Excel
Likelihood to Recommend
Airtable is well suited for cross-functional teams who all have an interest in data site - it's democratizing who owns data. Especially if there will be a need to add input on a cell-level basis view comment functionality with the expectation of @mentioned parties respond. Airtable is less suited for teams who need to run functions, jobs, and macros across a data set; they're best suited for Excel.
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I find it easier to use than Google Sheets , though it's easier to collaborate with other teams using Google Sheets. I also feel like Microsoft Excel is more suited to deal with complex formulas. The best way to put it, if I have a project that I'm solely working on, I'm going to use Microsoft Excel. If it's going to be shared, then I'm using Google Sheets.
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Pros
  • I can create tables, create and customize fields
  • Airtable has capabilities commonly found in spreadsheet applications, but also has some of the features found in databases.
  • The ability to filter fields. I set up a filter on the status field, so when a project is marked, complete, on hold, or canceled, that record is hidden from my current projects table view. If it is marked complete, the record is moved to the completed projects table view. In this way I can easily access a record of past projects
  • Being able to duplicate tables and create alternate views
  • Collapse and expand records. When I collapse the rows, I can easily scan current projects, next steps, project status, and due dates. When I expand the row, or field, I can see more detailed information about that field or record very easily. I can also expand or open the entire record. This is is helpful, when I am entering a lot of information to multiple fields in that record.
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  • Excel is the most fully featured spreadsheet software you are likely to find.
  • The software is compatible with a large number of file formats so using data from nearly any source is possible.
  • It can handle large data sets.
  • It can save your files in a variety of file formats.
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Cons
  • Airtable does not integrate with collaboration services with which it is possible to review live changes within each spreadsheet (in the case of keeping them closed).
  • Does not automate analysis traffic.
  • It does not include any section where it is possible to communicate with the other editors.
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  • Excel offers collaboration features that allow multiple users to work on the same spreadsheet, but managing changes made by different users can be challenging. Excel could improve its features by offering more granular control, better tracking of changes, and more robust conflict resolution tools.
  • Itcan be a barrier to productivity when importing and exporting data from other applications or file formats. To improve its features, it should offer better support for standard file formats and more robust error handling and reporting tools.
  • Excel can be challenging for finance students and working professionals, but it can be improved by offering more robust tutorials, better documentation, and more user communities and support forums.
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Likelihood to Renew
We love Airtable for how we use it and we know there are probably tons of other ways we can implement it for other departments. We just haven't gotten there yet (due to bandwith) Customer Support is also super helpful and overall ease of use is fantastic
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Excel remains the industry standard for spreadsheets and has maintained simple and straight-forward formula writing methods. Although there is a learning curve to do more complex calculations, there are countless help sites and videos on the Internet for almost any need.
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Usability
Airtable is a simple and intuitive tool. However, when you first set it up, you need someone who is curious and able to design a system that works for your organisation's use case. This takes some time, but it can be intuitive once it's set up.
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Overall I think the usuability is great and offers everything it should. I have never not be able to use it for what I wanted it for. However, it is so detailed and offers so much it can be difficult to use. Better descriptions or explanation to all the information could be helpful
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Reliability and Availability
I have rarely experience downtime, compared to other tools, and given how much time we spend on the tool. Even if there were to be, their updates on it are very timely, and our support team are able to provide any questions regarding
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I have rarely, if ever, had issues with its availability.
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Performance
I never had any issues with load time, even with the integrations that we use today (google sheets) However, I'm curious if adding additional layers of integrations would slow down performance. We do carry quite a bit of data in Airtable, but, again, no impact on overall performance
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Excel load and performs calculations immediately. It integrate well with all Microsoft Office applications and does not slow them down.
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Support Rating
Airtable has great support. They have a variety of support features to answer any questions. They have great self teaching instructions for templates and product tours. They also have support for teams and project management. They also have a fantastic customer help line. They are able and willing to answer customer questions and never have customers waiting long
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I have not had to use it often, but it is good.
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In-Person Training
This training was done in-house, but the Airtable team provided resources and how to guides to ensure that we covered all components of the system
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No answers on this topic
Online Training
Recorded trainings were provided by the Airtable team. Great as an evergreen resources to new team members and for anyone that wants to refresh their Airtable knowledge
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No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Training all users was an important part of the implementation, which did take considerable time and effort. At first glance without training, the content calendar can be overwhelming because of the amount of data. The features within Airtable seem to be endless but our team was able to identify the most important to be successful.
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No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Airtable is the most user-friendly and adaptive. It's UX/UI is the most aesthetically pleasing (which matters a lot if its what you're staring at every day), and the customizability of having different views and perspectives of the same record is extremely helpful. It's also a great cloud-based storage place for marketing materials, as it goes beyond simple storage - you can group together, make notes, connect, and comment on assets.
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Excel is one of the tools I use for everyday work but fits alongside all the other programs I use. I keep Excel as a way of tracking projects from start to finish as well as document content strategy and audits. There are not many programs like Excel that I can think of other than Google Sheets and I find Excel is far better.
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Scalability
There are TONS of opportunity to scale, but I think it's a matter if you have the time and resources to do so because the initial setup can be fairly time consuming and prioritized dedication
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Each user can use it to whatever level of expertise they have. It remains the same so users can contribute to another's work regardless of whether they have more or less expertise
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Return on Investment
  • It gives us a real-time experience of working.
  • Through this platform, I always have the idea bout which of my team member is working on which particular part of the project, I can easily track their progress, and also I can easily correct them where it is required by adding sticky notes, by sending the attachments and URLs.
  • Quality services.
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  • It helps to me gather my thoughts, organize my research, and most importantly prioritize information in an easy to digest manner depending on what I am most interested to see at that time.
  • It helps me quite a bit to talk my clients through the financial implications of various office leasing transactions under consideration and coach them in a way that is very unbiased and fact-driven which I like.
  • It helps me to be more thoughtful as well when thinking about the various different situations in which I use Excel. And because it ultimately results in my clients getting comfortable ultimately pulling the trigger on a given deal, it directly leads to more commission in my pocket which I love!
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ScreenShots

Airtable Screenshots

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