Is Airtable Free in 2026? Records, Users and Plan Limits
Yes. Airtable has an ongoing Free plan for individuals and small teams, not for a growing database. It includes up to 1,000 records per base, five collaborators with Editor or Creator permissions and 100 automation runs per workspace each month. As of October 28, 2026, Airtable lists Team at $20 per billable collaborator per month on annual billing.
Dupple data: For four billable editors, the published Team rates work out to $960 for twelve months on annual billing, versus $1,152 over twelve months at the monthly rate. That is our calculation from Airtable's plan overview; it assumes four billable seats throughout and excludes tax and other collaborators.
| Limit or cost | Free | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Records | 1,000 per base | 50,000 per base |
| Editor or Creator collaborators | Up to five | Paid according to applicable collaborator rules |
| Automation runs | 100 per workspace per month | 25,000 per workspace per month |
| API calls | 1,000 per workspace per month | 100,000 per workspace per month |
| Attachment storage | 1 GB per base | 20 GB per base |
| Listed rate | $0 | $20 per billable collaborator per month annually, or $24 monthly |
These terms were read on October 28, 2026, and they do not all share a scope. Some limits sit on a base and others on a workspace, so another base does not reset automation runs or API calls. Check the current Airtable pricing page and your workspace usage before a purchase. A new account can begin on a paid-plan trial, which previews Team and is not the ongoing Free tier.
What does Airtable Free include?
Airtable's plan overview describes Free for individuals or very small teams, which means a base you expect to outgrow, not a discounted Team workspace. You still get tables, fields and supported views, and the plan meters records, editors, attachments and automation, so the missing plan charge lasts only while every meter stays in the free column above.
A content calendar shows how the record meter actually works. One base might hold article ideas in one table and assignments in another, and both tables spend the same base allowance, so a long ideas list can exhaust it while assignments are nearly empty. Splitting work across tables makes the base easier to read, and it does not grant a fresh allowance for each table.
Free is the right plan when a few people maintain a modest list and can live with those meters. It is the wrong plan when the workflow needs many records, a script inside an automation, or more editors than the free cap allows. Our free database tools guide and small business database comparison cover other databases, while this page stays on Airtable's own terms.
How does the 1,000-record limit work?
A record is a row, and every table in the base spends one shared allowance. Filling a single table to the cap fills the base even when the other tables are almost empty, which is how a tidy base runs out of room on an import.
A free base with 600 project records and 300 contact records in separate tables holds 900 records together, with only a short remainder under the cap. Read the over-limit policy before you import a large dataset, because that arithmetic does not describe what happens after the base crosses the cap.
A solo user collecting daily form submissions can reach the cap faster than a small team maintaining a static list. Estimate the records you have and how fast new ones arrive before you pick a plan. Attachments and automations are separate meters, and staying under the record cap does not clear them. If rows are what breaks Free, Team raises the base cap and still leaves the editor, automation and storage meters in place.
Our spreadsheet software comparison explains other ways to manage tabular information, and database software covers other database products. A spreadsheet row and an Airtable record can track a similar list, but sharing, automation and plan restrictions differ, so the free tools are not interchangeable.
How many people can edit on the free plan?
Free caps collaborators with Editor or Creator permissions, and the other roles are not interchangeable. Read-only collaborators are unlimited, and Commenter collaborators are listed up to 50. A viewer does not take an editor seat, while someone who edits records or builds an automation uses one.
Count permissions rather than company headcount: a group inside the free editor cap can stay when the other meters hold, and a sixth Editor or Creator crosses it. On a paid plan, demoting someone cuts the bill only when the cheaper role can still do the work.
The Airtable plan overview says Team billing includes workspace or base collaborators with Commenter or higher permissions. Its pricing FAQ describes charges for users with edit access instead, so the two official descriptions do not fully agree. Confirm whether commenters are billable before budgeting; the example includes four editors and no extra collaborators. If you need a shared task list more than linked records, compare our free project management software guide and small-business project management guide.
What are the automation limits?
Airtable lists 100 automation runs per workspace per month on Free and 25,000 on Team. A run is counted when the trigger is invoked, including attempts that fail, so a broken automation spends the allowance the same way a working one does and a retry spends another run. On the free allowance, a flaky workflow can finish the month before the work does.
An automation is a trigger plus one or more actions. Each form submission that fires the trigger spends a run from the workspace pool, and a second base in that workspace spends the same pool rather than a new one.
Airtable's automation documentation lists 75 unique automations per base on Free and says turning an automation off does not remove it from that count, so disabled automations still occupy the allowance. The same documentation says the "Run a script" action is unavailable on Free, and the send-email action has restrictions on recipients. A small record count does not make Free workable when the workflow needs a script or many automations. The API allowance is per workspace too, so a busy sync can exhaust it while editors and records still fit.
Count triggers, failures and every automation in the workspace before you assume Free will carry the process. Our workflow automation guide and free AI automation tools guide cover other tools, each with its own quota and price.
What does Team cost for four editors?
Airtable's published overview lists Team at $20 per collaborator per month billed annually, or $24 per collaborator per month billed monthly. Monthly billing for this editor group is $96 each month before tax. The table below turns both rates into a full year for the same seats, with no extra paid collaborators, additional products, discounts, taxes or seat changes.
| Four billable editors | Calculation | Before-tax amount |
|---|---|---|
| Team, annual billing | 4 × $20 × 12 | $960 for the year |
| Team, monthly billing | 4 × $24 × 12 | $1,152 over 12 months |
| Difference | Monthly total minus annual total | $192 |
The last row is the before-tax gap between those two ways of paying. Annual billing and monthly billing have different commitment terms, so the lower annual total is a poor trade if the seat count is likely to change. Airtable connects billing to the workspace, which means one account can keep a paid workspace beside a free one, and the checkout that matters is the workspace that holds the work.
If you are upgrading for a single capability, confirm it sits on Team and not only on a higher tier. A larger quota is not unlimited automation, storage or API activity. Airtable's pricing page lists the plan boundaries you are about to buy.
Is the initial Team trial the same as Free?
No. The first workspace on a new account is given a 14-day complimentary Team trial, and after it ends the workspace can remain on Free or upgrade. Adding a payment method during the trial upgrades that workspace to Team and starts billing, so read the billing screen before you add a card. Later Free workspaces on the same account do not receive that trial, and a second workspace will not restart it.
A feature that works during the trial can be a Team feature rather than part of ongoing Free. Match it to the plan name you will be on when the trial ends, and compare your records, editors, automations and attachments with the Free limits while you can still change course. A team that waits for a live campaign to hit a quota learns the difference in the middle of the work.
Is Airtable Free enough for forms and attachments?
Free can carry a lightweight form-backed database, and it is a weak fit for a client who expects an unbranded form or for large files. Free workspaces cannot remove Airtable branding or customize a form header image, and every submission still adds a record to that base's total. Look at the form settings before you promise a design.
Attachment storage on Free is 1 GB per base, shared by every file in the base, so a short table of large files can fill it while the record count still looks comfortable. Store the files the workflow actually needs, and learn how deletion, retention and over-limit notices work before important files move in. Team's allowance is larger, and it is still capped.
Our free form builders guide and form builders comparison examine form products as their own category. A form tool can collect the response, and the database, the permissions and the automation after submission still follow Airtable's limits when the row lands here.
When should a team consider paying?
Pay for the first limit you cannot work around: records in a base, people who need to edit, automation volume, attachment storage, API activity, or a feature that Free does not include. An upgrade can remove one of those constraints and leave the others running, so compare the workload with the plan you would actually buy. Paid is a higher set of caps, not the end of caps.
One group can fit the free editor cap and still exhaust the monthly automation allowance in a busy month. Another group can run no automations and still reach the record cap through form submissions. The headcount can match while the reason to pay does not, which is why counting seats alone picks the wrong plan.
Airtable is one way to build a no-code workflow. Our no-code platforms guide and AI spreadsheet tools guide cover the neighboring categories. Compare the data model, the permissions, the export options and the total of paid seats with the starting price.
How we checked
We read Airtable's plan overview, pricing and automation documentation on October 28, 2026. The cost example assumes four billable editors for a full year, with no additional billable collaborators or tax. We did not create a workspace or run a product evaluation. Airtable can change limits and prices, so check the current workspace and checkout before relying on them.
Our Airtable review covers the broader product beyond the free-plan question.
FAQ
Is Airtable Free an ongoing plan?
Yes. Airtable offers an ongoing Free plan, separate from the 14-day Team trial that a new account's first workspace may receive. When the trial ends, that workspace can remain on Free if no payment method was added. Adding a payment method during the trial is what upgrades the workspace to Team and starts billing.
How many records can a free base contain?
Airtable lists 1,000 records per base on Free, and every table in that base shares the allowance, so a second table does not give you another cap.
Can five people edit a free workspace?
Airtable lists up to five collaborators with Editor or Creator permissions on Free. Read-only collaborators are unlimited and Commenter seats use a separate cap, so a person who only views the base does not take one of those editor seats.
Do failed automation attempts count?
Airtable counts a run when the trigger is invoked, whether the action succeeds or fails, so a failure is not a free retry. Running the same automation again spends another run from that workspace allowance, which is how a broken workflow uses up the month.
Is Team billed for viewers?
Read-only access is described as free. Airtable’s plan overview lists Commenters as billable on Team, while its pricing FAQ describes charging users with edit access. Confirm the treatment of Commenters with Airtable before adding them to the budget.
What does Team cost for four editors?
At the rates read October 28, four billable editors cost $960 for twelve months on annual billing or $1,152 across twelve months on monthly billing, before tax and excluding other paid collaborators. The higher figure is the full-year cost of paying monthly for that same group, and any extra billable commenter sits outside both totals.
Can a free automation run a script?
Airtable's automation documentation lists the "Run a script" action as unavailable on Free. A workflow that needs custom code inside an automation has to move off this plan even when the record count still fits.
Cite this: Dupple, "Is Airtable Free in 2026? Records, Users and Plan Limits", October 2026.
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Across our whole catalogue the median is $23.50 a month and 37% of tools advertise a free tier. Figures are the lowest recurring monthly price quoted in our own review of each tool, read on 2026-10-23. Full method and every category.
