We started out building on Quickbase and platforms like it, so we have no reason to knock either one.
Quickbase vs Airtable side by side
| Quickbase | Airtable | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Per user, priced annually. Team starts at $35 and Business at $55 per user per month, plus a platform minimum that is not published. Enterprise is quoted. 30 day free trial. Usage based plans are priced on "reads". | Per seat for users with edit rights. Free plan, then Team at $20 and Business at $45 per user per month billed annually. Enterprise Scale is quoted. Read only collaborators, form submissions and share links are not charged. |
| Who builds | Your own builders in Quickbase's no-code editor, or a Quickbase partner. Pave, Quickbase's AI app builder, is a separate product with its own pricing. | Your own team, no code needed. Omni, Airtable's AI builder, creates tables, interfaces and automations from a description. |
| Data ownership | Your data lives on Quickbase's platform. Its table export gives you the values, not the formulas, and leaves out file attachments. | Your data lives on Airtable's platform. You can export any grid view as a CSV, one table at a time. |
| AI | The Intelligence Pack is an optional add on, priced through sales (AI Agent, Data Analyzer, App Intelligence, Knowledge Layer and more). | Every plan includes a monthly allowance of AI credits. Building with Omni costs nothing extra; analysis questions about your data use credits. More credits can be bought. |
| Best fit | Operations teams that want a no-code builder with workflows (Pipelines), SSO and compliance options. | Teams that want a low entry price, a free plan to start, and AI app building included in every plan. |
Sources: quickbase.com/plans-and-pricing, Quickbase pricing help, Quickbase export docs, Quickbase Intelligence Pack, airtable.com/pricing, Airtable AI, Airtable AI billing, Airtable plans overview, checked October 21, 2026.
For the full breakdown of how a Quickbase bill is built, including the platform minimum and reads, see our Quickbase pricing guide.
What the table does not show: moving from one to the other means rebuilding. Quickbase formulas and Pipelines only run on Quickbase, so every app, formula and workflow has to be rebuilt in Airtable by your builders, and the same is true the other way.
Or own your software
Most comparisons stop at two platforms. There is a third choice: stop renting a platform.
Alakazam Labs is a software company that builds custom business software and moves companies off platforms like Quickbase and HubSpot, using AI agent teams. Clients own the code and data, and the same agents keep improving it. Alakazam also makes K2, the software its agent teams run on, free to download at k2.dev.
In plain terms: we rebuild your software with AI agents. You own it, and the same team keeps improving it when your staff ask. Our people check the agents' work while we build.
A typical Quickbase app takes about 3.5 weeks: built and data moved by week 1.5, then two weeks of fine-tuning with your team. Bigger moves with several connected apps take longer. Appalachian Field Service's took about a month and a half.
What makes it different from hiring a developer is what happens after launch. The agent team that built your app stays with it. You or your staff ask for a change in plain words, inside the app, and watch it happen. You make the rules: changes go live straight away, after your approval, or on a test copy first, whichever you want. And because it is your code and your data, you can move them, and any developer you choose can work on the code too.
How you pay is different too:
- The consultation and app review are free.
- A rebuild is quoted after the free review. ROI usually happens around 6 to 8 months.
- No per-user fees, so hiring does not change the bill.
- Hosting is on your own server (free) or ours (quoted).
- You pay for your own AI plan (Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini or Grok), billed by the AI company with no markup.
- Expert help from our people is there whenever you want it. Ongoing care is a paid service, scaled to your team.
Prefer to build it yourselves? From $1,500 we install K2 and get your agent team built and running, and you build from there. Agent team setup starts from $3,000, depending on team size.
One real example: Appalachian Field Service ran on Quickbase for almost 10 years. They moved to software they own, built on K2, kept their mission-critical data and kept working through the switch, and no longer pay Quickbase about $55,000 a year. Read the case study.
When to pick each
Stay on Quickbase if your bill is small and steady and the app does what you need, if your team loves building in a no-code editor every day, or if you are in the middle of a big Quickbase project that is about to pay off. If you need more hands, a Quickbase partner may be the better call: see partner, another tool, or a rebuild.
Pick Airtable if your team wants to keep building its own apps, you are starting fresh or your apps are fairly simple, and a lower per seat price and a free plan matter. Budget time to rebuild every app and workflow in it.
Pick Quickbase over Airtable if you are choosing a no-code platform for operations work and need its workflow tools, sandbox, SSO, or FDA and HIPAA compliance on the Business plan.
Own your software if your bill is growing with headcount, one person is the only one who knows how the app works, or the business has started shaping itself around the tool. Owning tends to make sense once a Quickbase bill is above about $30,000 to $40,000 a year and growing.
When we're not the right fit
- Your Quickbase bill is small and steady. Staying is often the better call, and we will tell you so.
- Your team wants to keep building apps themselves every day. Airtable or Quickbase fits that better.
- Your IT team requires a vendor with SOC 2 certification. We don't have that certification today.
- Nobody on your side can spare time during the move to tell us what is working.
See every option side by side in Quickbase alternatives compared.
Not sure which way to go?
Get a free review of your Quickbase app. It is a call with the people who would do the work. You come away with an honest answer on whether moving is worth it, including "stay" if that is right, what your app would become, and a quote once we have mapped it.
Get a free review of your Quickbase app
Quickbase is a trademark of Quickbase, Inc. Airtable is a trademark of Formagrid Inc. We are not affiliated with or endorsed by either. Prices checked October 21, 2026 on each vendor's public pages and may change.
Questions people ask
Is Airtable cheaper than Quickbase?
At list price, yes. Airtable lists Team at $20 and Business at $45 per user per month billed annually, with a free plan. Quickbase lists Team from $35 and Business from $55 per user per month priced annually, plus a platform minimum. Both quote Enterprise (both vendors' pages, checked October 21, 2026). See our Quickbase pricing guide.
Can I move my Quickbase app to Airtable?
Your records can move, but your app has to be rebuilt. Quickbase's table export gives you the values, not the formulas, and leaves out attachments, and Pipelines only run on Quickbase. Your builders recreate the tables, formulas, interfaces and automations in Airtable.
Which has better AI?
They package it differently. Airtable includes monthly AI credits in every plan, and Omni builds apps from a description. Quickbase sells AI through its Intelligence Pack add on and offers Pave as a separate AI app builder. In both, AI helps you build and use the app on their platform. With owned software, the agent team that built your app stays on to change it.
Is there an option where we don't rebuild it ourselves?
Yes. Alakazam Labs rebuilds it for you as software you own. A typical Quickbase app takes about 3.5 weeks: built and data moved by week 1.5, then two weeks of fine-tuning with your team. Bigger moves with several connected apps take longer. Afterwards you ask your agent team for changes instead of building them. Expert help is there whenever you want it, and with ongoing care our people keep checking the agents.
What does owning the software cost?
The review is free, and a rebuild is quoted after it. ROI usually happens around 6 to 8 months. There are no per-user fees; you pay for hosting (your own server is free, ours is quoted) and your own AI plan, billed by the AI company with no markup.
Quickbase is a trademark of Quickbase, Inc. Other product names are trademarks of their owners. We are not affiliated with or endorsed by any of them. Prices and product facts are as checked on the date shown at the top of this page and may change.