Checked September 26, 2026. USD, excluding tax. Based on published pricing pages, not a hands-on build. Jet Admin publishes this comparison and operates in the no-code space — read the "Where Jet Admin fits" section with that in mind.
Baserow is the open-source alternative to Airtable, and on price it's not close: $10 a user against $20, $18 against $45. But there's a structural difference in how the two count your data that most comparisons skip, and it can flip the answer entirely.
Baserow counts rows per workspace. Airtable counts records per base. If you run several bases, Airtable's ceiling is effectively multiplied and Baserow's is not.
At a glance
| Baserow | Airtable | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | $0 — 3,000 rows per workspace, 2 GB, 2,000 automation credits/month | $0 — 1,000 records per base, 1 GB per base, 5 editors, 50 commenters |
| Paid entry | Premium — $10/user/month yearly, $12 monthly | Team — $20/user/month billed annually |
| Next tier | Advanced — $18/user/month yearly, $22 monthly | Business — $45/user/month billed annually |
| Enterprise | On request — 1,000,000 rows, 1,000 GB | Enterprise Scale — custom |
| Data ceiling | 50,000 rows per workspace (Premium); 250,000 (Advanced) | 50,000 records per base (Team); 125,000 (Business) |
| Counting unit | Per workspace | Per base |
| Storage | 20 GB (Premium); 100 GB (Advanced) | 20 GB per base (Team); 100 GB per base (Business) |
| Self-hosting | Open source, self-host option offered | No |
Sources: Baserow pricing, Airtable pricing and Airtable plan limits, checked September 26, 2026.
The per-workspace versus per-base difference
This is the detail worth reading twice.
Baserow Premium gives 50,000 rows per workspace. Airtable Team gives 50,000 records per base. Identical numbers, different denominators.
If you run one dataset, they're equivalent and Baserow costs half as much. If you run five separate bases — a CRM, an inventory, a content calendar, a recruiting pipeline, an asset register — Airtable Team gives you 50,000 records in each, while Baserow Premium gives you 50,000 across all five.
Baserow Advanced at $18 raises it to 250,000 rows per workspace, which restores parity for five bases and still undercuts Airtable Business at $45. So the conclusion isn't that Airtable wins — it's that the comparison depends on how many distinct datasets you keep, and you should count them before reading either price as decisive.
The same applies to storage: Baserow's 20 GB and 100 GB are per workspace; Airtable's are per base.
Where the money lands
For a ten-person team with one main dataset:
Baserow Premium: $100 a month yearly, $120 monthly. 50,000 rows, 20 GB.
Airtable Team: $200 a month billed annually. 50,000 records per base, 20 GB per base.
Baserow is half the price for the same headline capacity. At the higher tier the gap widens — Baserow Advanced is $180 a month for ten people against Airtable Business at $450.
Note also that Baserow publishes both yearly and monthly rates ($10 and $12, $18 and $22), which makes budgeting easier. Airtable's headline prices are annual-billing figures.
The open-source argument
Baserow is open source and offers a self-hosted option. Its pricing page presents "Cloud (we host)" and "Self-host (you host)" as alternatives, though it doesn't detail self-hosted pricing there — confirm the terms directly if that's your plan, rather than assuming self-hosting is free of charge or of obligations.
What self-hosting genuinely buys is control: your data on your infrastructure, no per-seat cloud bill, no vendor able to change terms underneath you. What it costs is operations — someone has to run it, back it up, upgrade it and fix it at 2am. For an organization with a platform team that's marginal. For a five-person startup it is a real job nobody wants.
Even if you never self-host, the option has value as leverage. Airtable offers no equivalent exit.
What Airtable still has
Maturity, mostly, and it shouldn't be dismissed.
Airtable has a larger ecosystem of integrations and templates, more third-party tooling, a bigger community, and more people who already know it — which matters when you're hiring or onboarding. Its Interfaces feature is well developed, and its automations and AI features are more polished.
Baserow covers the core well — tables, fields, views, filters, automations — and includes 500 external app users on every tier including Free, which is generous. But a newer, smaller product means fewer templates, fewer integrations, and occasionally a feature gap you find mid-build.
The practical test: list the three integrations you actually depend on and confirm Baserow supports them. That check is worth more than any feature-count comparison.
Which should you choose?
Choose Baserow if cost matters and your data fits the per-workspace ceilings, if self-hosting or the option of it has value, or if you want an open-source foundation you can't be locked out of. At half the price, the savings are substantial at any real headcount.
Choose Airtable if you run many separate bases and the per-base ceilings genuinely help, if you depend on its integration ecosystem, or if your team already knows it and the switching cost outweighs the saving.
Count your datasets and your seats before deciding. Those two numbers, against the per-workspace and per-base ceilings, settle this more reliably than any feature list.
Where Jet Admin fits
Jet Admin overlaps with both, so treat this as an interested party's account.
Both Baserow and Airtable bundle the database and the interface, and charge per person for it. Jet Admin is the interface layer only, connecting to a database or API you already have. That matters when your seat cost is driven by people who only view and update records rather than build — a pattern common enough to be worth checking in your own billing.
Where both win outright is when you need the data store itself. If your data has no home yet, Baserow or Airtable gives you one and Jet Admin does not.
Frequently asked questions
Is Baserow cheaper than Airtable?
Yes — $10 a user against $20 at the entry tier, $18 against $45 above it. Roughly half at both levels.
Is Baserow's free plan better?
3,000 rows per workspace against Airtable's 1,000 records per base. Better for one dataset; if you'd run several bases, Airtable's per-base counting can give more in total.
Can I self-host Baserow?
Baserow is open source and offers a self-host option. Its pricing page doesn't detail self-hosted terms — confirm them directly before planning around it.
Does Baserow have the same features?
The core is there — tables, fields, views, filters, automations, and 500 external app users on every tier. The ecosystem is smaller: fewer integrations, fewer templates. Check your specific dependencies.
Which handles more data?
Depends on shape. Baserow Advanced gives 250,000 rows per workspace; Airtable Business gives 125,000 records per base. One base favours Baserow; several bases can favour Airtable.
Can I migrate from Airtable to Baserow?
Baserow positions itself as an Airtable alternative and the data structures are similar, so the tables themselves usually move. Automations, Interfaces and integrations are where migrations get expensive — scope those before committing.
Count bases, then count seats
Two numbers decide this. How many separate datasets will you keep, and how many people need access?
One dataset and any real headcount: Baserow, at half the price. Many separate bases each approaching the ceiling: check whether Airtable's per-base counting actually gives you more, and price Baserow Advanced against Airtable Team before assuming it does.
And if most of your seats belong to people who only read and update records, an interface layer over your data may be cheaper than a builder seat for each of them on either platform.
