Compare with Airtable
Moving off Airtable? What an alternative should cover
Airtable keeps records in linked tables and builds interfaces, automations and agents on top of them. See what a CSV export carries out, what stays behind, and when an Exepad app suits the work.
Airtable
Where Airtable fits.
Airtable presents itself as one space for teams, workflows and agents. The work happens inside a base: tables of records, views over those tables, and interfaces, automations and agents built from the same data. Keep that in mind when you list what a replacement has to do.[1]
Linked tables
Airtable recommends a separate table for each list. A linked record field connects records within one table or across two, and the link shows up on both sides. Lookup fields then pull values from the linked record.[2]
Exepad
Where Exepad fits.
Exepad is Your App Cloud. Instead of a base your team works inside, you describe an app in Studio, review it, and publish it as a web app that opens in a browser, including on phones.
The app holds its own records
An app keeps its records in its own database. A CSV you upload gives it a copy of your Airtable rows, not a live connection, so decide where later changes will be made.
Sign-in and email for the people it serves
Clients or vendors who would reach a base through a portal sign in to the app itself, and you define what each person can open. The app can also send email, such as a confirmation when a request arrives. Test the permissions and the messages before anyone relies on them.
Agents that work through the records
An agent inside an app can draft, sort or summarize the records you imported from Airtable, with the context and actions you allow, when asked or on a schedule you set. A person reviews results that lead to decisions. Model usage is metered separately.
Compare the work you need to do.
| Consider | Airtable | Exepad |
|---|---|---|
| Where records live | Records live in bases, one table per list, joined by linked record fields that show the link on both sides.[2] | In the app's own database. Describe the collections and how they relate, then compare a few linked records with the original. |
| Views and pages | Grid, form, calendar, gallery, kanban, timeline, list and Gantt views, plus Interface Designer pages built on the same tables.[3][6] | Describe in Studio the pages that replace the views people use, such as a list, a detail view and a form. Review them, then publish. |
| People outside your organization | Portals, an add-on on Team, Business and Enterprise Scale plans, lets guests sign in to interfaces shared from a base. Each base has one portal.[8] | Authentication, so clients or vendors sign in to the app itself rather than a portal. Say what each person may open, and check it before you share. |
| Automation | A trigger, such as a created record, a submitted form, a scheduled time or a received webhook, followed by one or more actions.[9] | Rebuild each trigger you need as an app action, an email or a scheduled task. A person reviews results that lead to decisions. |
| AI in the workflow | Omni builds tables, interfaces and automations from a description. Field Agents analyze data, generate content and research inside each record.[10][11] | The building assistant in Studio creates the app from your description and CSV. An agent inside an app then works on those records with the context and actions you allow. |
| Keeping data in step | Records stay in the base, and integrations sync data with tools such as Salesforce, Google Drive and Zendesk.[1][7] | An uploaded CSV is a copy, not a sync. Later changes come from edits in the app, a deliberate re-import or a supported integration. |
| Getting data out | Download CSV from a grid view, one table at a time. A whole base can't be exported as a single file.[3] | You can export your app's data and code. Run an export and check what it holds before you depend on it. |
| Working in the same space | Owners and creators, editors, commenters and read-only users each have their own permission level in a base.[2] | Each Exepad account has one builder, who changes the app in Studio. People who use the published app sign in through its own authentication. |
| How plans are charged | Per seat on paid plans: every user with edit permission on at least one base counts. Team and Business plans don't charge for read-only users, form submissions or share links.[13] | Free puts one one-page site live; an app with saved data, sign-in or email needs a paid plan to go live. See Pricing for the current plans. Model and service usage is metered separately. |
Choose Airtable when
People do their daily work inside the base.
Editors update records in the grid, add views as the process changes and comment on records. If the base is the tool people work in all day, keep the work there.
Automations and syncs already tie the base to other tools.
Triggers, actions and connections to tools such as Salesforce or Jira move work between systems. Each one would need rebuilding, so count them before you plan a move.
Guests only need a window into existing records.
When clients or vendors only need to sign in and see or update a few fields, Portals works on the base you already have. It is an add-on, so check that your plan offers it.
Choose Exepad when
The records need an app of their own.
The base mainly feeds one tool, such as a request tracker or a client portal. That tool can keep its own records, sign-in and email, published on your own domain with Pro.
You want an agent to work through incoming records.
For example, when asked or on a schedule you set, an agent drafts replies to new requests or sorts them by type, work someone now does by hand in the grid. A person approves each result before it goes out.
The interface is the part you want to replace.
If a base mostly feeds one set of interface pages, rebuild those pages as an app. Describe the screens and the rules together, and review them before anyone uses them.
What changes when you move from Airtable.
Airtable's own help center describes the CSV export per view. Read these points before you download anything.
What an export brings
- Field values visible in the view. Clear the view's filters to include every record in the table, and unhide the fields you need, because only visible fields are included.[3]
- One file per table. A full base can't be exported as one file. Download each table you need from its own grid view.[3]
- Attachment names and links. Attachment fields arrive as a filename and a URL that expires after a few hours, so the files need a download of their own.[3][4]
What stays behind
- Comments and notes. Record-level comments, field descriptions and base guide content are not in the file.[3]
- Extension data. Data stored only in an extension, such as the Description extension, stays in Airtable.[3]
- Automations and interface pages. The export holds the field values visible in a view. List each automation trigger and action, and each interface page, that you still need so you can rebuild it.[3]
- Downloads an admin has blocked. On Business and Enterprise Scale plans, admins can turn off CSV downloads. Ask yours before you plan the move.[5]
Rebuild it in Exepad
Start with one table
Pick the table the app is built around. Upload its CSV and say what each row describes and which columns point to another table.
Describe the pages and the rules
In Studio, name the lists, detail views and forms that take over from the base's views and interface pages, and the statuses a record moves through.
Check the links before adding more
Look first at records that point to another table. Bring in the next table once the first one reads correctly.
Rebuild the automations people rely on
Work from your list of triggers and actions, skip the ones nobody needs, and test each one with a sample record. Decide who reviews anything an agent prepares.
Set access, then publish
Decide who signs in and what each person may change, in place of the base's permission levels. Try it with a second account, then publish after review.
Try it with one task.
Move a Requests table first
An illustrative pilot for Northwind, a sample facilities team in California. Prove one table before you move the rest of the base.
In Airtable, clear the filters on the Requests grid view, show its hidden fields, and download the CSV.
In Studio, describe a request tracker with requester, location, due date and a status of New, In progress or Done.
Ask for an email to the requester when a request is marked Done, then send a test to yourself.
Open ten requests in the app and in Airtable and check every field matches.
Keep Airtable as the working copy until those checks pass, then decide how new requests reach the app.
Together in your app cloud
The pieces behind the possibility.
Choose the models and services that support the experience you want to create.
Data models
Turn information into useful structure
Database
Keep data and context for apps and agents
Language models
Reason, write, and understand
Authentication
Give the right people access
Email
Keep conversations moving
A little more context
Good questions.
Does Exepad keep a live sync with my Airtable base?
No. Uploading a CSV gives the app a copy of the rows at that moment. Decide whether later changes are made in the app, brought in by a deliberate re-import, or arrive through a supported integration, and test that path before you retire the base.
How do I export a whole Airtable base?
Airtable's help center says a full base can't be exported as a single file. Download each table as its own CSV from a grid view, in the web or desktop app. There is no direct Excel export, so open the CSV in Excel if you need a workbook.
What happens to attachments and linked records?
Attachment links in a CSV expire after a few hours, so don't rely on them for the files. Airtable has no bulk download button, but its Scripting extension can download every attachment in a base. For linked records, say in Studio which columns point to another table, then compare a few in both places.
Can Exepad replace Airtable interfaces or the Page designer?
Airtable's help center recommends Interface Designer over the Page designer extension, which lays out one record per page for printing or PDF. In Exepad you describe the pages of a web app instead, such as a list, a detail view and a form, and publish them after review.
Can an agent work on my Airtable records in Exepad?
Yes, once the records are in an Exepad app. Where Airtable's Field Agents work inside the base, an Exepad agent works inside the app that holds the imported copy, with the context and actions you allow. A person reviews anything that leads to a decision.
Can the editors of my base work on the Exepad app too?
Not in Studio: each Exepad account has one builder. Give the people who edited the base an editor's sign-in in the published app instead, with access to the records they kept. People who entered or reviewed records sign in the same way, and you decide what each of them can open and change.
Can I export my data from Exepad later?
Yes. You can export your app's data and code. Treat it as you treated the Airtable CSVs: run an export and check that it holds what you expect before you depend on it for a move or a backup. Versions in Studio serve a different purpose and do not replace a data export.
Explore Pricing for plans, included capabilities, and usage details.
Related guides.
Compare other tools.
Sources.
Airtable details checked September 24, 2026. Confirm them on Airtable's site before you decide.
- Airtable: product overview ↗
- Airtable: linking records ↗
- Airtable: views and CSV export ↗
- Airtable: attachment fields ↗
- Airtable: export controls in the admin panel ↗
- Airtable: getting started with Interface Designer ↗
- Airtable: Portals ↗
- Airtable: using Portals for external users ↗
- Airtable: getting started with automations ↗
- Airtable: Omni app building ↗
- Airtable: AI agents ↗
- Airtable: Page designer extension overview ↗
- Airtable: pricing and billing questions ↗
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