The spreadsheet-database your teams like, with the data in a Postgres you can query, back up and keep.
- Replacing
- Airtable, by Airtable Inc.
- With
- NocoDB
- Runs on
- Your servers, or Pilae Cloud in Switzerland and the EU
- Migration
- Included in onboarding, at a fixed price
Why teams leave Airtable
Data in a real database
NocoDB tables are Postgres tables. Reporting tools read them, your backups cover them, and removing NocoDB leaves the data where it is.
No record tiers
Limits are set by your hardware, not by a plan. A base that grows does not trigger an upgrade conversation.
Access follows your directory
Sign-on through Keycloak or Entra ID with per-base permissions. A leaver loses access to the data with everything else.
Airtable vs NocoDB operated by Pilae
| What is being compared | Airtable | Pilae |
|---|---|---|
| Where the data lives | In Airtable storage, operated by Airtable. | In your Postgres, on your premises or on dedicated machines in any of 12 Pilae Cloud regions, six of them in Switzerland and the EU. |
| Access to the data | Through the Airtable interface, its REST API and CSV export. | Through NocoDB, its REST API, or SQL directly against the database. |
| Limits | Record, attachment and automation limits set by plan. | Set by your hardware. No commercial record limit. |
| Existing databases | Data is synced or imported into Airtable. | NocoDB connects to an existing Postgres, MySQL or SQL Server schema as a live view. |
| Interfaces, automations and AI | A mature set of interface pages, automations and AI features. | Grid, kanban, gallery, form and calendar views. Heavier automation runs in n8n beside it. |
| Operation | Fully run by Airtable as a SaaS product. | Nightly backups with monthly restore tests, planned upgrades by the Pilae Agent, 60-second probes. |
A self-hosted Airtable alternative
Airtable is a polished product, and teams adopt it because it lets them build without waiting for IT. The trouble starts when a base becomes load-bearing: the staff register, the supplier list, the project tracker the whole department runs on. At that point the data sits in a vendor’s storage, behind a plan’s limits.
NocoDB gives teams the same working experience: tables, links, grid, kanban and calendar views. Underneath is Postgres. Pilae runs it on your servers or on dedicated machines in any of 12 Pilae Cloud regions, six of them in Switzerland and the EU, and your data stays in a database IT can see.
Operated like the rest of your estate
NocoDB is simple to install and easy to get wrong in production. Attachments belong in object storage, access belongs to your directory, and backups only count once a restore has been tested. Heavier automations run in n8n beside it, and backups sets out how restores are tested. We set all of it up during onboarding. The Pilae Agent then plans each upgrade, tests it against a copy of your bases and applies it in your window after your approval.
Pricing is on request. Tell us which bases you run and we come back with a plan and a fixed price for the move.
Moving from Airtable to NocoDB
Import the bases
Tables, views and links come across through the importer. Record data and link fields come across as they are.
List what did not survive
Formula fields, automations and interface pages, written down rather than discovered later by whoever depended on one.
Rebuild deliberately
The formulas and automations that are actually in use, rewritten against NocoDB, with n8n taking the heavier automations. Each one is tested against real records before anyone relies on it.
Point sign-on at your directory
Accounts from your identity provider and per-base permissions. Then the Airtable workspace is archived and the subscription ends.