Airtable vs ClickUp: Which Tool is Better for Project Management?

In the market for a project management tool and looking to compare ClickUp vs Airtable? Both of these software apps offer powerful features and capabilities, but they are designed with different users in mind. 

So, which should you choose? Before making any big decisions, let’s thoughtfully compare Airtable vs ClickUp based on features, performance, collaboration capabilities, customization options, scalability, and cost. 

By evaluating each product through identified criteria it will be easier for you to make an informed decision about your next project management solution.

Let's dive in!

What is ClickUp

ClickUp is an all-in-one and popular project management tool built to help small to large teams simplify their workflow, improve team collaboration, and manage simple to complex projects (such as construction) more effectively. This tool is great for power users such as team leaders and project managers handling multiple tasks, teams, and big projects such as software development. ClickUp offers various tools that allow you to automate tasks to streamline workflow and remove the need to manually add new tasks every time.

Best Features

• More than 35 ClickApps to help you customize your space
• Choose from 15+ different views that will work best for a team or project
• Provides integration to popular finance, Payroll, HR management system, and CRM systems

Limitations

• Learning curve due to a number of customization features and options
• Limited mobile app views

Pricing

• Free: Free forever
• Unlimited: $5 per user per month
• Business: $12 per user per month
• Business Plus: $19 per user per month
• Enterprise: Contact sales

User Ratings

G2: 4.7/5 (4800+ reviews)

Capterra: 4.7/5 (3100+ reviews)

“ClickUp is an incredibly flexible platform that truly revolutionized how I worked. The ability to customize the system to fit my workflows was a major selling point when I first looked into it and something that has been invaluable ever since. It offers me the unique opportunity to choose from a range of pre-made tasks, processes and boards or create my own - allowing me unlimited freedom in designing how I want to get things done.

The flexibility of Clickup also allows for collaboration between different members of the team without any hassle. Every user can have their own customized view and share what they’re working on with others so everyone is always on the same page. This makes communication much more efficient, as well as reduces errors through shared knowledge about which tasks are assigned where and by whom.” - Xavier W., Director

Sign up for ClickUp for free, no credit card required

What is Airtable

Airtable is a relationship database and task management tool that focuses on data organization and collaboration. It uses a spreadsheet format to organize and structure data, allows teams to track workflow and automate processes, has the ability to create relationships and link records from one table to another. Through this application, you are able to assign tasks, set a priority level, and manage due dates.

Best Features

• Actionable views such as Timeline, Kanban, Gantt, Calendar, and Grid View
• Single to multi-sequence workflow automation
• Robust API and built-in support for popular apps

Limitations

• Paid plans are costly
• User interface can be improved
• Filtering system can be difficult in complex situations

Pricing

• Airtable offers a Free plan
• Plus: $10 per seat/month; billed annually
• Pro: $20 per seat/month; billed annually
• Enterprise: contact for pricing

“Overall, I've found Airtable to be a powerful and flexible platform that has greatly improved my productivity as a small business owner. Its customizable fields and views, integration with other tools, and collaboration features have all been invaluable in helping me manage my work and stay organized.” - Felix P., CEO

ClickUp vs Airtable in the Community

When looking for reliable information about ClickUp vs Airtable, it is important to include resources from the community. This is because the community perspective offers a unique view on each of these tools, as members are unbiased and have likely used both options themselves. 

Check out this video from a popular influencer:

Using the G2 Grid for project management software comparison is also a great way to quickly evaluate the two tools and make an informed decision. G2Crowd sources from a diverse set of user reviews to create this measurement to help potential customers compare different solutions side-by-side. 

As you can see, ClickUp scores very well and is in the leader category. Airtable can also be found quite high up in the grid.

Depending on your use case, you may want to consider these scores and rankings as they are a very good reflection of current user satisfaction and an indication of future potential.

ClickUp vs Airtable on Reddit

What better way to really get a feel for a tool than reading through what users on the internet are candidly sharing? Check out some Reddit posts on both tools. 

ClickUp Reddit Review

“What I like about ClickUp is its flexibility. Certainly it is not going to tick all the boxes. But it brings a solid suite of features. For me, it is fantastic that lists are flexible and support custom fields. There's various ways to display your tasks - Gantt chart, Kanban, tabular etc. You can reference ClickUp Docs as well - think of it like a simplified MS Word but being able to reference your tasks. I use it for my personal projects, for a list of books I want to read, for tracking gift ideas, for managing more complex personal side projects etc.” - via Reddit

Airtable Reddit Review

“Airtable is my main hub for everything I do. I use it as a CRM where I can send thousands of emails with a click of a button (integrated with Zapier, SendinBlue and Drip), SEO, time management/project tracker, budgeting and campaign tracker. It took a lot of time but we’ll worth it.” - via Reddit

Now, onto our honest opinions on different categories of comparison between Airtable and ClickUp.

Usability and Feature Comparison

ClickUp's Usability and Features

ClickUp is known for its intuitive and user-friendly interface. Its drag-and-drop capabilities allows users to easily use the tool and the Home feature displays all your tasks in one place. There are over 15+ custom views available for anyone, from individual contributors to executives, to see work from their point of view. 

Besides the standard project management tools such as Gantt charts, Kanban boards, and Sprints, ClickUp also offers a variety of unique features such as the screen recording Clip feature. Record your screen and attach it directly to ClickUp tasks, saving you from having to use other screen recording apps such as Loom. 

Its whiteboards are an incredibly useful and versatile tool that allows users to visualize concepts, brainstorm ideas, and plan out entire projects. You can create an unlimited number of boards that can be viewed by anyone with access. The boards are also customizable, allowing users and guests to add text, images, notes, and more. ClickUp also has goal-tracking capabilities and templates that you can use to quickly set up your workspace and save time. 

The sheer multitude of ClickUp features does make it a bit difficult and overwhelming for beginners. This can be compensated by being able to turn on and off different ClickApps so you can choose which features you want enabled for your team to eliminate overwhelm.

Sandra D., a digital marketing specialist says: “As a Scrum Master, I feel that ClickUp is a marvelous tool for any Agile marketing teams out there. We have biweekly sprint planning sessions, and using ClickUp makes getting through them a breeze. Custom views can be created at all levels -- for an individual list (we use these to separate business lines within our team), for an entire folder (which we use for a view of all the areas of our team). At the folder level, during grooming, I filter by all items due in the coming two weeks and then we can go through them and groom them. ClickUp allows for custom fields so that any details that are relevant across the board on a task can be filled in. This allows us to keep tasks organized by their values in the custom fields.”

Airtable's Usability and Features

Airtable is a great online collaborative platform used to organize data and support business functions. It is a user-friendly tool to help manage and organize a database with a spreadsheet-like function. Airtable is made for project teams, businesses, and organizations who want to align their goals across their team members and departments.

The tool features various functions such as workflow automation, integrations, and reporting. With Airtable, you are able to build your own dashboard for reports with its no-code interface. Airtable has a flexible UI that you can customize according to your need and preference.

Kate H., a Development Associate describes: “Airtable does a great job at taking the basic functionality of an Excel worksheet and making it easier to sort, update, and change views so everyone can find what they need quickly. My organization uses it as a means of tracking Grant deadlines and progress; we are able to sort the list by due date, change the status of in progress to submitted to awarded easily, and quickly see what has been stalled in order to keep the ball rolling. The views are definitely the best part, allowing me to see the data from many different angles to figure out what's falling through the cracks.”

Collaborative Capabilities Comparison

ClickUp's Collaborative Capabilities

ClickUp's collaboration features make it an ideal choice for distributed teams and remote work. Its wide range of features allows users to communicate quickly and effectively, no matter where they are located. Create tasks and add custom statuses according to each assigned user. For example, you can assign tasks to team members, leave comments on tasks and projects, @mention teammates and assign comments to them, and create task lists that can be shared with contractors and clients outside of your team. Handle each project differently depending on your preference or requirements.

ClickUp's Chat View is also an incredibly useful and important feature that allows users to communicate and brainstorm easily in a specific List or Folder without having to switch between different applications. There's also an in-built Calendar feature that syncs with Google and Outlook calendars to help team members decide on important dates and team meetings. 

Its broad range of features makes it a great choice for any team looking to get organized and collaborate more effectively.

Reema D., an associate director says: “The best parts about ClickUp are the potential for collaboration and the visual ability to watch tasks go through stages of completion. My team uses ClickUp primarily for candidate tracking and hiring. Through ClickUp, my team can share candidates, track contact logs, view resumes through their attachment upload feature, make notes, and move the candidate through the hiring process.”

Airtable's Collaborative Capabilities

Airtable makes communication and collaboration by providing a centralized system to manage projects, tasks, and deliverables. Visualize schedules and upcoming projects or tasks with Airtable’s views. The app offers the option to work with a Kanban, Gantt, or Timeline view among other options to help keep everyone on the same page with custom task statuses, goals, and objectives. While some features are limited to premium plans, Airtable allows you to keep all your important communications, files, and reports in one place to help maintain a smooth collaborative workflow.

Vasilis Filippos S.. a web developer describes Airtable’s collaboration features: “Airtable is fast, secure (supports SSO login as well), provides easy data visualisation and it's from the best tools that can be used from teams to communicate. It can also be used as a task assignment software and thanks to history recall and commenting functionality, teams within an organisation can really talk to other things without being experts on other's team field. For instance a support agent can create a bug request to the development team without the support agent having to access more complicated bug mangament software.”

Customization and Scalability Comparison

ClickUp's Customization and Scalability

ClickUp is highly customizable and can be tailored to fit the specific needs of any organization or individual. Its key features are designed to accommodate a diverse range of users, including neurodiverse users. For example, users can customize their view with different filters and sorting options, such as due date, assignee, priority, and tags. ClickUp also offers advanced time-tracking features as well as allows users to share documents and choose from a variety of views for each project. 

Its scalability is enabled by the multi-dimensional structure - for instance, ClickUp’s organizational hierarchy allows users to structure their workspace in whatever way works best for them. ClickUp also offers extensive reporting capabilities which can be adjusted depending on the size of an organization. For example, businesses or team leaders can customize reports to track specific metrics, such as project progress, total time tracked or employee workload. 

This makes it a great solution for organizations of all different sizes and types that are looking for an intuitive yet powerful project management software solution.

Dimitrije C., Head of Audio agrees: “I think ClickUp is very good at making large-scale processes visible to a large number of teams and people, and for me, it's been a massive improvement compared to a few project management solutions we've used previously in that aspect, especially since we started remote work. I don't know how I'd be able to keep up with the work of other departments in my company if I didn't have the flexible options of ClickUp, for following only the tasks which are relevant for my team and me”

Airtable's Customization and Scalability

Airtable is a flexible platform with customizable features to improve work management and organization. While it currently does not have a dedicated chat feature, it can be integrated with applications such as Slack and Trello to improve communication. Airtable is a great tool to build a database or a tracking system for any kind of project or goal. The app’s customizable fields and views as well as integration with third-party applications help organize and manage your work according to your process or workflow.

Lars S., a Team Lead says: “We are able to customize pretty much everything, which allows us to do things the way that best fits our workflows. And with the automations, we're able to save a ton of time and integrate our task management with the other tools we use. It took us a long time to really make use of the more advanced features like calculated fields and automations in general, so we didn't get the full value from day 1. But once we did start exploring these things, we've only gotten more and more value out of using it.”

Cost Comparison

ClickUp's Pricing

By offering several plans, ranging from the free Forever Free plan to the Enterprise Plan, ClickUp has something for everyone. The Forever Free plan is perfect for small teams who need basic project management capabilities and don’t require the comprehensive feature set of a premium plan. For those looking for an even more advanced project management solution, the Unlimited Plan and Business Plan provide access to powerful features such as Gantt charts, timelines and workload management.

ClickUp's Enterprise Plan is the ideal choice for more complex organizations. It is designed to meet even the most demanding needs, from HIPAA compliance and whitelabeling to custom integrations and dedicated support.

Here's what Allan G., a project manager says about the cost: “[ClickUp] allows me to treat my business like software. I can adapt procedures so that orders flow through our company naturally. It can work like a manual ERP if you set it up correctly. I love that you can really do whatever you want, all for a very low price.”

Airtable's Pricing

Airtable is a great tool can be used by individual users for free. This version offers unlimited space but with a 2GB limited attachment space per base. A 5GB attachment space is offered at a Plus Plan starting at $10 per user/month. 

Organizations that need a bigger attachment space and other advanced functionalities such as custom branding, Gantt and Timeline views, limited sync integrations among others will have to pay $20 per seat/month. This can be on the steeper side even for larger businesses with more people within their teams.

Ahmed A., a Biomedical Engineer & Data Scientist talks about Airtable’s pricing: “We chose Airtable over the other products because it offered the best combination of features and price, It has a simple, intuitive interface that allows us to quickly create and manage databases, build powerful automations, collaborate with team members, and much more, It also has great integrations with popular cloud storage solutions and third-party apps, as well as a variety of tools for managing data, Also the pricing was very reasonable, making it an affordable solution for teams of all sizes.”

Airtable vs ClickUp: Bottom Line

Choose ClickUp if:

• You are looking for a highly customizable project management platform
• You're looking for an all-in-one platform with productivity tools
• You need a project management solution with a library of easy to use pre-made templates

Choose Airtable if:

• You're looking for a no-code database management system
• You're building a custom application that is unique to you and your team
• You create and share relational databases