Stackby

A spreadsheet-database hybrid with built-in API connectors and AI-generated columns, priced noticeably below Airtable for teams that don't need Airtable's full ecosystem.

Records & databases Apps

Checked 25 Sep 2026

Open stackby.com

What you'd use it for

Building a small team database with live API connectors to outside tools, at roughly half what Airtable charges per seat.

Build a spreadsheet-style database with linked records, views, and forms, no code required
Pull data in through built-in API connectors, from 2 on the free plan up to 15-20 on paid tiers, without a separate Zapier subscription
Add an AI column that summarises, classifies, or drafts text from other columns in the same row, using your own OpenAI, Anthropic, or Gemini key
Trigger workflow automations on record create, record update, or form submission
Import an existing Excel or Google Sheets file straight into a new stack

The verdict

Stackby is a credible Airtable substitute for a team that wants a spreadsheet-database with real API connectors and automation, at roughly half the per-seat price once the free tier runs out. The catch is that Stackby's power-up library and its useful count of API connectors are gated to the Business tier and above, so the headline saving mostly holds only once you're already paying for the more expensive plan. User reviews also repeatedly flag glitchy formulas and unreliable automations, a reliability gap Airtable doesn't carry as often. It suits a price-sensitive team building its own bases in-house rather than one handing a base to outside collaborators.

What it costs

Tier	Price	For	Includes
Free	$0/month	One person or a very small team trying it out.	5 editors plus 50 read-only guests, 20 stacks, 1,500 rows per stack, 2GB of attachments per stack, and 100 internal automation runs.
Economy	$9/user/month billed monthly, $4.20/user/month billed annually	A small team past the free tier's row and stack limits.	Unlimited read-only guests, 25 stacks, 7,000 rows per stack, 6GB of attachments per stack, and 1,000 automation runs.
Business	$18/user/month billed monthly, $8.30/user/month billed annually	A growing team that needs all of Stackby's power-ups.	Unlimited guests, 50 stacks, 50,000 rows per stack, 20GB of attachments per stack, 25,000 automation runs, and all 25-plus Stackby power-ups.
Pro (Business Plus)	$35/user/month billed monthly, $12.50/user/month billed annually	Larger teams needing priority support and admin controls.	100 stacks, 100,000 rows per stack, 50GB of attachments per stack, 100,000 automation runs, an enterprise admin panel, and priority support.
Enterprise	Custom pricing	Organisations needing SAML-based single sign-on and the highest limits.	Unlimited stacks, 250,000 rows per stack, 1TB of attachments per stack, 250,000 automation runs, and SAML SSO.

Read from Stackby's own pricing page on 25 Sep 2026. Vendors change prices without notice.

What you need to start

A free Stackby account, email or Google sign-in, no credit card
Your own API key from OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google Gemini to use AI-generated columns
A Business-tier subscription or higher to get more than 2 API connectors or the full power-up library

Minutes to a working stack from a template; twenty to thirty minutes for a simple stack built from scratch with data imported; a multi-table setup with linked records and automations runs to a few hours across a couple of sessions.

Your first run Starting from a template gets you a working, editable app in under five minutes; building a simple stack from scratch with your own data imported takes closer to twenty to thirty minutes.

Where it breaks

Web app with a spreadsheet-style grid interface and pre-built API connectors to external data sources.

First entry in this reference. There is no previous check to compare it against.

When not to use it

Teams that need a mature integration marketplace, ready-made templates, or a consultant ecosystem to draw on, and teams handing a base to clients who already expect Airtable's interface. Also not for anyone who needs rock-solid automations, since user reviews repeatedly describe formulas and automations breaking or duplicating records.

Stackby is one of the direct answers to Airtable’s pricing — the same spreadsheet-meets-database interface, with built-in connectors to external APIs and AI-generated columns, at roughly half the per-seat cost once you get past the free tier.

The annual discount is unusually steep across every tier — Economy drops from $9 to $4.20 a user, Business from $18 to $8.30 — which rewards committing early rather than testing month to month. The free tier’s 1,500 rows per stack and 20 stacks are enough to build a couple of real, small databases before hitting a wall.

What actually separates the tiers

Row limits per stack scale hard: 1,500 on Free, 7,000 on Economy, 50,000 on Business, 100,000 on Pro. The power-ups — Stackby’s term for its 25-plus built-in integrations and extensions — don’t fully unlock until Business, which is the tier most teams doing real automation work will actually need rather than Economy.

Where it fits against Airtable

Stackby’s honest weakness is ecosystem: fewer third-party integrations, a smaller community of templates and consultants, less name recognition when handing a base to a client. Its honest strength is price — for a team that just needs a solid spreadsheet-database with automation and doesn’t need Airtable’s marketplace, Stackby does the job at a fraction of the cost.

Alternatives

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Airtable

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Baserow

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NocoDB

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