Airtable vs. SmartSuite: Which is the Better Database App?

[@wadecarpenter3670]

I was on Airtable and still maintain a few databases on a paid plan there, but I switched to SmartSuite over two years ago. Some of your comments in the video I don't think were well founded, as the created time and modified time s are available easily by a built-in formula which allows you to do things with the data that is returned. Also, your point about Airtable triggering when coming into a view are easily worked around with filters in your automation. I also have several large databases and have never had slowdowns that you suggest they may have. No, they don't have all of the plugins that Airtable has built over many years, but SmartSuite has been incredibly responsive and constantly listening to their users about building out what the users want. That's my two cents...

[@XRayAutomation]

We love this comment. Thank you for sharing your experience and perspective! Re: formulas - yes, new functions being added constantly Re: filters - that does work... but still consumes tasks/operations on Make/Zapier Re: Performance - just depends on whats in the table, formulas are computationally expensive, text and dropdowns are light. Re: Team -Yes, responsiveness of the team is definitely an aspect to consider, and SmartSuite is a fantastically responsive team. So glad to hear that you've had a good experience and manage a solid infrastructure there. Its a great tool, and clearly has all the bells and whistles you need. 👏

[@wadecarpenter3670]

@@XRayAutomation ​ - ok, I get your point about consuming a filter task, but unless I am mistaken there is no trigger for either "when a record enters a view" option for either Zapier or Make for Airtable or SmartSuite, so aren't you consuming another task anyway? Also, on the formulas for created/ modified time, that is not a new function - it has been there since the beginning. You point out that Airtable has that specialized field for that, but what about the other 14 or however many SmartSuite has that Airtable doesn't? Seems a bit petty when that one is so easy to create in SmartSuite.

[@XRayAutomation]

Airtable has the Optional parameter for "Record enters view" inside of their Zapier & Make integrations. SmartSuite doesn't. See Screenshots: - share.cleanshot.com/l9R2Yvkt (similar functions on XRay.tools) - share.cleanshot.com/0Wx52G40 (Airtable 'views' param) - share.cleanshot.com/fzTxhYtT (no SS 'views' param) Since Zapier and Make don't charge for filters, its really not as expensive of a difference now compared to how it was a few years ago. Re:Formulas - they are certainly comparable. Re: Fields; SmartSuite wins hands down. The IP Address field, Field validation for emails and URLs. Its far better than Airtable's for those unique field types. Especially the documents in SmartSuite. We really appreciate the feedback and call outs for SmartSuite here - we'll try to present a more balanced evaluation in future videos.

[@CarpenterCPAs]

@@XRayAutomation - there are always multiple ways to do things in no code. My workaround that has served me well is to filter in SmartSuite by setting up an automation directly in SmartSuite to see the change in the record by whatever filter I want and then kicking off a mailhook to start the workflow in Zapier in Make. Accomplishes the same thing without consuming a task that costs money - Smartsuite gives me 50,000 automations per month so that costs me nothing more.

[@akokkalis1]

Can you include in your comparison knack platform?

[@XRayAutomation]

We'll take a look at it!

[@jaywbus]

SS is nice but decided to stitch with Airtable. I had the table padding on SS. Airtable feels a bit snappier.

[@XRayAutomation]

Thanks for sharing!