7 Reasons Why Airtable is Better than Excel

Pre-Built Templates

Airtable's pre-built templates are a game changer when it comes to creating efficient workflows. Unlike Excel, Airtable offers a wide range of templates that are specifically designed for different industries and use cases, including project management, event planning, customer relationship management, and more. 

These templates are fully customizable, so users can adapt them to fit their unique workflows seamlessly.

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With Airtable's templates, users can easily kickstart their projects and focus on their core tasks without worrying about starting from scratch. Ultimately, Airtable's templates are a significant advantage for users looking to streamline their workflows.

Third-Party Integrations

Both Airtable and Excel have the ability to integrate with other apps and services, with Airtable offering a few built-in integrations and Excel providing add-ins for integrating workbooks with various online services and databases.

‍Third-party integration tools can also be used to integrate both platforms with other apps, including each other. 

Airtable allows for data export to Google Sheets or BigQuery, while Excel is commonly used as a data destination, automating exports from sources such as Jira, Trello, and Shopify, among others, without coding. 

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Nonetheless, due to its versatility in creating workflows, Airtable is better suited for collaborating on email sequences. Its automations also offer more practicality, as they can be set up without any coding using different triggers and cross-platform automated actions such as sending Slack messages or Gmail emails.

File Shareability

When you're working as a team, sharing files is essential. And although both Airtable and Excel let you attach documents, there are certain differences you should know.

With Airtable, you can attach documents to existing fields, which creates a dedicated space for your attachments that makes it easy for others to find what they're looking for. Airtable also supports all types of documents, even generating a thumbnail for certain file types like Word and Excel. You can also preview documents in full screen and set permissions for specific users.

Excel, on the other hand, allows you to attach documents to columns and cells, so they become an integral part of the spreadsheet. But when it comes to shareability, Airtable comes out on top since you can easily drag and drop files from one field to another. 

Overall, Airtable's file-sharing capabilities are more versatile and user-friendly.

Mobile App Functionality

When it comes to using Airtable and Excel on mobile devices, both apps are functional, but viewing spreadsheets on a smartphone can often be a challenge. While Excel's app allows you to perform almost any task you can on a desktop, spreadsheets aren't optimized for a small screen.

Airtable's mobile app, though less functional than Excel, is easier to work with. It's built for creating small apps that connect to databases, so managing tasks like editorial calendars or to-do lists is straightforward.

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You can do everything on the app that you would on a desktop without the inconvenience of dealing with a cramped screen. 

Overall, the Airtable mobile app is more intuitive to use on a mobile device.

Advantages of Airtable over Excel

Both Airtable and Excel are valuable spreadsheet software tools with their own unique strengths and capabilities. While Airtable is a hybrid of a database and spreadsheet, it still fits into the category of spreadsheet software.

However, there are many reasons why Airtable is better than Excel when it comes to data management. From its ease of use and intuitive interface to its powerful collaboration features and customizable templates, Airtable offers a level of flexibility that Excel simply can't match. 

Whether you're managing a small project or an extensive database, Airtable's unique blend of spreadsheet functionality and database capabilities makes it the superior choice. While Excel is a reliable and widely used tool, it's clear that Airtable's innovative features and user-friendly interface are why Airtable is better than Excel for modern data management needs.

If you ever need help setting up Airtable for your business, our team of Airtable consultants is always available to assist you. Contact us for a free consultation call and discover how we can help you scale your business with Airtable.