If you’re in the market for a platform that streamlines task management, time tracking, and work alerts, you must have come across the “Airtable vs Monday” debate.
Both of these fall under the umbrella of project management. But that doesn’t mean they’re exactly the same. Because of different features and integrations, one may be more suitable for you than the other.
But which one? That’s what I’ll try to answer in this comparison of Monday vs Airtable. So you can make the right choice. Let’s begin.
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What is Monday?
Monday is a work management system that organizes your projects, processes, and tasks into a single dashboard.
With Monday, you can optimize resources, get a high-level view of your projects, and handle requests and approvals.
Besides that, the platform offers integrations with other tools you use, such as Google Drive, Zapier, Slack, and Microsoft Teams.
Plus, when considering Monday vs Airtable, it’s worth noting that if you want more than a work management platform, Monday also comes with a sales CRM and a project management tool for developers.
What is Airtable?
Airtable is mainly a workflow management platform with automation features to streamline routine tasks. And it lets you build automated workflows without knowing how to code.
With Airtable, you create a custom workflow by building a database, connecting tables, and visualizing your data in many available views. In other words, it’s a highly customizable and flexible platform that fits several use cases.
But due to this level of versatility, it can be a bit hard for newbies to master. You need a basic knowledge of database principles to make the most of this system.
Once you get the hang of it, you can use it to handle projects across multiple business departments, such as operations, sales, marketing, and HR.
It also offers integration with a number of 3rd party apps. These include Slack, Zendesk, Gmail, Basecamp, Google Sheets, Jira, and Salesforce. This flexibility and range of integrations can be a deciding factor based on your specific needs when it comes to the whole Monday vs Airtable conversation.
Monday key features
The key features of Monday.com to enhance project management include customizable workflows, automation, timelines, and collaboration tools. Let’s explore further.
Process management
Since Monday is mainly a project management system, it allows for robust process management.
With Monday, you can structure how your work appears in different views, including custom views. You can display project timelines as a Calendar view, Kanban board, Timeline view, and Gantt chart.
If you need a better sense of the current tasks of your team, Monday shows each team member’s activity log. So you always know who’s working on what.
If QA/QC is part of your process, Monday has tools for that as well. You can build custom forms for faster data handling and collection, and for automation of approvals.
Goal management
As you know, you and your team don’t just need to meet their project goals. They also need to hit the mark on business objectives.
The good news is you can input those in Monday. Monday can then help prepare a concrete strategy to accomplish those goals. Using OKR (objectives and key results) (OKR) tracking, the platform measures performance automatically in real time.
And Portfolio Management provides you with a bird’s eye view of your progress across all the departments and projects.
You also get the Resource Planning feature, which lets you allocate resources, create schedules, and handle your team’s workload.
Task management
In Monday.com, task management and automation are designed to streamline your workflow and boost productivity. You can easily create and assign tasks, set due dates, and track progress with customizable boards.
You also save time by using automation features to handle repetitive tasks. You can set up automations with just a few clicks—like automatically moving tasks when they’re completed, sending reminders before deadlines, or notifying team members when a status changes.
Airtable key features
Airtable’s core strength lies in its ability to let you build custom business apps. But it has some other highly useful features as well. Take a look at these features before you form an opinion on the Airtable vs Monday comparison.
Extensions
Airtable extensions allow you to expand the platform’s functionality, tailoring it to fit your specific needs. With extensions, you can integrate additional tools, automate workflows, and visualize your data in new ways.
Whether you need to create custom reports, generate charts, or connect to third-party services like Slack, Gmail, or Google Calendar, Airtable extensions make it possible.
You can easily add extensions directly from Airtable’s interface, with a variety of options available in the Airtable Marketplace.
These extensions range from data visualization tools, like pivot tables and Gantt charts, to automation tools that streamline repetitive tasks.
By using extensions, you can enhance Airtable’s capabilities, transforming it from a simple database into a powerful, customized tool that aligns perfectly with your workflow.
AI workflows
With AI integrated directly into Airtable, you can automate complex tasks, generate insights, and streamline data management like never before.
You can use AI to automatically categorize and tag records, summarize large datasets, or even generate content, saving you valuable time.
These AI features are designed to enhance your decision-making process by offering predictive analytics and personalized recommendations based on your data.
Whether you’re managing a marketing campaign, tracking inventory, or organizing a project, Airtable’s AI capabilities can help you spot trends, identify opportunities, and make more informed decisions.
Asset library
Airtable’s asset library feature allows you to organize, manage, and access all your digital assets in one centralized location.
Whether you’re dealing with images, videos, documents, or other media files, Airtable’s asset library helps you keep everything neatly organized and easily accessible.
You can categorize and tag assets, making it simple to find exactly what you need when you need it. The ability to attach metadata to each asset ensures that you have all the relevant information at your fingertips, such as usage rights, creation dates, and project associations.
Additionally, Airtable’s asset library supports collaboration, allowing your team to share and update files in real-time. This eliminates the hassle of searching through multiple storage solutions or email threads to find the latest version of an asset.
Monday vs Airtable feature comparison
As I mentioned before, both platforms serve different audiences. So in this section, I’ll walk you through some key differences between Monday vs Airtable.
Mobile usability
On the surface, both Airtable and Monday support mobile devices. They offer responsive and user-friendly mobile apps for iOS and Android.
But on a closer look, Airtable is somewhat awkward on the small screen. This is no surprise, considering the amount of data it’s showing.
After all, it’s a database-style application. Also, you don’t get all the features in mobile Airtable that you get in desktop Airtable.
In contrast, when comparing Airtable vs Monday, Monday’s mobile app is more useful and robust for team members using it while they’re on the move.
Affordability
Pricing is an important concern when you’re comparing Monday vs Airtable. Monday is more affordable since it costs about half of what Airtable does.
Even if you’re okay with Airtable’s per-user pricing, it can add up quickly as you expand your team. So if you’re on a budget, Monday is the more economical choice.
Asset management
One of the most noticeable differences between Monday and Airtable is the digital asset management system. Airable’s asset management is ahead of Monday.
You can save files and documents on Monday, but it doesn’t have the features of a robust DAM system.
Airtable’s Asset Library, on the other hand, lets you find, arrange, and manage your assets with ease. This distinction can be crucial when comparing Airtable vs Monday for businesses that need effective asset management.
Versatility
Monday is suitable for almost any kind of business or department. Its features are customizable enough to be used in different areas, such as HR, sales, and marketing.
The same thing can be said for Airtable, but it’s more on the technical side. Some of its features can get you into trouble if you’re not a developer, or if you don’t have an understanding of databases.
Ease of use
If you are familiar with how most project management systems work on a basic level, and you don’t want to spend any more time learning a new tool from scratch, you’ll like Monday.
That’s not to say Airtable is hard to use. It’s just different. So you’ll need to play around and spend some time with it to understand how it works.
Plus, when comparing Airtable vs Monday, Airtable offers more advanced capabilities, if you need that sort of thing.
Automation
In Airtable, automation allows you to streamline workflows by automating tasks like sending emails, updating records, and creating notifications based on triggers you set.
You can easily set up these automations with a simple, user-friendly interface that doesn’t require coding knowledge. This is ideal if you want to manage data efficiently without manual intervention.
It’s important to note in this Monday vs Airtable debate that Monday also provides robust automation capabilities, focusing on project management tasks.
You can automate routine processes like moving tasks through different stages, notifying team members of status changes, and integrating with other tools you use.
Monday’s automation recipes are customizable and designed to keep your team aligned and productive, reducing the need for manual updates.
If your focus is on data management, Airtable’s automation might be more useful. However, for project tracking and team coordination, Monday’s automation can significantly boost your efficiency.
Conclusion: Airtable vs. Monday
Choosing between Airtable and Monday ultimately comes down to your specific needs. If you prioritize data management, customization, and a flexible interface, Airtable is likely the better fit for you.
It’s perfect for organizing complex information and offers powerful automation to streamline your workflows.
On the other hand, if your focus is on project management, task tracking, and team collaboration, Monday stands out with its visual approach and robust project management tools.
Both platforms offer unique strengths, so consider what aspects of your workflow are most important to you. By aligning your choice with your goals, you can ensure that you’re using the best tool to enhance your productivity and collaboration.
Did I miss anything in this Monday vs Airtable comparison? Did you try these tools? Do you have any questions or comments? Share your thoughts below in the comments section.
