switchpoint

Database & no-code · Migration guide

Moving from Airtable to Smartsuite

Reviewed by Switchpoint Editors ·

Why teams switch

The honest reasons

What's wrong with Airtable

  • Per-seat pricing scales fast
  • Record limits on free tier

What Smartsuite does better

  • Strong views and permissions
  • Built-in PM

Switching cost

What it actually takes

Per-base CSV export is fine; rebuilding automations, interface designer pages, and synced views is the work. Budget 2-3 days per non-trivial base. Attachments are the worst part — Airtable hosts them and re-uploading 10k files is slow.

Step by step

A safe cutover plan

  1. 1

    Audit

    Inventory every workspace, project, or asset in Airtable you actually use. Most teams discover 30-40% is dormant.

  2. 2

    Export

    Run Airtable's official export. Note exactly which fields, relations, or attachments lose fidelity — those are your manual rebuild.

  3. 3

    Rebuild structure in Smartsuite

    Set up Smartsuite skeleton (workspaces, teams, permissions) before importing. Importing into an empty workspace creates a mess.

  4. 4

    Import cleanest layer first

    Bring in the data that maps 1:1. Defer custom fields, automations, and integrations.

  5. 5

    Parallel run for 1-2 weeks

    Keep Airtable read-only. Anything you find missing in Smartsuite, fix during this window.

  6. 6

    Cut over integrations

    Switch every webhook, Zap, link, and bookmark. This is the longest part — budget for it.

  7. 7

    Archive, don't delete

    Keep Airtable archived for 90 days. You will need it.

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