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Airtable vs SharePoint: What are the differences?
Introduction
Airtable and SharePoint are both popular tools that are used for managing and organizing data in a collaborative environment. While they share some similarities, there are several key differences between the two platforms that set them apart.
User Interface: Airtable provides a user-friendly and intuitive interface that is highly customizable, allowing users to create their own views, forms, and templates. On the other hand, SharePoint offers a more complex user interface that requires some technical expertise to navigate and customize.
Collaboration Features: Airtable focuses on real-time collaboration, allowing multiple users to edit records simultaneously and providing features like commenting and activity feeds. SharePoint, on the other hand, offers more advanced collaboration features such as document sharing, version control, and workflow automation.
Integration Capabilities: Airtable offers a wide range of integrations with other popular tools and platforms, making it easier to connect and sync data with external systems. SharePoint also offers integration capabilities, but it is more focused on integrating with the Microsoft Office suite of applications.
Data Structure: Airtable uses a flexible and dynamic data structure, similar to a spreadsheet or database, where users can add, remove, and rearrange fields and records as needed. SharePoint, on the other hand, follows a more rigid hierarchical structure, where data is organized in lists, libraries, and folders.
Scalability: Airtable is best suited for smaller teams or projects, as its performance may start to decline with a large number of records or users. SharePoint, on the other hand, is designed to handle large-scale deployments and can be scaled up to support thousands of users and millions of documents.
Customization and Development: Airtable provides a limited set of customization options and does not offer advanced development capabilities. SharePoint, on the other hand, allows for extensive customization and development through the use of SharePoint Designer, Power Apps, and custom code.
In summary, Airtable and SharePoint differ in terms of user interface, collaboration features, integration capabilities, data structure, scalability, and customization options. Depending on the specific requirements of a project or organization, one platform may be more suitable than the other.
I'm trying to set up an ideally "no- code" way to have a backend of 3 different tables and be able to find a value in table #3 (contains businesses & cities) by first finding a record in table #1 (7,000+ zip codes) that corresponds to a city (table #2 has the unique cities), and then finding which businesses are located in these cities ( in this specific, original zipcode lookup). And return the business and a description via an API to a front-end results page, which happens to be a WordPress page - but doesn't need to be. I've tried Airtable's API, AirPress (a finicky WordPress plugin for Airtable's API), and I've looked at Sheetsu and a similar spreadsheet as backend and a simple API. I run into the issue where they work fine when you just need to query 1 table, but when you need to use the result from that query in another query to a different table. I'm back in SQL land - where sure it could be done with SQLite - needing to probably create an intersection table or a JOIN and build an API off of that. Is there a way to accomplish what I want without going back to SQL queries and some API?
You're right that there isn't a great way to join tables with Airtable's API. The closest you can get is to use a linked record field, which acts as a pointer to another record. You still end up with the problem you mentioned of having to run another query on the second table separately.
Your best bet is to stick with an actual SQL database. Using an ORM should make your life significantly easier so you don't actually have to write raw SQL. If you still want a graphical interface to your data, BaseDash lets you view and edit SQL databases just like Airtable. A full API with join support is coming soon, so that could be your perfect solution to this problem.
Let me introduce you to integromat. It connects these services without you having to work any code. And it even has a decent database built inside it.
It makes is an easy process to develop multistep workflows with multiple services and it’s free tier is surprisingly functional.
Pros of Airtable
- Powerful and easy to use19
- Robust and dynamic8
- Quick UI Layer6
- Practical built in views4
- Robust API documentation3
- Great flexibility0
Pros of Microsoft SharePoint
- Great online support3
- Secure1
- Perfect version control1
- Stable Platform1
- Seamless intergration with MS Office1
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Cons of Airtable
Cons of Microsoft SharePoint
- Rigid, hard to add external applicaions2
- User interface. Steep learning curve, old-fashioned1
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