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Airtable vs Breathe HR

Airtable logo

Airtable

All industries

Create apps that perfectly fit your team's needs

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Breathe HR logo

Breathe HR

HR & Recruiting

Simple HR software for SMEs

From
£13/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Airtable has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Airtable hitting a plan limit blocks adding records or attachments entirely until you upgrade, rather than degrading gracefully; Breathe HR pricing is banded by headcount, starting at £24 per month for 1 to 10 people, £44 per month for 11 to 20 and £99 per month for 21 to 50
  • They diverge on capability: Airtable covers Spreadsheet-database hybrid, Breathe HR covers Employee Database.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Airtable and Breathe HR actually diverge.

Attributes where Airtable and Breathe HR differ
AttributeAirtableBreathe HR
Starting priceFree£13/month
Pricing modelUnknownsubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, DesktopWeb, Ios, Android
CategoryAll industriesHR & Recruiting

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), founded (2012).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Airtable

  • Spreadsheet-database hybrid
  • Custom views
  • Automation
  • Forms
  • Integrations
  • Mobile apps
  • Real-time collaboration
  • API access

Only in Breathe HR

  • Employee Database
  • Absence Management
  • Document Storage
  • HR Reporting
  • Performance Management
  • Training
  • Google Workspace
  • Microsoft 365

Both cover

  • Slack

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Airtable

  • Structured team databases with grid, calendar and kanban viewsnot Breathe HR
  • Lightweight internal tools built on shared recordsnot Breathe HR
  • Automations between Airtable and other systemsnot Breathe HR
  • Sharing read-only views with collaborators, who are not chargednot Breathe HR
  • Collecting submissions through forms without paying for a seatnot Breathe HR

Breathe HR

  • Holiday, absence and sickness tracking for a UK small businessnot Airtable
  • Storing HR documents, contracts and e-signaturesnot Airtable
  • Performance reviews and onboarding workflows for small teamsnot Airtable

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Airtable

  • Hitting a plan limit blocks adding records or attachments entirely until you upgrade, rather than degrading gracefully
  • Team is $20 per user per month and Business $45, both at the annual rate
  • Automation and API usage are capped by plan
  • Enterprise Scale pricing is not published

Breathe HR

  • Pricing is banded by headcount, starting at £24 per month for 1 to 10 people, £44 per month for 11 to 20 and £99 per month for 21 to 50
  • Plans are capped by band up to 151 to 200 people, so it is not sold to organisations above that range on the published ladder
  • The free trial is 14 days
  • Health and safety, e-learning and other modules are sold as add-ons on top of the core HR plan
  • Pricing is quoted in pounds and the product is marketed to UK SMEs

Pricing, plan by plan

Airtable

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Unlimited bases
    • 1,000 records per base
    • Up to 5 editors
  • Team$20/month per editor annual
    • 50,000 records per base
    • Unlimited automations
    • API access
  • Business$45/month per editor annual
    • 125,000 records per base
    • Advanced permissions
    • Priority support
  • Enterprise Scale$null/custom
    • 500,000+ records per base
    • Custom SLA
    • Dedicated support

Breathe HR

£13/month
  • Core$13/month
    • Employee Database
    • Absence Management
    • Documents
  • People Management$18/month
    • All Core features
    • Performance
    • Goals

Which should you pick?

Choose Airtable if

  • You need spreadsheet-database hybrid.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, Desktop.
  • You also want custom views.
Airtable review

Choose Breathe HR if

  • You need employee database.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want absence management.
Breathe HR review

Questions people ask

Is Airtable or Breathe HR better?
Neither clearly leads. Airtable starts at Free and Breathe HR at £13/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Airtable or Breathe HR?
Airtable has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Airtable and £13/month for Breathe HR.
Does Airtable or Breathe HR run on more platforms?
Airtable runs on Web, iOS, Android, Desktop. Breathe HR runs on Web, Ios, Android.
Can I use Airtable for free?
Yes. Airtable has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Breathe HR starts at £13/month.
What is Airtable best used for?
Airtable is most often used for structured team databases with grid, calendar and kanban views, lightweight internal tools built on shared records, automations between airtable and other systems, sharing read-only views with collaborators, who are not charged. Of those, structured team databases with grid, calendar and kanban views and lightweight internal tools built on shared records are not what Breathe HR is typically brought in for.
What can Airtable do that Breathe HR cannot?
Airtable covers Spreadsheet-database hybrid, Custom views, Automation, Forms. Breathe HR covers Employee Database, Absence Management, Document Storage, HR Reporting. Both handle Slack.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Airtable: Is there a free Airtable plan and what does it include?

Yes, Airtable's Free plan is indefinite with unlimited bases, 1,000 records per base, up to 5 editors, 1 GB storage per base, 100 automation runs per month, and core features like Interface Designer and mobile apps.

Source
Airtable: How does Airtable handle permissions and viewers?

Airtable charges per editor only. Read-only viewers, form submitters, and people accessing share links are free on every plan, making it cost-effective for large viewing audiences.

Source
Airtable: What are Airtable's record limits?

Free plan has 1,000 records per base, Team plan has 50,000, Business plan has 125,000, and Enterprise Scale has 500,000+ records. Performance degrades past 100,000 records in a single base.

Source
Airtable: Can Airtable integrate with other tools like Slack?

Yes, Airtable integrates with Slack via Zapier or Make.com, allowing automation like sending Slack messages when records are created or updated. Airtable also has a native API for direct integrations.

Source
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Related pages

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