- A plain yes, with three conditions
- Condition one: 5 requests per second, on every plan
- Condition two: the monthly call cap
- Condition three: permissions and tokens
- How paging works
- What else the API can do
- Making a Free plan last the month
- How Notion and ActiveCampaign compare
- My verdict for small teams
- Frequently asked questions
Yes, Airtable has an API. Its Web API is available on all plan types, with a rate limit of 5 requests per second per base. Listing records returns pages of up to 100. Monthly call limits run from 1000 per workspace on Free to unlimited on Business and Enterprise, as of Nov 2026.
A plain yes, with three conditions
Airtable's Web API is available on every plan type, with varying call limitations. You can read and write records, read the base schema and even create a new base. Whether it fits your project comes down to three things: how fast you need to go, how many calls you'll make in a month, and who's holding the permissions.
Condition one: 5 requests per second, on every plan
The Web API rate limit is 5 requests per second per base. Airtable says it's the same across every tier and that increased limits aren't currently available. Upgrading won't buy you more speed. Anyone batching big jobs can read about the Airtable API rate limit in full. If you're syncing several bases, each has its own 5 per second, which helps if you can spread the work.
Condition two: the monthly call cap
| Plan (as of Nov 2026) | API calls per workspace per month |
|---|---|
| Free | 1000 |
| Team | 100,000 |
| Business and Enterprise | Unlimited, still subject to rate limits |
The Free cap is the one to plan around. 1000 calls sounds like a lot until you set up a sync that checks for changes every few minutes. That's how a hobby integration runs out of calls well before the month ends.
Condition three: permissions and tokens
The old API key method has been phased out in favour of personal access tokens and OAuth. If you're following an older tutorial that asks for an API key, it's out of date.
Workspace Owner or base Creator permissions are generally what you need. Some information needs Enterprise Scale or Business admin permissions. For enterprise users, GET /v0/meta/bases may return an empty list if Block API access to organization-owned bases and workspaces is switched on. If your script finds no bases at all, check that setting with your admin before you debug your code.
How paging works
Listing records returns pages of up to 100. A table with 501 records takes 6 requests. Each response includes an offset you pass back to get the next page, and when there's no offset in the response, you've reached the last page. You can set pageSize lower than 100, but not higher.
One detail that trips people up: returned records leave out fields with empty values, such as an empty string, an empty array or false. Your code needs to treat a missing field as empty, not as an error.
What else the API can do
- Read the base schema, so your code can see tables and fields without hard-coding them.
- Create a base with POST /v0/meta/bases, on all plans, using a personal access token or an OAuth token.
- Work with records across tables, subject to the same rate limit per base.
If you're deciding whether to poll the API or have changes pushed to you, my explainer on APIs versus webhooks covers the difference.
Making a Free plan last the month
Airtable's Help Center is clear that the 5 per second limit can't be raised on any plan, and Free workspaces are also capped at 1000 calls a month. The workaround is to make every call count. Use the largest page size, which is 100, cache results instead of re-reading unchanged tables, and sync on a sensible schedule rather than every minute. If you still run out, that's a sign the workload has outgrown the Free plan.
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How Notion and ActiveCampaign compare
Notion's API enforces a per-connection limit of 600 requests per minute on Business and Enterprise and 180 per minute on all other plans. ActiveCampaign's API has a rate limit of 5 requests per second per account, so it's in the same range as Airtable but counted per account rather than per base.
My verdict for small teams
Airtable's API is a solid choice for internal tools, simple syncs and reporting, as long as you design for 5 requests per second and pages of 100. Use a personal access token, handle missing fields, and watch your monthly calls closely on Free. If you're using Airtable to run campaigns, my guide to an Airtable marketing strategy shows where the data can earn its keep.
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Frequently asked questions
Does Airtable have an API?
Yes, the Web API, on all plan types.
What is the rate limit?
5 requests per second per base, the same on every plan.
Is there a monthly call cap?
Yes, as of Nov 2026, on Free (1000) and Team (100,000). Business and Enterprise are unlimited.
How many records come back per request?
Up to 100, with an offset for the next page.
Do I use an API key?
No. API keys have been phased out in favour of personal access tokens and OAuth.
