Choose a NocoDB alternative by where you want your records to live. Some tools put a spreadsheet-style view over a database you already own, while others store the data inside their own app, which is quicker to start with but means an export and a rebuild if you ever move again.
People tend to leave NocoDB for one of three reasons: they want a friendlier spreadsheet feel, a tool that sits straight on top of Postgres, or an app layer for business processes. NocoDB's own headline is about building databases as spreadsheets with no coding required, so whichever reason is yours, you're swapping one way of looking at your data for another.
The eight tools below are listed in no particular order. Nothing is ranked or linked. Before any of them, though, there's one question that matters more than features.
Where your data lives decides how hard leaving is
Mathesar sits on top of a PostgreSQL database you already own, and Directus works over any database. With either of them, your records stay in your database. The tool is a view and a set of controls, and if you stop using it tomorrow, your data is exactly where it was.
The other six hold the data in their own store or app layer. That's often easier on day one, because there's nothing to set up underneath. The trade comes later: leaving means exporting your data and rebuilding your views, forms and automations somewhere else.
Neither approach is wrong. A small team with no database skills may be far happier letting the tool hold everything. A team with an existing Postgres database and a developer to look after it may never want its records anywhere else. What matters is choosing on purpose, and testing an export before you're committed.
Advice before you pick a side
If you already run a database and someone looks after it, keep it and put a friendlier view on top. You'll avoid a migration now and another one later. If you don't, and your data mostly lives in spreadsheets today, a tool that holds the data is the simpler start, as long as you're comfortable with its export. Either way, move one table first, live with it for a week, then bring the rest.
My list of the best no-code databases covers more tools that hold your data for you, and my page on Airtable alternatives helps if your team mainly wants something that feels like a spreadsheet.
Spreadsheet feel or an app layer on top
Closest to a spreadsheet. Grist is a relational spreadsheet-database that can turn spreadsheets into secure applications. Teable calls itself an AI spreadsheet and starts you from templates. SeaTable describes itself as being as flexible as a spreadsheet with the power of a database.
More of an app layer. Baserow adds dashboards, workflow automation and an AI builder to its open-source database. NocoBase is aimed at building and evolving whole business systems, and contrasts itself with vibe coding. Tadabase pairs its online database with a web app builder for portals.
The eight, with who they help
Baserow
Best for: Teams who want an open-source no-code database with dashboards, workflow automation and an AI builder that creates what you describe.
Directus
Best for: Developers and content teams wanting a self-hostable backend and headless CMS over any database, with REST and GraphQL APIs.
Grist
Best for: Anyone turning spreadsheets into secure applications on a relational spreadsheet-database.
Mathesar
Best for: Non-technical colleagues who need a spreadsheet-like view of a PostgreSQL database you already run, from an open-source tool.
NocoBase
Best for: Builders of business systems who want AI agents working on a ready foundation rather than code produced from scratch, per the vendor.
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SeaTable
Best for: Groups that want spreadsheet flexibility with database power, and individual apps built on top of their tables.
Tadabase
Best for: Businesses happy for a no-code online database to hold their records, with a web app builder on top for their processes.
Teable
Best for: Ops leads who want an AI spreadsheet for business workflows and custom apps, starting from templates and bringing data together in one place.
Where each tool keeps your records
| Tool | Your data lives | Good at |
|---|---|---|
| Baserow | In the tool's own store | Databases plus dashboards and automation |
| Directus | In any database you run | Keeping records in a database you run |
| Grist | In the tool's own store | Spreadsheets that become secure apps |
| Mathesar | In your own PostgreSQL database | A friendly face on PostgreSQL |
| NocoBase | In the tool's own store | Business systems built with AI |
| SeaTable | In the tool's own store | Apps on top of your tables |
| Tadabase | In the tool's own store | Letting the tool hold your records |
| Teable | In the tool's own store | Starting from templates |
Test the export before the import
Most people test how data gets into a new tool. Fewer test how it gets out, and that's the half that decides whether you're stuck.
- Import one real table, with its links to other tables, into your shortlisted tool.
- Build the views and forms your team uses most on that table.
- Export it again in the formats the tool offers.
- Open the export somewhere else and check that links, attachments and field types survived.
- Note what you'd have to rebuild by hand: views, forms, permissions and automations.
If the export comes back clean, you can commit with confidence. If it doesn't, you've learned that before your whole business sits inside it.
Do you make a spreadsheet-database tool? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place on this list.
Want your tool on this list? Featured spots and reviews here are paid partnerships. Here's how to partner with me.
Frequently asked questions
Can I keep my existing database?
Yes, with tools that sit on top of a database you run, such as one built for PostgreSQL or a backend that works over any database. Your records stay where they are.
What's a relational spreadsheet?
It looks like a spreadsheet but links records across tables the way a database does, so a customer row can connect to their orders without copying data around.
Is open source the same as self-hosted?
Not always. Open source means the code is available. Many open-source tools also offer a hosted version, so check which one you'll be using.
Will my views and forms move across?
Usually not automatically. Data can often be exported and imported, but views, forms and automations tend to need rebuilding.
Do I need to know SQL to use these tools?
No. They're built so non-technical people can work with the data. Some tools over your own database may need a developer to set up the connection.
Which kind is easiest to leave later?
Tools that sit over your own database, because your records never moved. With tools that hold the data, test an export before you commit.
