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Why switch to Softr Databases

Built to run operations at scale

Airtable performance can degrade as record counts, formulas, and linked data grow. Softr Databases are designed to manage data and power apps at scale—so systems stay fast and reliable as operations expand.

Scale without API limits

Softr Databases are native to the platform, so there are no external API rate limits throttling your app as your data and traffic grow. Record and storage limits scale with your plan.

Real business apps—not just data views

Airtable works well for internal data views. But when you need logins, user roles, granular permissions, workflows, and flexible design, Softr gives you everything you need to turn your data into custom business apps.

No per-seat pricing or hidden costs

Airtable charges per-seat pricing and has strict record limits, even on its high-tier plans. Softr offers generous user and record limits without per-seat costs—making it easy to share apps across teams and clients.

Smarter AI Agents

Database AI Agents can trigger on record creation, on specific field updates, and on custom conditions. This is a level of control that isn’t available with external sources.

Import 3rd party data

Airtable keeps you in its ecosystem. Softr connects to 100+ data sources—including Airtable, Notion, SQL, HubSpot, and Google Sheets—plus third-party tools like Slack, QuickBooks, and DocuSign, letting you combine multiple data sources in one app.

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Video

Moving your data into Softr Databases keeps your database and your app on one platform with no external API rate limits and native features like inline editing, Ask AI, and Database AI Agents. The built-in Import data tool makes the copy itself straightforward. It’s non-destructive and leaves your original Airtable base untouched, but a smooth migration still takes a little planning. This page walks you through the full move like what to prepare, how to import your Airtable base step by step, and how to reconnect your app to the new database without breaking anything.
Importing copies your data into a new Softr database. Your Airtable base is never modified or deleted, so you can migrate at your own pace and keep Airtable running until you’re confident everything works.

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Before you start

A few minutes of prep here saves a lot of rework later.
1

Work on copies, not your live setup

Duplicate the app you want to migrate (or plan to create a version snapshot before you switch anything.  See below). If you’d rather rehearse the whole thing first, test the import on a duplicate Airtable base with a small amount of data before doing it for real.
2

Take stock of computed and linked fields

Note where you rely on Lookups, Rollups, formulas, and linked records. Softr Databases supports all of these, but they’re the fields most worth verifying after the import. If you have many of them, grouping them into a dedicated Airtable view first makes them easy to spot-check afterward.
3

Know what needs a second look

Most fields (including linked records, attachments, and formulas) come across automatically. A handful of Airtable’s system and computed fields behave differently in Softr and are worth reviewing once imported. See What transfers, and what to double-check.
Migrating also future-proofs your app: because the data lives natively in Softr, you’re no longer dependent on a third-party API or subject to its rate limits and per-collaborator pricing.

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Lessons from a real migration

Base Flows, the Softr agency that moved Child’s Play Charity off Airtable, migrated 4,000+ records in three weeks. These are the lessons from that project, and most of them are decisions you make before you import anything.
  • Consolidate redundant tables first. Merging separate tables that hold the same entity into one is usually the single biggest fix for duplicate records.
  • Dedupe before the migration, not after. Match suspected duplicates against a unique identifier — a tax ID, a registration or account number — before anyone touches the new database. Names alone are misleading.
  • Fix field types on the way in. Numbers stored as text in Airtable will break rollups, sorting, and formulas once they’re live.
  • Freeze, don’t sync. A short data freeze with a manual catch-up list is simpler and safer than running a temporary Airtable-to-Softr sync.
  • If your app already exists, consider rebuilding rather than remapping. Building a new app on the new database and cutting over to it can be faster than remapping an existing app block by block, and it keeps the old app as a fallback until you’re ready to cancel Airtable. See Reconnect your app for the block-by-block route.

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Step-by-step: import your Airtable base

This creates a new Softr database populated with a copy of your Airtable data.
1

Open the database creator

In Softr Studio, go to Databases in the left sidebar and start a new database (or choose Database from the Home screen). The Create new database dialog opens.
Screenshot 2026 08 20 At 4 32 05 PMScreenshot 2026 08 20 At 4 32 05 PM

The Create new database dialog, with AI, Import data, Copy template, and Start blank options.

2

Choose Import data

Select Import data. Softr asks where your data is stored and offers CSV file, Airtable, and Google Sheets.
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Choosing a data source to import from: CSV file, Airtable, or Google Sheets.

3

Select Airtable

Choose Airtable and click Continue.
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Select Airtable and click Continue

4

Pick your Airtable account and base

Under Account, select an already-connected Airtable account, or choose Add another data source to connect one. Then, under Base, search for and select the base you want to import. The whole base will be imported.
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Selecting the Airtable account and the base to import.

Don’t see your base? Make sure the base is shared with the connected Airtable token. When connecting a new account, authorizing all current and future bases avoids having to reconnect later.
5

Start the import

Click Start import. Softr copies your tables, records, linked records, and attachments into a new Softr database. Larger bases take longer, so give it a moment to finish.
Since Softr must use Airtable’s API to import the records, please note that the speed and effectiveness of the import will depend upon your Airtable plan’s API allowances.
6

Review the imported database

Open the new database from Databases and check your tables. Confirm record counts look right, spot-check linked records and attachments, and review any formula, Lookup, or Rollup fields (see the next section).

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What transfers, and what to double-check

The import handles the vast majority of your data automatically. Use this as a post-import checklist for the fields worth a closer look.
  • Records and standard fields — text, numbers, dates, single/multi-select, checkboxes, and so on.
  • System fields — Airtable’s Created time, Last modified time and Autonumber.
  • Linked records — relationships between tables are preserved.
  • Attachments and files — copied into the Softr database.
  • Formulas — Softr Databases use Airtable-compatible formula syntax, so most formulas come across with little or no change. See the Formula glossary for supported functions.
  • System fields — Airtable’s Created by and Last modified by are computed by the source. Softr Databases has equivalent field types and Softr will attempt to retain the original system field values; confirm they read the way you expect and re-create any your app depends on. 
  • Rich text — long text with formatting comes in as Markdown.
  • Complex or unsupported formula functions — most formulas migrate cleanly, but double-check any that use functions tied to Airtable’s internal system info. Update those to their Softr equivalents where needed.
  • Lookups and Rollups — supported in Softr (Lookup & Rollup fields); verify they resolve against the right linked table after import.
Before you re-point a live app at the new database, read Reconnect your app, block by block — switching a block’s data source resets some settings, so you’ll want a rollback point in place first.

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Reconnect your app

Once your data is in Softr Databases, point your app’s blocks at it. The safest approach is to create a rollback point first using App History, then switch one block at a time, testing as you go.
1

Create a version snapshot for rollback

Before changing any data sources, save a restore point from App History. If a swap doesn’t go as planned, you can roll the whole app back in one step.
2

Open a block's data source

Select a block connected to Airtable and open the Source tab in the block’s settings panel. It shows the Account, Base, and Table the block reads from.
The Source tab of a block's settings panel, with the Account, Base and Table dropdowns filled in from Airtable

A block's Source tab, showing the Airtable account, base, and table it reads from.

3

Switch the account to Softr Databases

In the Account dropdown, change the source from your Airtable account to Softr Databases. Then choose the imported Database and the matching Table.
The open Account dropdown, listing Softr Databases above the connected Airtable account

Switching a block's Account from Airtable to Softr Databases, then selecting the database and table.

Because the import keeps your original field names, the block usually re-maps its fields with little manual work. Still, review the mapping — Softr can’t always match every field automatically.
4

Re-check the block's settings

After swapping the source, review anything that references specific fields:
  • Conditional filters and record filters on the block.
  • Search and inline filter settings.
  • Tag / label colors, if set to “as defined in data source.”
  • Action buttons — these stay connected, but their field references can reset, so open and confirm each one.
5

Test, then move to the next block

Preview the block, confirm it shows the right data and that create/edit actions still work, then repeat for the next block. Working block-by-block keeps any issue small and easy to trace.

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Update users and permissions

User-related settings reference the data source directly, so they need attention after the switch.

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User sync table

If you sync app users from a data source, re-point the user sync table to the corresponding Softr Databases table.
Toggle off “Send user notification email” while you set up or re-point the sync, so existing users aren’t emailed a new login prompt during the migration.
When Softr Databases is the source, the user table supports 2-way sync — changes flow in both directions. To keep users matched correctly, don’t edit a user’s email directly in the source table.

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User groups

Re-map the conditional logic on your user groups so the conditions point at the new fields. User groups may not fully sync until you publish the app, so publish before you judge whether they’re working.

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Global data restrictions

Global data restrictions are tied to a specific table in a specific data source, so they don’t carry over automatically. Re-create them from scratch against the new Softr Databases tables.

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Verify visibility and permissions

If you re-mapped your user groups correctly, your page and block visibility permissions should stay intact — but test them anyway. Sign in as a test user in each relevant group and confirm they see exactly what they should, and nothing they shouldn’t, before you consider the migration done.

Softr Databases overview

Store your application data natively in Softr.

Choosing a data source

Compare Softr Databases with Airtable and other sources.

Field types

Every field type available in Softr Databases.

App History

Restore your app to an earlier version.

Child's Play Charity case study

How Base Flows migrated 4,000+ records off Airtable in three weeks.