SmartSuite retired its free plan. According to SmartSuite's own guide, new sign-ups lost the free plan on 1 January 2026. Free workspaces that already existed were locked on 1 July 2026.
If you need a free SmartSuite replacement, Fibery is free for up to 10 users.
If you need a cheap paid one, Grist costs $8 per user per month at its yearly price.
SmartSuite is a work platform where teams build apps out of tables of records. A record is one row of data, such as one customer.
This list of alternatives to SmartSuite covers work and database tools. It does not cover audit or compliance software.
Quick picks
Free, up to 10 users: Fibery. Its free plan lists up to 10 users, 10 databases, and unlimited entities.
Cheapest paid database: Grist, at a yearly price of $8 a user a month.
10 or more users: NocoDB. Its Plus plan costs a flat $108 a month for unlimited users, on the yearly price.
Why teams look past SmartSuite
SmartSuite's own pages explain most of the pain. The free plan is gone. Paid plans need at least 3 users, so the lowest bill is $45 a month. The Team plan stops each Solution at 5,000 records.
A Solution is one set of tables for one job, such as a sales process, per SmartSuite's pricing page.
SmartSuite also says it now builds for mid-sized and large companies, with suites for audit, IT, security, and CRM (a tool for tracking customers and sales).
A Reddit thread in r/CRM shows a softer pain. The poster uses SmartSuite for work management and wants something simpler or easier to grow with. One reply asks what challenges the poster faces.
Does SmartSuite still have a free plan?
No. SmartSuite removed the free plan for new sign ups on 1 January 2026. Existing free workspaces expired and were locked on 1 July 2026, per SmartSuite's guide.
A workspace is the account area where your team keeps its data. A locked one blocks records, dashboards, apps, forms, and shared views. It also turns off the API, which is how other software reads and writes your data.
A trial is the only free way in now. SmartSuite's pricing page offers 14 days of the Professional plan with no credit card and no automatic charge.
The guide says admins can extend a trial to 28 days in total. Expired trials no longer turn into free plans. They block until you upgrade, extend, or delete the workspace.
One SmartSuite blog post, reviewed on 11 December 2025, still says SmartSuite has a forever free plan. Follow the help center guide and the pricing page instead.
What to do if your free workspace is locked
Upgrade to a paid plan to get access back. The guide says upgrading restores access right away.
Admins open Workspace Administration, then Plans & Billing, then Choose a Plan.
The guide gives three clocks. Admins could upgrade at any time in the 3 months after 1 July 2026. That window ended about 1 October 2026.
Data stays stored for 6 months from 1 July 2026, which is about 1 January 2027.
After that, the guide says there is no way to get it back. Data also stays for 6 months after a workspace is deleted.
The guide does not say what changes once the 3 months end. It lists billing@smartsuite.com as the contact, so write to them before you decide.
The guide offers export as a step before 1 July 2026.
After the lock, it says your data cannot be accessed unless you upgrade. In its words, continued usage requires a paid subscription.
If you only need time to export, the guide's own example is the Team plan with monthly billing.
At the 3 user minimum, that is $60 for one month. The guide does not say whether a workspace with fewer than 3 users must still pay for 3.
How much does SmartSuite cost for 3, 5, and 10 users?
On the Team plan, SmartSuite costs $45 a month for 3 users, $75 for 5, and $150 for 10 on its yearly price.
The yearly price is $15 per user, per SmartSuite's pricing page. Monthly billing is $20 a user, so 3 users cost $60.
The Professional plan costs $32 per user on the yearly price and needs at least 5 users.
That is $160 a month for 5 users and $320 for 10. A team of 3 that needs Professional still pays for 5.
The jump is $160 minus $45, or $115 more a month. That is about 3.6 times the Team bill.
SmartSuite bills users who can edit. Read-only users, commenters, and people who send forms are free.
SmartSuite's billing guide says invited people who never log in are not billed. Removing a user lowers the bill only at the next billing period.
Every price in this table is per user, per month, on the yearly price. The math is price times users. For example, $12 times 10 users is $120.
Plan | Yearly price per user | 3 users | 5 users | 10 users |
|---|---|---|---|---|
SmartSuite Team | $15 | $45 | $75 | $150 |
SmartSuite Professional | $32 | $160 (5 user minimum) | $160 | $320 |
ClickUp Unlimited | $7 | $21 | $35 | $70 |
Grist Pro | $8 | $24 | $40 | $80 |
monday.com Basic | $9 | $27 | $45 | $90 |
Baserow Premium | $10 | $30 | $50 | $100 |
Notion Plus | $10 | $30 | $50 | $100 |
Asana Starter | $10.99 | $32.97 | $54.95 | $109.90 |
NocoDB Plus | $12 | $36 | $60 | $108 flat for unlimited users |
Fibery Standard | $12 | $36 | $60 | $120 |
Teable Pro | $13 | $39 | $65 | $130 |
Airtable Team | $20 | $60 | $100 | $200 |
Pricing and limits verified on 6 October 2026 from each tool's own pricing page and help center.
SmartSuite limits: where its own pages disagree
SmartSuite's pricing page and help center give different automation limits.
An automation is a rule that runs on its own, such as an email sent when a record changes. An API call is one request from other software.
Team: the pricing page says 25,000 runs and API calls a month, and the help center limits guide says 5,000.
Professional: the pricing page says 100,000, and the help center says 50,000.
Enterprise: the pricing page says 500,000, and the help center says 250,000.
SmartSuite's help center says extra automation actions or API calls cost $15 per 1,000. With auto billing off, automations pause at the limit.
API calls slow to 2 per second until 125% of the limit, then stop.
SmartSuite's pricing page only says runs and calls are capped. The pages do not say which numbers are current.
Plan around the lower figure until SmartSuite support confirms.
Enterprise has the same problem. The help center's plans guide lists $50 per user a month with a 10-user minimum. The pricing page says custom pricing and no minimum. Ask sales for a quote.
10 SmartSuite alternatives, grouped by what you need
Database tools that work like SmartSuite
Airtable
Airtable is a database tool where teams build apps from tables. Its free plan allows 5 editors and 1,000 records per base, which is one Airtable database.
The team plan has a yearly price of $20 per user, compared with SmartSuite's $15.
It adds 50,000 records per base and 25,000 automation runs a month, per Airtable's pricing page. Our Airtable alternatives guide covers record limits in more depth.
Baserow
Baserow is a database tool that runs on Baserow's servers or on yours. It calls records rows.
The free plan allows 3,000 rows per workspace and 2 GB of storage.
Premium has a yearly price of $10 per user. It allows 50,000 rows and 100,000 automation credits a month, per Baserow's pricing page. That page also links to its project on GitHub.
NocoDB
NocoDB is a database tool you can use in its cloud or host yourself. The free plan allows 3 editors, 10 commenters, and 1,000 records.
Plus has a yearly price of $12 a user, with 50,000 records and 30,000 automation runs.
It also sells unlimited users for a flat $108 a month.
At 10 users, per user billing costs $120, so the flat price saves $12 a month, per NocoDB's pricing page.
Teable
Teable is a database tool with a cloud plan and a self host plan. The free plan allows 1,000 rows and is labeled for individuals.
Pro has a yearly price of $13 per user. It allows 250,000 rows and 25,000 automation runs, per Teable's pricing page.
Grist
Grist is a database tool that works like a spreadsheet. The free plan allows unlimited documents with up to 5,000 records each.
Pro has a yearly price of $8 per user and allows 100,000 records per document.
Business has a yearly price of $24 per user and needs at least 5 users, per Grist's pricing page.
Tools that mix databases and documents
Fibery
Fibery is a work tool that joins databases, documents, and automations. The free plan allows up to 10 users and 10 databases.
Standard has a yearly price of $12 per user and removes the database limit. Observers and guests are free, per Fibery's pricing page.
Notion
Notion is a workspace for documents and databases. Its free plan is labeled for individuals.
Plus has a yearly price of $10 per member, or $12 on monthly billing.
Business costs $20 per member on the yearly price and adds granular database permissions, per Notion's pricing page. A team of 3 pays $30 a month on Plus.
Task and project tools
ClickUp
ClickUp is a task and project tool. The free plan allows unlimited tasks and members but only 60 MB of storage.
Unlimited has a yearly price of $7 per user, or $10 on monthly billing. The Business plan adds 5,000 automations a month and costs $12, per ClickUp's pricing page.
monday.com
monday.com is a project tool built on boards. The free plan allows up to 2 users and 3 boards.
With the team size set to 10 users, Basic has a yearly price of $9 per user, or $12 on monthly billing.
Automations of 250 actions a month start on Standard, per monday.com's pricing page.
Asana
Asana is a task and project tool. Its Personal plan is free for 2 users. Starter has a yearly price of $10.99 per user, or $13.49 on monthly billing, and removes the user limit, per Asana's pricing page.
Free SmartSuite alternatives: what each free plan lets you keep
A free plan stops at a limit. Check that limit against your own data first.
Tool | Free plan limit |
|---|---|
Fibery | Up to 10 users, 10 databases, unlimited entities |
Grist | Unlimited documents, up to 5,000 records each |
Baserow | 3,000 rows per workspace, 2 GB storage, 2,000 automation credits a month |
Airtable | 5 editors, 1,000 records per base, 100 automation runs a month, 1 GB per base |
NocoDB | 3 editors, 10 commenters, 1,000 records, 100 automation runs, 1 GB |
Teable | 1,000 rows, 100 automation runs, 1 GB of attachments, labeled for individuals |
ClickUp | Unlimited tasks and members, 60 MB storage |
monday.com | Up to 2 users, 3 boards |
Asana | 2 users, unlimited tasks |
Notion | Labeled for individuals |
For data size on free plans, Grist allows 5,000 records in each document, with no cap on documents.
Baserow allows 3,000 rows per workspace. Airtable, NocoDB, and Teable each stop at 1,000.
Fibery lists unlimited entities, which are the items in a database.
For team size on free plans, a group of 3 to 5 fits on Airtable, Fibery, or ClickUp.
NocoDB's free plan stops at 3 editors. Baserow and Grist list no user limit on their free plans.
The free plans from monday.com and Asana stop at 2 users.
Which SmartSuite alternative fits your team?
You ran a free workspace for 3 to 5 people. Start with Fibery. Its free plan lists no record limit. Airtable works if your data stays under 1,000 records per base.
You have 3 or 4 users and a small data set. Grist Pro costs $24 a month for 3 users. Baserow Premium costs $30. SmartSuite Team costs $45.
You run many automations. SmartSuite lists 25,000 runs on Team on one page and 5,000 on another. NocoDB Plus lists 30,000 runs. Airtable Team and Teable Pro list 25,000.
Baserow Premium counts credits, not runs, and lists 100,000 a month.
You have 10 or more users. NocoDB Plus is a flat $108 a month for unlimited users. ClickUp Unlimited is $70 for 10 users if tasks matter more than tables.
You share work with clients or run an agency. SmartSuite does not bill read only users, commenters or people who send forms. Airtable sells Portals from $120 a month for 15 guests. ClickUp's Unlimited plan lists guests with permission control. Fibery's Standard plan has free observers and guests.
You used SmartSuite as a sales tracker. If tracking sales was the main job, a sales tool may fit better than a database. Our guides to Apollo.io alternatives and Leadfeeder alternatives cover sales tools.
You want tasks, not tables. Pick ClickUp, monday.com or Asana. Our best project management software guide compares more of them.
FAQ
Is Airtable better than SmartSuite?
It depends on which limit you hit. Airtable Team costs $20 per user, while SmartSuite Team costs $15.
Airtable allows 50,000 records per base, and SmartSuite Team allows 5,000 per Solution.
Airtable still has a free plan, with 5 editors and 1,000 records per base.
Is SmartSuite better than Asana?
They do different jobs, because SmartSuite builds apps from tables and Asana tracks tasks and projects.
Asana has a free plan for 2 users, and Starter costs $10.99 per user on the yearly price.
SmartSuite Team costs $15 a user with a 3 user minimum.
What is the cheapest SmartSuite alternative?
Among the 10 tools here, ClickUp Unlimited has the lowest yearly price, at $7 a user. Among database tools, Grist Pro is the lowest, at $8 a user.
Free plans cost $0, within the limits in the free plan table.
What is SmartSuite's minimum number of users?
Team needs at least 3 billable users and Professional needs at least 5, per SmartSuite's pricing page. A billable user is a person who can edit.
The help center plans guide lists 10 for Enterprise, but the pricing page lists no minimum.
Is it hard to switch from SmartSuite?
SmartSuite's guide tells admins to export records and attachments. It does not name the file formats.
Baserow's pricing page lists CSV, Excel, XML and JSON import. Export first, then check which file types your new tool accepts.
Does SmartSuite charge for viewers and commenters?
No. SmartSuite bills users with edit permission. Read only users, commenters and people who send forms are free, per its pricing page.
Invited people who never log in are not billed either, per its billing guide.
Is there a SmartSuite alternative you can host yourself?
Yes. Baserow, NocoDB, Teable and Grist each show a self host option on their pricing pages.
Baserow's pricing page also links to its project on GitHub.
Should I stay with SmartSuite or switch?
Stay if 3 paid users fit your budget and 5,000 records per Solution is enough.
Switch if you need a free plan, have fewer than 3 users, or need more records on a small budget.
Final thoughts
Count your users and your records first. Pick the free plan whose limits fit both. Pay only when a limit blocks you.
If your SmartSuite workspace is locked, write to SmartSuite billing before you pay for more users than you need.