Baserow vs Datasette (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Baserow and Datasette share a 2.6 GPA, both have a free plan, and Datasette has no paid plan to buy, against $10 a month for each person for Baserow.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Baserow grades higher on features, ease of use and platforms. Datasette grades higher on value for money and the free plan.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Baserow
Open-source no-code database and application builder
Datasette
Open-source tool for exploring and publishing data as a website
Which one is for you
Pick Baserow if
- Fits if you want an Airtable-style database on your own server, with no row or storage limits
- Works for organisations with data residency rules who can run it in-house
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you're staying free on the cloud, where new rows are blocked after 7 days over the 3,000 cap
- Skip it if you want a phone app for looking things up, as it's web only
- Pricey if you need role-based permissions, audit logs or single sign-on, which start at $18 a user a month
- Too light for free users who want Kanban, Calendar or Timeline views or row comments, which need Premium
- Watch out: the cloud API allows 10 concurrent requests, and the Advanced trial's length isn't published
Pick Datasette if
- Fits if you're comfortable with a command line and have data in SQLite
- Works for people who want to publish a dataset as a page with an API
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want to edit cells and write formulas, since it is not a spreadsheet
- Not for you if you don't want to install Python or run anything yourself
- Watch out: the 1.0 release is still alpha, with the 0.65 series alongside it
- Tight if you want vendor support, as none is listed, only office hours and the community
How we grade them
| 2.6GPABaserowGood | 2.6GPADatasetteGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CPremium is $10 a user a month billed yearly, $12 monthly, and the middle price in this category is $9.99, so it's the ordinary rate. That buys 50,000 rows, all the views and the AI features. Role-based permissions, audit logs and single sign-on wait for Advanced at $18. | AFree under the Apache 2.0 licence to install and run on your own machine, with no paid plan listed. |
| Free plan and trial | BHosted free is capped at 3,000 rows and 2 GB per workspace, with 2,000 automation credits and only Grid, Form and Gallery views. Self-hosting is free with no row, storage or API limits, if you run the server yourself. | AFree outright. The listing shows no cap and no paid tier. |
| Features | BIt covers the whole no-code database job: linked tables with over 20 field types, Grid, Form, Gallery, Kanban, Calendar, Timeline and Survey views, an Application Builder for portals and internal tools, automations with branches and loops, an assistant that drafts a database from a description, and an open API. | CBrowsing, faceted search, SQL queries, a JSON API and plugins. It is a data browser and publisher, with no formulas or cell editing, so it is a different job from a spreadsheet. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating on record, and the work here is building the thing itself: tables, fields, views and permissions before anybody can use it. Kuma drafts a first database from a description, and self-hosting adds Docker, Helm, AWS or Cloudron on top. | DYou install it with pip, Homebrew or Docker and need Python 3.11 or higher. No store rating on record. |
| Platforms and integrations | BA browser and nothing else, with no desktop or phone apps listed, so an A is out. What it does have is connections: Zapier, n8n, Make, Slack, Jira, GitHub and HubSpot, an open API with a published OpenAPI spec, and webhooks. The cloud API allows 10 concurrent requests. | CRun by you on your own computer or server, with deploy guides for Cloud Run, Heroku and Vercel. No apps, and the listing names no connectors beyond SQLite. |
| Best for | an Airtable-style database you can host yourself | publishing a SQLite database as a searchable website |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Baserow and Datasette. How we grade
Price against what you get
Baserow starts at $10 a month for each person and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Datasette has no paid plan and scores 1.7.
Baserow scores higher, and starts $10 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other spreadsheet and database tools on the chart, 5 score higher than Baserow for less, and none scores higher than Datasette for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Baserow also covers workflow automation, app builder and no-code.
At a glance
| Baserow | Datasette | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | $10 per user / month, billed yearly | Free |
| Free plan | Free plan on Baserow Cloud: 3,000 rows and 2 GB of storage per workspace, 2,000 automation credits a month and 3 view types. The self-hosted version has no row or storage limits. | None |
| Free trial | Free trial of the Advanced plan; the pricing page does not state its length | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Baserow B.V. | Datasette open source project |
| Price read from | baserow.io | datasette.io |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Baserow
- Cloud plans cap rows per workspace at 3,000 on Free, 50,000 on Premium and 250,000 on Advanced; after 7 days over the cap, new rows are blocked.
- The Free plan is limited to Grid, Form and Gallery views and CSV export; Kanban, Calendar and Timeline views and row comments need Premium.
- Role-based permissions, audit logs and single sign-on start at the Advanced plan, $18 per user / month billed yearly.
- Baserow Cloud limits the API to 10 concurrent requests; the self-hosted version has no rate limit.
Datasette
- It is installed and run by you (for example with pip, Homebrew or Docker), and requires Python 3.11 or higher.
- Datasette is built on SQLite; it is a data browser and publisher, not a spreadsheet editor with formulas.
- The 1.0 release is still in alpha, with the stable 0.65 series released alongside it.
- No hosted service or support plan is listed on the site; help comes through office hours, the newsletter and the community.
Key features
Baserow
- Relational databases and views
- Tables link to one another and offer more than 20 field types. Grid, Form and Gallery views are free; Kanban, Calendar, Timeline and Survey views need a paid plan.
- Application Builder
- A drag-and-drop builder for internal tools, client portals and admin panels that sit on Baserow data, published on a Baserow subdomain or a custom domain.
- Automations
- No-code workflows with triggers, branches, conditions and loops, native HTTP, email and webhook actions, and third-party connectors. Runs draw on a monthly credit allowance.
- Kuma and AI fields
- Kuma, the built-in assistant, sets up databases and applications from a description, and the AI field creates, classifies and enriches data. Teams can bring their own LLM.
- Self-hosting
- Baserow can be installed with Docker, Helm, AWS or Cloudron. The self-hosted version has no limits on rows, storage or API requests, and paid features are licensed per user.
- API and data sync
- An open API with a published OpenAPI specification, plus webhooks. Data sync covers PostgreSQL tables and iCal feeds; Jira, GitLab, GitHub and HubSpot sync is part of the Advanced plan.
Datasette
- Exploratory data analysis
- Data from CSVs, JSON and database connections can be imported, and Datasette shows patterns in it for sharing with colleagues.
- Instant publishing
- The datasette publish command deploys a database to hosting providers such as Google Cloud Run, Heroku or Vercel.
- JSON API for any data
- A JSON API is created for data in minutes, which the site suggests using to prototype without building a custom backend.
- Faceted full-text search
- SQLite's built-in full-text search provides faceted search over any correctly configured collection of records.
- Plugins and tools
- The site describes an ecosystem of 44 tools and 154 plugins, including an AI assistant plugin called Datasette Agent.
- SQL queries and apps
- Permitted users can run write queries and save stored queries, and Datasette Apps hosts custom HTML applications inside an instance.
Plans
Baserow
Free$0
3,000 rows and 2 GB of storage per workspace, 2,000 automation credits, 500 external app users, and Grid, Form and Gallery views.
Premium$10
per user / month, billed yearly ($12 billed monthly)
50,000 rows and 20 GB per workspace, 100,000 automation credits, all view types and AI features.
Advanced$18
per user / month, billed yearly ($22 billed monthly)
250,000 rows and 100 GB per workspace, 500,000 automation credits, role-based permissions and audit logs.
EnterpriseCustom
1,000,000 rows and 1,000 GB per workspace, unlimited external app users, implementation support and payment by invoice.
Datasette
Open source$0
Free to install and run yourself under the Apache 2.0 license, with no paid plan listed on the site.
Ways to pay less
Baserow
- Annual discount
Lower rates with yearly billing
Premium is $10 per user a month billed yearly against $12 billed monthly, and Advanced is $18 against $22, a saving of roughly 17% to 18%.
- Nonprofit
Discounts for non-profits
Baserow's pricing FAQ says it offers discounts for non-profits. The amount is not published and is arranged through the sales team.
- Education
Discounts for education
The same FAQ says discounts are available for education. The amount is not published and is arranged through the sales team.
Datasette
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Baserow or Datasette?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Datasette is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $10 a month for each person for Baserow. Baserow starts at $10 per user / month, billed yearly, and Datasette is free.
Which has a free plan, Baserow or Datasette?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Baserow and Datasette have a free plan.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.