# Airtable for flexible databases, Restoration Scope for sites on a map

> Airtable is a flexible no-code database with linked records, interfaces and automations. Its built-in map is a pins-only extension. Restoration Scope keeps restoration sites and boundaries on a map. Where each fits.

Airtable is a database that feels like a spreadsheet: linked records, interfaces, forms and automations that teams build themselves. Maps are its weak spot: a Map extension drops pins from an address or coordinates text field, using your own Google Maps API key. Restoration Scope is built around sites and boundaries on a map, with a field app that works offline.

## Airtable and Restoration Scope at a glance

| | Airtable | Restoration Scope |
| --- | --- | --- |
| What it is | A no-code database: tables with linked records, plus interfaces, forms and automations that teams build themselves. | A restoration data platform: a configured field app, linked records, maps and portals. |
| Cost | A free plan for small bases. Team is $20 and Business $45 per paid seat a month, billed yearly. Nonprofits can apply for 50% off Team, on monthly billing. | Priced per project after a scoping call. No public price list. |
| Linked records | Its strength: link sites to visits, species and partners, with lookups and rollups, in a structure you design and maintain. | Sites, plots, nurseries, species and visits are linked records, configured for your project with our team. |
| Maps | No built-in map view or interface layout. The Map extension, on paid plans, plots records as pins from an address or coordinates text field and needs your own Google Maps API key. Its help page describes pins, not boundaries. | Sites, boundaries and records on one project map, with geospatial data layers. |
| Boundaries and GIS files | No field type for shapes. Boundaries are kept as text or attached KML, GeoJSON or shapefiles; checking that they are valid takes custom scripts. | Points, lines and polygons drawn or walked on the project map, saved to their site. Shapefile, GeoJSON, KML and KMZ files come in and attach to their sites. |
| Field capture | Forms and mobile apps need a connection: Airtable says offline access is not supported. | The Field App works offline: points, lines, polygons and photos. |
| Photos | Attachments on the record, with 20 GB per base on Team. The Map extension plots records, not where each photo was taken. | Attached to the record, with place and time. |
| Funder reporting | Interfaces and shared views that you design. Interface layouts include list, gallery, kanban, calendar and timeline; none is a map. A map takes a custom interface element, built with its extensions SDK. | Donor portals built from the same records the team keeps. |

## Where Restoration Scope differs, on screen

- **Sites and boundaries, not pins.** Records sit beside their boundaries on the map, with acquisition status, area and eligibility.
- **Boundaries walked offline.** A boundary drawn or walked in the Field App, with or without signal, is saved to the site it belongs to, with its area.

Checked against Airtable's own pages on October 18, 2026: [Pricing](https://www.airtable.com/pricing), [Plans and limits](https://support.airtable.com/docs/airtable-plans), [Nonprofit plans](https://support.airtable.com/docs/nonprofit-and-educational-plans-faqs), [Map extension](https://support.airtable.com/articles/2018190363-map-extension), [Interface Designer](https://support.airtable.com/articles/8078126534-Getting-started-with-Airtable-Interface-Designer), [Offline access](https://support.airtable.com/docs/offline-access).

## Where each fits

### Pick Airtable when

- You want to design your own database and change it yourself, week by week.
- The work is mostly lists, pipelines and approvals, not places on a map.
- Your team is always online; nobody captures data in the field without signal.

### Pick Restoration Scope when

- You develop carbon projects and every parcel, plot and planting needs its boundary on the map, with the evidence a verifier asks for beside it.
- Field teams work offline and capture points, lines and polygons.
- You would rather configure the system with a team than build and maintain a base yourself.
- Funders should see sites on a map, not a shared table.

## Questions teams ask

### Is Restoration Scope an Airtable alternative?

For nature restoration and carbon projects whose records live on a map, yes. For general databases a team designs itself, such as grant pipelines or contact lists, Airtable is the more flexible tool.

### Does Airtable have a map view?

Not as a built-in view or interface layout. The Map extension, on paid plans, plots records as pins from an address or coordinates text field. It needs your own Google Maps API key, with billing turned on in Google Cloud. Its help page describes pins, not boundaries.

### How many records can an Airtable base hold?

Up to 1,000 per base on the free plan, 50,000 on Team and 125,000 on Business (self-serve). Tree-level monitoring over several seasons can reach these limits.

### Can I move my Airtable base into Restoration Scope?

Yes. Airtable exports each table as a CSV file, and those come into Restoration Scope as spreadsheet imports. We map the fields and links to your project during setup.

Restoration Scope publishes this comparison. Something out of date? Write to info@restorationscope.com.

More: [All comparisons](https://restorationscope.com/compare), [Field data capture apps compared](https://restorationscope.com/blog/field-data-capture-apps), [Where restoration records live, from word of mouth to custom software](https://restorationscope.com/blog/where-restoration-records-live).