The test: 500 rows, two apps
Phillips's workbook held 500 tasks with IDs, assignees, descriptions, due dates and statuses. He imported the same file into both apps. He then added a separate Projects database to each, with descriptions, owners, start dates, target completion dates and statuses. He linked four tasks to projects to test relationships. That brought his Airtable base to 504 records.
The two apps took the file differently:
- Airtable accepted the Excel workbook directly.
- Notion needed the workbook saved as a CSV first.
Notion's help documentation backs this up. It says to export an Excel spreadsheet as a .csv file and import it through Settings → Import → CSV. CSV imports create a new Notion database, with rows becoming items and columns becoming properties. A new CSV import can't create relations, rollups or formulas, so you rebuild those afterward. Another quirk to know: imports add rows rather than updating existing ones, so re-importing can create duplicates.
Airtable's documentation also sets a limit that Phillips didn't mention. Its native import feature caps Excel files at 5MB. That's unlikely to trouble a 500-row tracker, but a workbook full of embedded images or years of history could hit it. Airtable also requires Owner or Creator permission to import into an existing base.
Where they tied
Once imported, both apps recognized the data types and showed statuses as colored labels. Both let Phillips build a Kanban board grouped by status, and dragging a card updated the underlying record. Both also let him build forms from existing properties, and clicking a linked task opened a record view.
On Airtable's side, the documentation lists kanban views as available on every plan. Cards can be stacked by a single select, user or linked record field. That's a useful detail if your Excel status column is plain text. Airtable should convert it to a single select, but check the field type after import.
Where Airtable pulled ahead (on the free tier)
Dashboards
In Airtable, Phillips built a "Project Overview" interface using the dashboard layout. It produced a record count and a status chart, and he added a project list. He did all of it on the Free plan.
In Notion, he picked the Dashboard view on his Projects database. When he tried to add widgets or edit the layout, he was told he needed a Business plan. Notion's documentation agrees: Dashboard views are available on Business and Enterprise plans.
Two caveats apply:
- This is about Notion's dedicated Dashboard view. Notion Free can still show data in other ways, such as chart views and inline database views arranged in columns.
- Building an Airtable interface on Free doesn't mean you can share it freely. Phillips notes that sharing interfaces with people who aren't base collaborators is restricted to paid plans.
Automation
Phillips set up an Airtable automation that finds TASK-0005 and writes "Processed" into an "Automation Check" field. The preview showed the expected update. Airtable's documentation adds some useful fine print:
- Airtable counts a run each time a trigger is invoked, so failed and successful attempts both use up the monthly allowance.
- On Free, the "Run a script" action is unavailable, and "Send email" can only email base collaborators.
- Existing records don't trigger a new automation. A record has to change state to fire it. Keep that in mind if you expect an automation to sweep through your 500 imported rows.
Third-party pricing guides in the search results agree on the headline numbers. Free allows 100 automation runs a month and up to 75 unique automations per base. The cap is per workspace, so a busy base could burn through it quickly.
In Notion, Phillips hit an upgrade prompt when he opened database automations. Buttons were available on Free. So the accurate framing is that trigger-based database automations were paywalled in his test. Notion Free still has some manual automation through buttons, although some button actions are paid-only.
The catch: Airtable's 1,000-record ceiling
Airtable's generosity comes with a hard limit. Free allows 1,000 records per base, and the count is per base, not per table. Tasks, projects and any other tables all share that pool.
Phillips's 504 records leave 496 spare. That's real headroom, but not much if your tracker adds tasks daily. One of the pricing guides found in search offers a pragmatic workaround: archive finished records outside Airtable to stay under 1,000 per base.
Notion's Free plan has no equivalent fixed per-workspace record cap for an individual user. Notion's pricing page says individuals on a Free workspace can add unlimited pages and blocks. Free workspaces with multiple members do have a block limit. The two apps count data differently, so treat this as a rough contrast and not like-for-like arithmetic.
The AI comparison
Phillips gave each app's AI assistant the same task: find overdue, incomplete tasks, identify at-risk projects and suggest priorities. Both flagged the same nine overdue tasks. Airtable replied in 33 seconds and Notion in 1 minute 44 seconds. Notion gave somewhat more detailed recommendations.
This is one run each, with no published prompt, model details or repeat trials. Don't read the timing gap as a benchmark.
The more practical difference was visibility. Airtable showed Phillips's credits, with 490 of 500 left after his prompt. He couldn't find a usage counter in Notion's AI trial. Notion's current documentation describes an AI usage page, but it's limited to owners on Business and Enterprise plans. That would explain what he saw, though the documentation may also have changed since his test.
Airtable lists 500 AI credits per editor each month on Free. The cost of any single prompt varies, so 10 credits for that request isn't a universal price.
Which should an Excel user pick?
| Your situation | Likely better fit |
|---|---|
| Structured tracker, under 1,000 records, want a dashboard and automations on a free plan | Airtable |
| Large task list, mostly solo, want it alongside notes and docs | Notion |
| Need to share dashboards with non-collaborators | Check paid tiers in either app |
| Need to stay in Excel and Microsoft 365 | Keep Excel, and consider Copilot or Power BI |
This is my analysis, not Phillips's table. His own conclusion is that Airtable suited this particular project, and that Notion is the better pick if you want projects to sit beside notes and documents.
Practical tips if you try the same move
- Clean the sheet first. Use one header row, no merged cells and consistent date formats. Notion imports dates in MM/DD/YYYY format and may import mixed-type columns as text.
- For Notion, save the workbook as CSV. For Airtable, upload the .xlsx directly if it's under 5MB.
- Check field types after import, especially statuses and dates.
- In Airtable, count your records across all tables before you build. You have 1,000 in total.
- Test automations on a single record. Failed runs count against the 100 monthly runs.
Moving off Excel isn't free of trade-offs. You lose formulas, pivot tables and Excel's offline strengths, and Airtable's 1,000-record cap is real. But for turning a flat task list into linked projects, boards and a small dashboard, Phillips's test shows the Free tiers differ more than you might expect. Airtable's free tier gave him the dashboard and automation, while Notion's gave him more room for records.