SeaTable

What Is SeaTable?

Lena manages operations for a mid-sized logistics company in Hamburg. In 2021, her team was using Airtable to track shipments, manage vendor contacts, and run a weekly status report workflow. It worked well. Then the rebill arrived — her team of twelve was looking at over €2,000 per year, with limits on automations and a growing unease about where all that operational data actually lived. California, as it turned out. With data processing terms that referenced US law.

She found SeaTable while looking for a GDPR-compliant Airtable alternative. It was built in Mainz, Germany. The data could stay on German servers. The price was a fraction of what Airtable charged. She spent a weekend migrating the team's bases. The transition took longer than expected — mainly because some Airtable integrations did not have direct SeaTable equivalents — but by Monday, the team was running.

"I had to explain to my manager why we were switching," Lena said when recounting the process. "I showed her the invoice difference and the GDPR documentation. That was a two-minute conversation."

SeaTable GmbH, headquartered in Mainz and built by the team behind Seafile (the open-source file sync platform), launched SeaTable in 2020 with a clear thesis: Airtable's model — spreadsheet interface on top of a relational database — solves a genuine problem for operational teams, but the US-hosted, subscription-heavy implementation creates compliance friction for European businesses that have a legal obligation to handle data carefully.

SeaTable offers the same structural model: a no-code database with spreadsheet familiarity and genuine relational power. The differentiation is European hosting, self-hosting capability, and pricing that does not accelerate with team size in the way that US SaaS tools typically do.

Key Features

20+ Column Types

SeaTable's column type library covers the range that most operational databases require: text, number, date, checkbox, single/multiple select, long text with markdown support, links between tables (relational foreign keys in spreadsheet language), formula columns, lookup columns, and rollup columns for aggregating linked data.

Beyond the basics: file and image attachments, URL columns, email columns, geolocation, ratings, and formula columns that support a broad set of calculation functions. The column type coverage is comparable to Airtable's and in some cases more extensive — SeaTable includes a digital signature column type, for instance, which is relevant for logistics and contracts workflows where sign-off confirmation is needed inline.

Multiple Views

Every SeaTable table can be viewed in multiple ways: the default grid, kanban (grouped by a select field), gallery (image-forward card layout), calendar (date-field based), map (geolocation-based), and timeline (for project management use cases). Each view is saveable and shareable, with independent filter, sort, and grouping configurations. Personal views are visible only to the creating user; shared views are available to the whole base.

This view flexibility is the mechanism by which SeaTable replaces multiple separate tools. The same dataset that the operations team views in grid format for data entry can be viewed in calendar format for scheduling, kanban format for status tracking, and shared via a filtered gallery view with a client who only needs to see their own shipments.

No-Code App Builder

SeaTable includes a no-code app builder — called Universal App — that allows teams to create structured interfaces on top of their SeaTable bases without exposing the full database view. Apps can include query interfaces, form-based data entry screens, dashboards with statistics blocks, and filtered views tailored to specific roles.

This matters for teams that want to give non-technical colleagues or external partners access to specific data without the cognitive overhead of the full base interface. A procurement team can build an app that shows only their vendor records; a client can submit updates through a form that writes directly to the shared tracking base without ever seeing the grid.

Automations

SeaTable's automation system supports trigger-based workflows: when a record is created, when a field is updated, when a condition is met. Actions include sending email notifications, running API calls, creating or updating records in other tables, and (on higher tiers) AI-powered actions. Automation is available on the Plus plan and above.

The automation engine is not as powerful as dedicated workflow tools like n8n or Make, but it handles a large proportion of the internal notification and data update workflows that teams typically need without requiring external tools.

Self-Hosted Deployment

SeaTable Enterprise can be deployed on your own infrastructure via Docker Compose. The self-hosted version includes the full feature set — no capability holdback to push teams to the cloud. Licensing is annual and based on user count; the licence is a meaningful cost reduction compared to per-seat SaaS pricing for larger teams.

The self-hosted option is SeaTable's clearest differentiator against cloud-only competitors. It is not a feature for every team — running your own database platform requires infrastructure capability and maintenance commitment — but for organisations that have already invested in on-premise or private cloud infrastructure, it means billing data, operational records, and internal knowledge bases never leave controlled infrastructure.

Pricing

SeaTable Cloud pricing is transparent and published.

Free: Up to 25 users, 10,000 rows per base, 2 GB storage. Core grid, kanban, gallery, calendar, and form views. Real-time collaboration. This tier is genuine — for small teams or project-based use cases, it is often sufficient without upgrade pressure.

Plus: €7 per user per month (or annual equivalent). 50,000 rows per base, expanded storage, advanced views including timeline and map, automation access, and API access. For a team of ten, this is €70/month — significantly below comparable Airtable or Notion tiers for the same feature set.

Enterprise (Cloud): Custom pricing. Unlimited rows, SSO/LDAP integration, advanced admin controls, priority support with SLA. Targeted at larger organisations that need identity federation and enterprise governance features.

Enterprise (Self-Hosted): Annual licence pricing, custom-quoted based on user count. Full feature set deployed on your own infrastructure. Contact SeaTable for current licence pricing — the economics typically improve significantly for teams above 30-50 users compared to per-seat cloud pricing.

SeaTable does not offer a free trial on paid plans in the traditional sense — the free tier effectively serves this purpose, and the Plus plan requires a subscription commitment.

EU Compliance & Data Privacy

SeaTable GmbH is registered in Mainz, Germany, with the cloud service running on German servers. Germany maintains some of the most stringent data protection enforcement standards in the EU — the Bundesdatenschutzgesetz (BDSG) supplements GDPR with additional requirements, and the Datenschutzkonferenz (DSK) provides authoritative guidance that shapes how German-based services handle personal data.

For SeaTable cloud customers, data processing agreements (DPAs) are available — required under GDPR Article 28 for any controller-processor relationship. The DPA confirms that SeaTable processes customer data only on documented instructions and within EU jurisdiction.

For self-hosted customers, GDPR compliance is organisational rather than vendor-dependent — you are both controller and (if running internal infrastructure) effectively the processor. The data never leaves your own environment, making data transfer documentation straightforward for compliance purposes.

SeaTable does not transfer data to the US in its standard configuration. There is no parent company in a non-EU jurisdiction — SeaTable GmbH is bootstrapped and independently operated. This clean ownership structure means no Schrems II considerations, no CLOUD Act exposure, and no need to navigate Standard Contractual Clauses for the vendor relationship.

Who It's Best For

European operations, logistics, and process teams that have hit compliance friction with Airtable or Notion and need a structurally equivalent tool on EU infrastructure with clean GDPR documentation.

IT and legal teams at larger organisations that require vendor data processing agreements, EU data residency verification, and the option to self-host sensitive operational data.

Teams considering self-hosting that want the productivity benefits of a no-code database without long-term dependence on a US-headquartered SaaS vendor whose pricing, terms, or availability may change.

Budget-conscious teams comparing Airtable pricing — SeaTable's free tier and Plus plan represent meaningful savings at every team size, with no reduction in core feature availability for most use cases.

SeaTable is not the best choice for teams that require a large library of pre-built SaaS integrations or that rely heavily on Airtable's extension marketplace. Nor is it ideal for teams that need a polished mobile-first experience — the mobile apps are functional but not a priority in SeaTable's development roadmap.

The Verdict

SeaTable is the most credible European alternative to Airtable currently available. It matches or exceeds the core feature set — column types, views, automations, API access — at a lower price point and with a structural GDPR compliance posture that EU-headquartered businesses can document without complexity. The limitations are real: the integration ecosystem is smaller, the mobile experience is less polished, and the community is predominantly German-speaking. But for a European operations team making a considered choice about where their data lives and what they pay for it, SeaTable answers both questions better than any US-based competitor.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is SeaTable different from Airtable?

SeaTable and Airtable are structurally similar — both combine spreadsheet-style interfaces with relational database features. The key differences are: SeaTable is based in Germany and stores data on German servers (GDPR-native), offers a self-hosted option so you control your own data completely, and is significantly cheaper at every pricing tier. Airtable has a larger marketplace of integrations and extensions, a more polished mobile app, and a larger community. For European teams prioritising data residency and cost, SeaTable is the stronger choice.

Can I self-host SeaTable?

Yes. SeaTable offers a Docker-based self-hosted deployment that runs the full Enterprise feature set. You install it on your own servers — on-premise, in your own cloud VPC, or anywhere else. This gives you complete data control with no dependency on SeaTable's infrastructure. The self-hosted version requires an annual licence, priced based on user count.

Is SeaTable GDPR compliant?

Yes. SeaTable GmbH is headquartered in Mainz, Germany, and the cloud service stores all data on German servers. Data processing agreements are available for all cloud customers. The self-hosted option gives teams complete sovereignty — data never leaves their own infrastructure. SeaTable was built by a German team with EU data protection requirements in mind from day one.

What is the row limit on SeaTable's free plan?

SeaTable's free plan supports up to 10,000 rows per base and 2 GB of storage, with up to 25 collaborators. This compares favourably to Airtable's free plan, which caps at 1,000 records per base. For many small teams and projects, SeaTable's free tier is genuinely sufficient without requiring an upgrade.

Does SeaTable have an API?

Yes. SeaTable provides a documented REST API for programmatic access to your bases, tables, and rows. The API supports reading, writing, updating, and deleting records, as well as managing column structures. Webhooks are available for real-time event notifications. SeaTable also integrates with automation platforms including Zapier, Make (Integromat), and n8n for no-code workflow automation.