Baserow
Focalboard
| Feature | Baserow | Focalboard |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $5/mo | Free only |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.3 / 5 | 4 / 5 |
| Best For | developers, small-teams, self-hosters, privacy-conscious-orgs | self-hosters, mattermost-users, small-teams, open-source-advocates |
| Founded | 2019 | 2021 |
| Database Tables | ✓ | ✗ |
| Forms | ✓ | ✗ |
| Api | ✓ | ✗ |
| Views | ✓ | ✗ |
| Automations | ✓ | ✗ |
| Self Hosting | ✓ | ✓ |
| Kanban Boards | ✗ | ✓ |
| Table View | ✗ | ✓ |
| Calendar View | ✗ | ✓ |
| Templates | ✗ | ✓ |
| Filters | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Baserow Pros
- Open-source and self-hostable
- Good Airtable alternative
- Developer-friendly API
- Affordable pricing
✗ Baserow Cons
- Fewer automations than Airtable
- Smaller template library
- Growing feature set
✓ Focalboard Pros
- Completely free and open-source
- Self-hostable for data control
- Multiple view types (board, table, gallery)
- Integrates with Mattermost
✗ Focalboard Cons
- Limited to basic project tracking
- No built-in time tracking
- Smaller community than alternatives
The Verdict
Baserow is built for developers and small teams, with a focus on database-tables and forms. Focalboard targets self hosters and mattermost users and leads with kanban-boards and table-view.
Focalboard uses custom enterprise pricing, while Baserow starts at $5/mo — a tangible advantage for teams with a fixed budget.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
Both tools are a solid fit for small teams, self hosters — in those cases, the decision often comes down to workflow style and how your team prefers to organize work.
Bottom line: Baserow has a slight overall edge — but if completely free and open-source matters most to you, Focalboard may still be the right call.