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Airtable vs Smartsheet: Strategic Comparison

Direct Answer

Smartsheet is bigger on every disclosed financial measure: $958.3 million in fiscal 2024 revenue (year ended January 31, 2024) versus Airtable's roughly $480 million in annual recurring revenue as of June 2026, and about 3,300 employees versus Airtable's 700. Both are now privately owned following recent buyouts: Blackstone and Vista Equity Partners paid about $8.4 billion for Smartsheet in a deal that closed January 22, 2025, while Bending Spoons paid $1.285 billion in enterprise value for Airtable in a deal that closed September 4, 2026.

Smartsheet and Airtable both changed hands within the past two years, but at wildly different prices: Blackstone and Vista Equity Partners paid about $8.4 billion to take Smartsheet private in a deal that closed January 22, 2025, while Bending Spoons paid $1.285 billion for Airtable in a deal that closed September 4, 2026, a roughly 6.5-times gap between two companies that compete for the same work-management budget. Smartsheet, founded in 2005 in Bellevue, Washington, by Onyx Software veteran Brent Frei, reported $958.3 million in revenue for fiscal 2024 (ended January 31, 2024) and employed about 3,300 people; Rajeev Singh, a Concur co-founder, has been CEO since October 6, 2025. Airtable, founded in 2012 in San Francisco by Howie Liu, Andrew Ofstad, and Emmett Nicholas, reported approximately $480 million in annual recurring revenue as of June 2026 and employed about 700 people; it has not named a standalone CEO since the Bending Spoons deal closed, with Liu having served as co-founder and CEO through the sale. Smartsheet leans on a spreadsheet-grid model built for enterprise project governance, while Airtable is built around linked relational records and AI-assisted app creation.

Editorial research by Swet Parvadiya. Figures keep each company's fiscal year; amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Sources are listed below.

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Key Differences at a Glance

FieldAirtableSmartsheet
Latest annual revenueN/A$958.3M (FY2024)
Founded20122005
Employees7003,300
Market CapN/A$8.4B
HeadquartersUnited StatesUnited States
Revenue / EmployeeN/A$290k / employee
Valuation MultipleN/A8.8x P/S

Strategic Positioning

Business model and competitive context from the cited profiles

Airtable Strategic Vector

Airtable's history shows a progression from collaborative database tools to enterprise app building and AI-assisted workflows. Its 2026 sale transferred ownership to Bending Spoons after two rounds of workforce reductions and a renewed focus on enterprise customers.

Smartsheet Strategic Vector

FY2024 Revenue Baseline

Under CEO Rajeev Singh, Smartsheet is focusing on enterprise AI: the November 2025 ENGAGE launch added AI agents and data features to the platform.

Productivity: $290k / employee
Comparative Divergence: Smartsheet and Airtable have competed directly for years; Smartsheet's own investor materials name Airtable among its main rivals alongside Monday.com and Asana. Both went through ownership changes within about 20 months of each other: Smartsheet's $8.4 billion Blackstone-Vista buyout closed in January 2025, followed by a CEO change to Rajeev Singh in October 2025 and a rebuilt C-suite through 2026, while Airtable's $1.285 billion sale to Bending Spoons closed in September 2026 after two rounds of layoffs and a pivot toward AI-native app building. Smartsheet answered with 'Intelligent Work Management,' unveiled at its ENGAGE conference in November 2025 with Smart Hub and Smart Assist AI features and a newly named chief AI officer in 2026; Airtable countered with its 2024 Cobuilder generator and a 2025 acquisition of AI research startup DeepSky, hiring former OpenAI leader David Azose as CTO.

Airtable vs Smartsheet Market Share

Airtable market share
Airtable's current about page says 500,000 companies use its platform and that it is used by 90% of the Fortune 100. These adoption figures do not establish a measured market-share percentage.

Quick Stats Comparison

MetricAirtableSmartsheet
RevenueN/A$958.3M (FY2024)
Founded20122005
HeadquartersSan Francisco, California, United StatesBellevue, Washington, USA
Market CapN/A$8.4B
Employees7003,300
Revenue / EmployeeN/A$290k / employee
Valuation MultipleN/A8.8x P/S

Airtable Revenue vs Smartsheet Revenue — Year by Year

YearAirtableSmartsheetHigher reported revenue
2024N/A$958.3MOnly one figure available
2023N/A$766.9MOnly one figure available
2022N/A$550.8MOnly one figure available
2021N/A$385.5MOnly one figure available
2020N/A$270.9MOnly one figure available

Business Model Breakdown

Overview: Airtable vs Smartsheet

This in-depth comparison examines Airtable and Smartsheet across revenue, market value, business model, competitive positioning, and long-term growth strategy. Whether you are researching Airtable on its own, evaluating Smartsheet, or weighing the two companies side by side, the breakdown below highlights where each company leads and where the gap between Airtable and Smartsheet is widest.

On the headline numbers, annual revenue is N/A for Airtable and $958.3M (FY2024) for Smartsheet, while their respective market capitalizations stand at N/A and $8.4B. Both Airtable and Smartsheet are headquartered in United States. Their local markets and applicable rules may still differ.

Airtable: Airtable lets teams store connected records, view them in different layouts, create interfaces, and automate work. The company describes its platform as a way for people closest to a business process to build the systems they need. Its current offering also includes AI-assisted application building and agents. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

Smartsheet: Smartsheet builds work management software that looks like a spreadsheet but behaves like a shared database, with Gantt, card, calendar and dashboard views, automated workflows and portfolio reporting. It is used by large enterprises and US government agencies for project and program tracking. Since its January 2025 take-private by Blackstone and Vista, the company has been repositioning itself around what it calls Intelligent Work Management, adding generative and agentic AI features announced at ENGAGE 2025. The company is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington.

Business Models: How Airtable and Smartsheet Make Money

Airtable and Smartsheet pursue distinct approaches to generating revenue, and understanding how each company operates is the foundation of any fair comparison between Airtable and Smartsheet.

Airtable business model: Airtable sells cloud software subscriptions. Its plans provide different collaboration, administration, automation, app-building, and AI capabilities, while a free plan supports initial use. Airtable said in December 2022 that enterprise customers represented the majority of revenue. Detailed segment revenue and profit figures are not publicly disclosed.

Smartsheet business model: Smartsheet sells software subscriptions. Customers pay per user on tiered plans (Pro, Business, Enterprise) and can add premium capabilities such as Control Center, Dynamic View, Data Shuttle, Bridge, Resource Management and Brandfolder digital asset management. Subscriptions made up about 95% of revenue in its last public quarter (Q3 fiscal 2025: $273.7 million of $286.9 million), with the rest from professional services such as implementation and consulting. Growth follows a land-and-expand pattern: a team adopts Smartsheet, usage spreads across departments, and the account converts to an enterprise agreement.

Competitive Advantage: Airtable vs Smartsheet

The durability of a company's moat often decides long-term winners. Here is how the competitive advantages of Airtable stack up against those of Smartsheet.

Airtable competitive advantage: Airtable combines familiar table and spreadsheet interactions with linked records, multiple views, automation, interfaces, and application-building tools. This lets business teams create workflows without starting with conventional software development. Its differentiation depends on product flexibility, governance, integrations, and the ability to support both self-service teams and enterprise deployments.

Smartsheet competitive advantage: Smartsheet's main advantage is a familiar grid interface that lets non-technical business users start quickly, paired with enterprise controls (Control Center for portfolio provisioning, Dynamic View for restricted sharing, admin governance) and a FedRAMP-authorized Smartsheet Gov environment for public-sector buyers.

Growth Strategy: Where Airtable and Smartsheet Are Headed

Future prospects matter as much as current results. The growth strategies below explain how Airtable and Smartsheet each plan to expand from here.

Airtable growth strategy: Airtable shifted resources toward large enterprise customers in December 2022. It subsequently expanded its app-building and AI offerings, launching Cobuilder in 2024 and an AI-native product direction in 2025. Following the 2026 acquisition, Bending Spoons said it would invest in Airtable's product, support, and go-to-market operations.

Smartsheet growth strategy: Under CEO Rajeev Singh, Smartsheet is focusing on enterprise AI: the November 2025 ENGAGE launch added AI agents and data features to the platform. It has also cut costs through two rounds of layoffs, rebuilt its executive team and revamped its partner program in 2026 to lean more on channel sales.

Financial Picture: Airtable vs Smartsheet

A closer look at the financial trajectory of Airtable and Smartsheet rounds out the comparison.

Airtable: Airtable did not publish conventional annual revenue or net income while private. Bending Spoons said in August 2026 that Airtable's annual recurring revenue was growing more than 20% year over year and was approximately $480 million as of June 2026. Airtable's December 2021 Series F raised $735 million, brought total investment to $1.36 billion, and valued the company at $11 billion pre-money. The 2021 funding valuation is historical, not a current valuation.

Smartsheet: Smartsheet grew revenue from $67.0 million in fiscal 2017 to $958.3 million in fiscal 2024 (year ended January 31, 2024), a 25% increase that year, while the GAAP net loss narrowed from $215.6 million in fiscal 2023 to $104.6 million. In its last reported quarter as a public company, Q3 fiscal 2025, revenue rose 17% to $286.9 million, ARR grew 15% and the company posted $1.3 million of GAAP net income. As a private company since January 2025, it no longer publishes results. Smartsheet Inc. is a major American enterprise software company providing cloud-based work management and collaboration tools, sustaining a market valuation typically over $8 billion.

Company-Specific SWOT Notes

Airtable

Strength

Linked records, views, interfaces, and automations support many business workflows in one platform.

Strength

Airtable's current about page says 500,000 companies and 10 million active users use the platform.

Weakness

Airtable does not publish audited standalone revenue, profitability, or segment disclosures.

Weakness

The company announced reductions of 254 employees in 2022 and 237 employees in 2023.

Opportunity

Cobuilder and Airtable's AI features extend the platform from data organization into AI-assisted app and workflow creation.

Threat

Airtable competes with work-management, spreadsheet, connected-workspace, and low-code application products.

Smartsheet

Strength

Smartsheet's main advantage is a familiar grid interface that lets non-technical business users start quickly, paired with enterprise controls (Control Center for portfolio provisioning, Dynamic View for restricted sharing, admin governance) and a FedRAMP-authorized Smartsheet Gov environment for public-sector buyers.

Weakness

Smartsheet never reported a full-year GAAP profit as a public company; its fiscal 2024 net loss was $104.6 million.

Opportunity

Under CEO Rajeev Singh, Smartsheet is focusing on enterprise AI: the November 2025 ENGAGE launch added AI agents and data features to the platform.

Factual Scorecard

CategoryResultWhy
Same-period Revenue ScaleNot comparableAirtable: N/A. Smartsheet: $958.3M (FY2024). Different or missing fiscal periods prevent a like-for-like ranking.
Founded EarlierSmartsheetAirtable was founded in 2012; Smartsheet was founded in 2005.
Verdict

Comparison Takeaway: Airtable vs Smartsheet

The two companies take different paths to the same work-management budget. Smartsheet posted a GAAP net loss of $104.6 million in fiscal 2024, narrowed sharply from a $215.6 million loss the year before as revenue grew 25% to $958.3 million; Airtable discloses no profitability figures at all, only an ARR figure Bending Spoons said was growing more than 20% year over year as of June 2026. Smartsheet's edge is enterprise reach, with more than 85% of the Fortune 500 using its spreadsheet-grid platform and a FedRAMP-authorized government product that Airtable does not offer. Airtable's edge is flexibility: its relational-database model and 2024 Cobuilder app generator let individual teams build internal tools without a formal IT project. Smartsheet remains the larger, revenue-disclosing business, while Airtable is the smaller bet that Bending Spoons bought for $1.285 billion to fold into its own AI-software portfolio.

Methodology and sourcing reviewed by Swet Parvadiya. No date is shown unless this comparison has its own editorial review date.

Frequently Asked Questions: Airtable vs Smartsheet

Is Airtable or Smartsheet bigger?

Smartsheet is bigger on every disclosed measure: it reported $958.3 million in revenue for fiscal 2024 (ended January 31, 2024) and had about 3,300 employees, versus Airtable's roughly $480 million in annual recurring revenue as of June 2026 and about 700 employees.

Is Smartsheet or Airtable more profitable?

Smartsheet discloses GAAP results and posted a $104.6 million net loss in fiscal 2024, improved from a $215.6 million loss the prior year; Airtable has never published profitability figures, reporting only ARR growth of more than 20% year over year as of June 2026.

Who is the CEO of Smartsheet compared to Airtable?

Rajeev Singh, a Concur co-founder and former Accolade CEO, has led Smartsheet since October 6, 2025. Airtable has not named a standalone CEO since Bending Spoons closed its acquisition in September 2026; co-founder Howie Liu was Airtable's CEO through the deal.

Why did Smartsheet sell for so much more than Airtable?

Blackstone and Vista Equity Partners paid about $8.4 billion for Smartsheet in January 2025, when it had $958.3 million in fiscal 2024 revenue and over 85% Fortune 500 penetration; Bending Spoons paid $1.285 billion for Airtable in September 2026, when its ARR was about $480 million.

Which is better, Airtable or Smartsheet?

For large-enterprise project governance and reporting, Smartsheet is the stronger choice, used by more than 85% of the Fortune 500; for flexible, no-code database apps and AI-assisted app building, Airtable's relational-record model and Cobuilder generator are the better fit.

Which company was founded first, Airtable or Smartsheet?

Smartsheet was founded in 2005; Airtable was founded in 2012.

What revenue did Airtable and Smartsheet report?

Smartsheet had $958.3M (FY2024). A comparable annual revenue row is unavailable for Airtable.

How do Airtable and Smartsheet make money?

Airtable: Airtable sells cloud software subscriptions. Smartsheet: Smartsheet sells software subscriptions.

Sources & References

Quick Answer

Smartsheet is bigger on every disclosed financial measure: $958.3 million in fiscal 2024 revenue (year ended January 31, 2024) versus Airtable's roughly $480 million in annual recurring revenue as of June 2026, and about 3,300 employees versus Airtable's 700. Both are now privately owned following recent buyouts: Blackstone and Vista Equity Partners paid about $8.4 billion for Smartsheet in a deal that closed January 22, 2025, while Bending Spoons paid $1.285 billion in enterprise value for Airtable in a deal that closed September 4, 2026.

Verdict

The two companies take different paths to the same work-management budget. Smartsheet posted a GAAP net loss of $104.6 million in fiscal 2024, narrowed sharply from a $215.6 million loss the year before as revenue grew 25% to $958.3 million; Airtable discloses no profitability figures at all, only an ARR figure Bending Spoons said was growing more than 20% year over year as of June 2026. Smartsheet's edge is enterprise reach, with more than 85% of the Fortune 500 using its spreadsheet-grid platform and a FedRAMP-authorized government product that Airtable does not offer. Airtable's edge is flexibility: its relational-database model and 2024 Cobuilder app generator let individual teams build internal tools without a formal IT project. Smartsheet remains the larger, revenue-disclosing business, while Airtable is the smaller bet that Bending Spoons bought for $1.285 billion to fold into its own AI-software portfolio.

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