In this revised article (now including Ninox), I am going to compare the features of Airtable, Knack, Zoho Creator and Ninox – three of these are platforms I’ve chosen to work with for clients following an extensive evaluation of the no/low code database market (I no longer provide Zoho Creator services).

I have been using these four database/app building platforms for some time now and thought it would be useful to do a comparison of their features, strengths and weaknesses…

Feature Area	Airtable	Knack	Zoho Creator	Ninox
User Interface (general)	Beautiful – BUT you are working in a Spreadsheet like UI which is both the design and end user environment. This means that there is risk of users changing things they shouldn’t. In my experience, the Spreadsheet UI design leads inexperienced users to approach their databases like they would a spreadsheet and this can lead to some poor database designs. Recent additions of Personal and Locked views help a little here.	Builder: The Builder is where you create your Objects (tables) and then the pages, reports (cross tabs, charts, maps etc) which the user sees. End User: The end user gets a relatively modern, responsive UI which is well ‘locked down’. Particular strengths are the ability to produce pages with multiple tables and other ‘views’ which enable a rich user experience.	Like Knack, the UI is separate for developers and users with the paradigm based around Forms (creating a form also creates the Table behind). Like Knack, the developer can build rich UIs including the ability to trigger emails and other events and workflows. My only issue is the cumbersome way Sub-forms are handled.	Ninox takes a different approach in that the design view and live view cohabit (like Airtable). The difference is that you need to be an Admin user to access any design tools. For the end user, the result is a very pleasing interface to use with apps mainly working with panels which slide in and out. Tabular, Grid, Kanban, Chart, Form and Gantt views can be created.
Security	Very limited at the moment. Users can be given Creator, Editor, Commenter or Read only access but once they have access to a ‘base’ then they can see ANY of the data within it. In the light of GDPR and similar data protection laws this could lead to significant compliance issues. Also, no EU servers.	Very comprehensive features allow builders to quickly provide multiple levels of access to data through a UI which responds to the settings for the logged in user. This includes both feature level access and row (data) level control.	Very comprehensive features allow builders to quickly provide multiple levels of access to data through a UI which responds to the settings for the logged in user. This includes both feature level access and row (data) level control.	Once again, comprehensive control is available to determine what users (individually or by group) can see, edit, create or delete. Like Knack and Zoho Creator, views can be filtered by logged in users.
Media Handling Etc	Airtable has great features for handling documents, images etc. Multiple files can be uploaded to the same Attachment field. This makes it ideal for teams dealing with media content such as design agencies, marketing departments etc.	A more traditional approach here allows you to add file upload and image fields to the database. Usefully, you can specify sizes for thumbnails for each image which can then be used for displaying images at sensible sizes in tables etc.	Again, the features here are similar to Knack in that you can choose the size to display images etc.	Ninox has the usual capability to create file fields and images will be displayed on the edit / detail screens. Additionally, there is a generic attachments tab (along with a comments tab) for each table.
Programmability/Scripting	Airtable includes formulae, lookup fields etc – but no language or macro features. It is possible to implement automation externally using Zapier or Integromat – or coders can use the API.	Knack doesn’t have its own language but can be programmed semi internally using JavaScript. It’s also possible to use either Integromat or Zapier for this purpose. I find the JavaScript option quite unfriendly and cumbersome and not suited to manipulating data – but for the seasoned JS developer this may be ideal. However, I am constantly surprised by what can be achieved without code.	The Deluge language is very efficient (in terms of the amount of code needed) when manipulating data and enables creator to provide a relatively steady learning curve from beginner to expert.	Ninox's NX language is very powerful and integrated into the system in a way that makes it particularly easy to learn (with a beginner mode). The language is used for everything from formula fields to complex processes manipulating multiple records. This means that user's slowly gain knowledge and experience with a relatively gentle learning curve.
‘Database’ features	Essentially a relational database at heart, Airtable is pretty visual in how data works. However, linking rules between tables can be broken (it’s possible even to break a one-to-many rule). This is especially likely as the UI imposes no real control over how data is entered. The result is incorrectly linked records and orphan child records (no cascade deletes are possible). No relational (SQL like) queries are available – related data is gathered through Lookup and Rollup fields.	With Knack you have a relational database which is presented to the user in a structured UI. So as long as the UI is built sensibly all should be well. However, it’s still not possible to define cascade deletes in relationships and so databases can become scattered with orphaned records. Again, no relational (SQL like) queries are available.	With the exception of my comment about Sub-forms, Creator offers similar features to Knack with the very important addition of the ability to handle deletion of child records through the Deluge language. I hate having meaningless records in my databases! Again, no relational (SQL like) queries are available.	The best of the bunch in this department, Ninox's relational feature include a 'Composition' option which makes a table a subtable of another and implements cascade deletes properly. You can create attractive interfaces with subtables and views. Once again, this is not an SQL database.
In Use (for end users)	Airtable is great for simple solutions and those where all the users are familiar with the ‘design’ of the base (their name for database). However, the lack of control over what people can see and do leads to a host of problems. Again, recent additions of Personal and Locked views help a little here.	The end user’s UI is pretty modern looking, and you can control it further with CSS and embed it in other web pages to really make the UI attractive.	Similar to Knack, the end result is a good clean looking app. ‘Pages’ feature allows the creation of attractive dashboards etc.	End users can have a really nice looking UI with Ninox which can include Icons and images to make it more attractive. Sliders for yes / no fields, embedded charts, commenting, different view types (Kanban, Gantt etc), etc.
Mobile	There are mobile apps for Airtable but not all features are available – but it does provide access to data on the move. Unfortunately, even using a browser on a tablet limits the UI to it’s mobile feature set.	The latest Knack ‘Standard Theme’ is relatively responsive and provides most features in a mobile browser.	Zoho Creator has extensive features for making mobile / desktop apps and is by far the strongest here in this area. Offline access available from Premium plan up.	There are native apps for iPhone, iPad and Android devices (and Mac) which allow for off line use of cloud databases - or indeed standalone databases on the device. This is an exceptional story for mobile use.
Reports / Charts etc	In a Pro account you get Airtable’s Blocks feature which provides a whole host of features for charts, cross tabs, maps etc. Without this, though, you are limited to creating views (Grid, Calendar, Gallery and Kanban) which can be filtered and grouped (with subtotalling).	Quite comprehensive charts, cross tabs, maps etc are available. End users can be given the option to add / change filtering etc.	Very similar to the features available in Knack.
External Users	External (not logged in) users are limited to viewing a shared base or view read only or entering data through Airtable forms. (i.e. no editing of data).	You can build pages within Knack which are either password protected or not – unprotected pages can be used by anyone. This means that you can easily have public facing, editable pages. Of more interest, perhaps, is that it’s easy to create self-registration feature which give people access to certain areas of your solution.	External Users catered for via “Customer Portal” which is quite an expensive option.	There are no features for external (non logged in) users within Ninox and you would need to create forms in other tools like Cognito forms / Zapier to capture data (say from your website.
Social Elements	Special data fields for “Collaborators” (users) which provide alert etc. Commenting feature for all records which allow @mentions etc.	None provided – up to builder to implement within solutions.	Chat features available – but not integrated with data in the application.	The closest Ninox comes to this is the ability for users to comment on records in the database. Comments are stamped with the user as well as date / time.
Pricing / Licence model	Priced per user: Plus - $12 per user per month Pro - $24 per user per month Free tier limited to 1200 records in a base. Can quickly get expensive with multiple users. Pro plan recommended.	Price based on Features / Capacity: Starter: $39 a month Pro: $79 a month Unlimited users Other plans are available offering more storage and records etc. Pro plan recommended.	Priced per user: Basic: $15 per user per month Premium: $30 per user per month	Priced per User: Cloud: $8.33 per month billed annually Mac: $34.99 one time purchase iPad: $16.99 one time purchase
Summary	Airtable is a great choice for more ad-hoc solutions for small teams. It provides a very visual user experience making good use of colours etc. When the complexity, number of users or security requirements climb then the lack of control over what a user can see and do becomes an issue.	Knack enables you to build solid, secure solutions with no coding. They look decent out of the box and can be improved by embedding into a nice webpage. I would particularly recommend Knack if you need to have external users accessing your app. Your are also able to create e-commerce solutions and collect payments through PayPal or Stripe. The only shame is that Knack’s programmability relies on JavaScript which is not very user friendly.	Building solutions with Creator gives you a continuous learning curve from their simple workflows and email alerts through to the full power of a data-oriented language (Deluge). This makes Creator ideal if you need complex logic in your app – or you are already invested in the Zoho suite.	This is a great product which, like Creator, is able to provide solutions with complex logic needs - while still being easy to use for beginners and experts alike. Support is exceptional with Ninox offering several weekly webinars which all users can attend to ask questions from their peers and company representatives as well as individual one to one sessions.
Find Out More	Airtable Information	Knack Details	More about Creator	Learn about Ninox

I would be interested to hear what your experience is with these platforms (or others) - join the conversation below!