Automation Limit in a base - advice please

[Simon_Dennett]

Hi!

I am using Airtable for aback end to my business and have just got a notification that I have exceeded the number of automations I am allowed (I don’t think it is number of runs, I am way off that, it is the number of automations itself - I have 25 in the base but also save backup copies o the database int he same workspace). I was surprised by this limit as it isn’t particularly clear int he pricing plans but have found some reference to it in the help sections. Does anyone know if you can increase this limit by paying more money, and/or any work arounds?

Any help much appreciated!!

Simon

[ScottWorld]

@Simon_Dennett Yeah, it is surprising that they limit people to 25 automations per base, and it is disappointing that they try to keep this information as hidden as possible by not publishing this information on the pricing page. They only mention this in one location — in this support article.

There is no way to pay for more automations neither. Your best option within Airtable is to see if you can combine some of your automations together to keep under the limit of 25.

Also, another option that you might be able to employ is to sync one or more of your tables to another base, and run your automations from the destination table. This would only work if your automation actions were non-base specific, such as sending emails. (Although writing a custom JavaScript could also trigger the source base.)

Otherwise, the best long-term strategy that you can take is to use Integromat, which is a low-code/no-code professional automation & integration platform.

[Simon_Dennett]

Thanks Scott, yeah that is where I got to also. Was a bit annoyed to discover the limitation but the work around is to go off platform with Integromat / Zap etc. Its just rather frustrating as if I had known that from the start I probably would have designed things differently and not wasted time!! don’t know why they don’t make it clear!

Thanks for your help.

[ScottWorld]

Yeah, a lot of things are frustrating about Airtable, that’s for sure! Lol.

I would definitely not recommend Zapier… it is so incredibly limited (and pricey) compared to Integromat. You’ll be back to being frustrated again in no time.

[Simon_Dennett]

Ok thanks - I will check it out!!

[ScottWorld]

ScottWorld:

Also, another option that you might be able to employ is to sync one or more of your tables to another base, and run your automations from the destination table. This would only work if your automation actions were non-base specific, such as sending emails.

I just played with this and discovered that this has a major bug in it, so it is not reliable. It triggers each automation twice when setting it up this way. So I would avoid this for now, until they fix this.

For the best results, I would just stick with a professional automation platform (i.e. Integromat) that was specifically designed for automations. And they make their money by making sure their product works perfectly & delights their customers.

[Simon_Dennett]

Looking at it now - thanks for the tip!