Airtable Automation Instance (Not Runs) Limit Increase to More than 50

[isaiahmiller97]

We have identified a critical need in the Airtable community for more flexibility when it comes to automation and instance limits. Many users, especially those on the Pro plan, are struggling with these limitations, resulting in bottlenecks and hampering their workflows. We propose an ad-hoc automation and instance limit enhancement to address these concerns.

What is the proposed idea/solution?

Our proposed idea is to introduce ad-hoc automation and instance limit enhancements for Pro users. This solution would allow users to purchase additional automations and instances as needed, without having to upgrade to the Enterprise plan. Users can maintain their current subscription level while still accessing the increased automation capacity they require for their workflows.

How does it solve users' problems?

By offering ad-hoc automation and instance limit enhancements, users can:

1. Overcome the 50 automation limit that is currently causing bottlenecks in their workflows.
2. Customize their automation capacity according to their specific needs, providing more flexibility and scalability.
3. Avoid building their own software or switching to other platforms, as they can continue using Airtable with increased automation capabilities.
4. Save costs by not having to upgrade to the Enterprise plan when they only require additional automations and instances.

How was this validated?

This need was validated through direct user feedback and community discussions, where many users have expressed their struggles with the current automation and instance limits. The demand for increased flexibility in automation capacity is evident, with users on the Pro plan actively seeking creative solutions to bypass these limitations.

Who is the target audience?

The target audience for this product enhancement includes:

1. Pro users who have reached or are nearing their automation and instance limits and require additional capacity for their workflows.
2. Businesses with unique automation requirements that might not necessarily require the full features of the Enterprise plan.
3. Users who are considering building their own software or switching platforms due to the current automation limitations in Airtable.

Conclusion: Introducing ad-hoc automation and instance limit enhancements for Pro users addresses a critical need in the Airtable community. This product idea not only provides increased flexibility and scalability for users but also ensures that they can continue using Airtable without the need to upgrade to a higher subscription tier or seek alternative solutions.

[jouejy]

Hi @ScottWorld ,

Thanks for all your advice. As much as I loved Filemaker and still think it has the best script editor for those who don’t want to dive deep into coding, I just can’t go back to those dull, gray interfaces 🙂

Over the past 25 years, web languages have revolutionized computing, and in my opinion, Filemaker hasn't kept up with the times. Their licensing plans are still complicated, and it's unclear if the desktop app syncs with a smartphone app or if a web user counts as a license, etc.

To me, Filemaker is part of the past—a past I remember fondly, but not the future. I could be wrong, though. If you have any resources I can check out, please share. I haven't found much on YouTube, to be honest.

Thanks!

[Pascal_Gallais-]

This limit in terms of number of automations for a given database is really a problem. When we hit the limit we need to factorise some of them or use another tool such as Make.

But, to do that, we have to create at least one more automation. For the moment, it means deleting one existing automation to be able to create a new one either to call Make or to factorise some existing automations.

It would be very helpfull if the maximum number of automations only counted the ones that are turned on. This way, we could turn off one automation, do our job by creating the new one and delete the one that we turned off when we are ready.

[ScottWorld]

Totally agree with you that this is a big problem in Airtable. In fact, this might be the biggest problem in Airtable that affects my clients. 

Although one very important thing to note is that you can actually trigger a Make automation from Airtable WITHOUT using up any more automations in Airtable by clicking on a link in Airtable (or a button in Airtable) that opens up a webhook in Make, which would then run your automation. 

Unfortunately, it will open up another browser tab, but you can customize what appears in that browser tab by using Make’s webhook response module. 

[Pascal_Gallais-]

Thank you for this information, I will try it