Airtable API Pricing Shifts: The Structural Cost of Using Airtable as a Primary Backend Database
The Airtable API rate limit of 5 requests per second per base applies universally across every plan, including Enterprise. No upgrade removes it. Monthly Airtable API call allocations cut off access entirely when exceeded — no overage option. The Team-to-Business upgrade triggered by the 50,001st record costs 125% more per seat. And 50 automations per base is a hard cap no plan solves. Teams building applications on Airtable API hit these walls fast.