Airtable vs Dovetail vs monday.com
Comparing Airtable, Dovetail, and monday.com for AI-powered project management in 2026: Airtable leads with a score of 79/100, followed by Dovetail at 79/100 and monday.com at 78/100. Airtable stands out for project management and large teams, while Dovetail excels at research repository and customer intelligence and monday.com offers strengths in project management and large teams.
Airtable
Quick Verdict
Airtable excels at project management and large teams with a score of 79/100.
Dovetail
Quick Verdict
Dovetail excels at research repository and customer intelligence with a score of 79/100.
monday.com
Quick Verdict
monday.com excels at project management and large teams with a score of 78/100.
Head-to-Head-to-Head Summary
| Dimension | Airtable | Dovetail | monday.com | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 79/100 | 79/100 | 78/100 | Tie |
| Best For | Project Management, Large Teams | Research Repository, Customer Intelligence | Project Management, Large Teams | — |
| Starting Price | Free tier available | Free tier available | Free tier available | — |
| AI Depth (avg) | 3.2/5 | 4.0/5 | 3.2/5 | Dovetail |
| Methodology Fit (avg) | 3.2/5 | 3.4/5 | 4.0/5 | monday.com |
| Ideal Team Size | Small, Mid, Large | Mid, Large | Small, Mid, Large | — |
Capabilities & Controls
| Aspect | Airtable | Dovetail | monday.com |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agile Fit | 3/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 |
| Kanban Fit | 4/5 | 3/5 | 4/5 |
| Waterfall Fit | 3/5 | 3/5 | 4/5 |
| AI Depth (avg) | 3.2/5 | 4.0/5 | 3.2/5 |
| Founded | 2012 | 2017 | 2012 |
Core Features Comparison
Airtable Features
- Database-first PM with AI assistants
- Generate custom apps and interfaces from natural language
- Summarization, classification, and information extraction
- Automations and role-based permissions
Dovetail Features
- AI-powered research repository automatically transcribes calls, identifies themes, extracts key quotes, and organizes customer insights into a searchable source of truth
- Virtual Expert AI acts as a customer advocate embodying all collected research data, providing instant answers during brainstorming, testing, or strategy sessions
- AI Agents autonomously send Voice of Customer summaries, flag emerging issues, and post early-warning alerts to Slack, Teams, or email
- Customer intelligence dashboards with segments visualize sentiment, competitor mentions, and feature themes filtered by revenue, plan, region, or account
monday.com Features
- AI Sidekick for content generation, summaries, and automation suggestions
- AI-powered resource allocation based on availability and skills
- Multiple views: Kanban, Gantt, Timeline, Calendar, Workload
- 200+ automation recipes and integrations
Pricing & Value Analysis
| Aspect | Airtable | Dovetail | monday.com |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing Model | per-seat | per user, tiered | per-seat |
| Free Tier | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Free Tier Limits | Up to 1000 records per base, 1GB attachments, 100 automations/month | 1 project, 1 channel, basic AI summaries, limited AI chat | Up to 2 seats, 3 boards, unlimited docs |
| Starting Paid Price | $20/user/month | — | $9/seat/month |
| Pricing URL | View Airtable Pricing | View Dovetail Pricing | View monday.com Pricing |
| Overall Score | 79/100 | 79/100 | 78/100 |
| Best For | Project Management, Large Teams | Research Repository, Customer Intelligence, Insight Democratization | Project Management, Large Teams |
Best Use Cases
Airtable Excels At
- Project planning and delivery
Dovetail Excels At
- Project planning and delivery
monday.com Excels At
- Project planning and delivery
Integrations & Governance
| Category | Airtable | Dovetail | monday.com | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Integrations | Robust | Robust | Robust | Tie |
| Governance | Robust | Robust | Robust | Tie |
| Overall Score | 79/100 | 79/100 | 78/100 | Tie |
Stack Recommendation
If your team is evaluating these three tools and considering using two together, here's our analysis based on integration compatibility and methodology overlap.
Best Combination: Airtable + Dovetail
Airtable and Dovetail make the strongest pairing of these three tools. Airtable covers project management and large teams, while Dovetail complements with research repository and customer intelligence. Together they provide broader coverage than either tool alone, spanning both project management and product management.
When to pick monday.com instead: If your team primarily needs project management and large teams, monday.com (78/100) may be the better standalone choice.
The Bottom Line
Among Airtable, Dovetail, and monday.com, Airtable scores highest at 79/100 and is the strongest for project management and large teams. Dovetail (79/100) is a strong contender for research repository and customer intelligence. monday.com (78/100) rounds out the trio with focus on project management and large teams. Your best choice depends on team size, methodology preference, and budget.
Choose Airtable if: you prioritize project management and large teams and prefer its specific approach.
Choose Dovetail if: you prioritize research repository and customer intelligence and prefer its specific approach.
Choose monday.com if: you prioritize project management and large teams and prefer its feature mix despite a lower score.
Related Comparisons
Explore head-to-head matchups between these tools, or dive deeper into individual tool reviews.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the best overall: Airtable, Dovetail, or monday.com?
Based on our scoring methodology, Airtable leads with 79/100. It scores highest due to project management and large teams. However, the best choice depends on your team's specific needs, methodology preferences, and budget.
What is the cheapest option between Airtable, Dovetail, and monday.com?
Airtable and Dovetail and monday.com offer a free tier. Both are available at no cost for small teams, making them the most budget-friendly starting point. Paid plans start at different price points depending on features needed.
Which tool is better for agile teams: Airtable, Dovetail, or monday.com?
For agile workflows, Dovetail rates highest with an agile fit score of 4/5, followed by monday.com (4/5) and Airtable (3/5). Consider sprint planning features, velocity tracking, and backlog management when making your choice.
Can Airtable and Dovetail be used together?
Airtable and Dovetail can be connected through third-party integration platforms like Zapier or Make. While there may not be a direct native integration, API access from both tools enables custom workflows and data synchronization.
What are the main differences between Airtable, Dovetail, and monday.com?
Airtable (79/100) focuses on project management and large teams. Dovetail (79/100) specializes in research repository and customer intelligence. monday.com (78/100) is strongest for project management and large teams. Each serves different team sizes and methodology preferences.