How to install Baserow on Saplo (a database alternative to Airtable)

Airtable is convenient, but the paid plan gets more expensive with each additional user, and the free one imposes a strict limit on rows per database. Baserow is an open-source alternative, a spreadsheet and relational database in one, with Kanban, gallery, and calendar views. You can host it on your own Box without row limits or additional account fees. Below, we'll show you step-by-step how to set up Baserow on Saplo, configure it after the first launch, and how it differs from Airtable in daily use.

Why Baserow Instead of Airtable

Airtable, as a SaaS product, looks great in presentations, but it has some recurring drawbacks that small businesses and project teams painfully experience:

• row limit on the free plan - as your project grows, your database grows, and at some point, you have to upgrade to a paid plan or split your data into several separate databases, which complicates reporting,
• fee for each additional user - the more people on your team have access to the database, the higher your monthly bill, and for a team of a dozen people, this can be several hundred dollars per month ($120),
• data on someone else's servers - your company's database (contacts, projects, orders, customer data) is outside your infrastructure and beyond the reach of your own backup policy,
• lack of hosting flexibility - you cannot move Airtable to your own server or adapt it to your own security requirements in any way other than what the provider allows.

Baserow is an independent, open-source implementation of the same idea - a spreadsheet and database in one application, but hosted on your own Box. Zero row limits imposed by the provider, zero fees for additional team accounts, and your data stays with you, on a server you administer via the Saplo panel.

Baserow vs. a regular spreadsheet, what's the difference?

A regular spreadsheet, like Excel or Google Sheets, is great for simple lists, but with more related tables, it becomes a hell of lookup formulas and manual data consistency checks. Baserow, like Airtable, is a relational database under the hood: each table has defined field types (text, number, date, file, link to another table), and relationships between tables, for example, an order linked to a customer and a list of products, update automatically, without manual data copying. You can build several views on the same dataset: a grid like in a spreadsheet, a Kanban board to track statuses, a gallery to browse photos, or a calendar to plan appointments, and each view has its own filters and sorting, independent of the others.

Requirements

To set up Baserow on Saplo, you need:

• A Box with Docker running (the engine automatically enables it when installing from the catalog; only nesting in the container is required, which Saplo has by default on every plan),
• A minimum of 2 GB of free RAM on the Box (the official all-in-one image includes its own Postgres and Redis, making it heavier than, for example, Vaultwarden or WordPress),
• Several gigabytes of free disk space, which increases with the number of rows and attached files,
• A Domain or subdomain *.saploapp.pl included with every plan if you don't already have your own domain.

Baserow does not use Saplo's shared database. The all-in-one variant keeps its own Postgres, Redis, and data in a single container volume, similar to Vaultwarden or Cal.com, so the installation does not require any separate database chosen from the catalog.

Step-by-step installation

1. In the Saplo panel, go to App catalog and select Baserow ("Business" category).
2. Specify the Box where the application will be installed, and the domain or subdomain under which it will be available.
3. Confirm the installation. The engine deploys a Docker container with the official baserow/baserow image (all-in-one variant with built-in PostgreSQL, Redis, and Caddy), prepares a data volume, and exposes it under the specified domain via nginx with a free SSL certificate.
4. The first launch initializes the internal PostgreSQL and Redis from scratch, so the installation takes longer than with lighter recipes from the catalog; expect it to take anywhere from tens of seconds to a minute.
5. Once completed, the domain will display the Baserow login page, ready for you to create your first account.

First-time setup

Baserow, just like Cal.com, doesn't automatically create an admin account during installation because the official image doesn't have separate environment variables for it.

1. Go to <your-domain>/signup and create the first account. The first registered user gets full workspace administrator rights, so do this as soon as the domain starts responding.
2. After logging in, create your first workspace and tables, or import data from a CSV file if you're migrating from Airtable.
3. Add other team members by inviting them to the workspace. Each person creates their own account using the same registration form, sent to the provided email address.
4. In the table view, add Kanban, gallery, or calendar views from the views menu, just like in Airtable. The data remains the same; only the display method changes.

Access and role management

Baserow divides access at the workspace level and for a single database. In the workspace settings, you assign one of the following roles to each invited person: an administrator with full access to workspace settings and billing, a member who creates and edits data, or a read-only person in views that you share via a public link. A public link to a view is useful when you want to show a customer the project status without creating an account for them, while at the same time protecting the rest of the database from accidental edits.

Backups and data security

Baserow data resides in a container volume on your Box, so backups work exactly the same as for any other app from the Saplo catalog: Box L plans and higher include backups (7 days back for L, 14 days for XL, 30 days plus off-server backup for XXL), while for Box S and M, daily backup can be purchased as an add-on. If you store customer data or company documentation in Baserow, it's worth enabling backup from day one, before the database grows to a size where manual CSV export is no longer practical.

Baserow on Saplo vs. Airtable

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I import data from an existing Airtable? Yes, Baserow supports CSV import when creating a new table. You export each table from Airtable to CSV, and then import it into Baserow, matching column types.

Who becomes the administrator after installation? The first person to register an account under /signup after installation. It's a good idea to do this as soon as the domain responds, so no one else can register first.

How much RAM does Baserow need? At least 2 GB, because the all-in-one variant comes with its own Postgres and Redis. This is more than for lighter applications like WordPress or Vaultwarden, so it's worth choosing Box M or higher, especially if there will be large attachments in the database.

Does Baserow have an API? Yes, each table has its own REST API with an access token generated in the account settings, useful for integration with n8n or your own script, for example, to automatically add new orders from a store.

Can I have Baserow and another application on one Box? Yes, every plan has an unlimited number of applications; the only limitations are the Box's RAM and disk space.

Can I connect my own domain instead of a saploapp.pl subdomain? Yes, in the application settings in the Saplo panel, you can connect any domain you own. Simply redirect the DNS record to the specified address, and the engine will automatically issue an SSL certificate.

Does Baserow support automations without n8n? Yes, newer versions of Baserow have a built-in automation module with triggers for record changes and schedules, but for more complex scenarios, it's still more convenient to connect it with n8n via API.

If you have questions about setting up Baserow on your own Box or migrating data from Airtable, contact us; we'll help with the initial configuration and choosing the right Box plan.