Airtable gives you a database. Forge builds and looks after what sits on top.
Airtable is a powerful database you build on - and the building, and the upkeep, is the cost. Forge builds custom software for people businesses - agencies, accountants, lawyers, consultants, recruiters. We design, build and look after the automations, portals and reports your agency needs, and keep them working as your process changes.
Nothing technical on your side · we build it and look after it · runs on your own accountsForge isn’t another tool to configure. We build the tool you actually need and look after it.
Airtable is a great base. Forge is the team that builds on it - or without it.
Airtable is a genuinely powerful tool. If someone on your team enjoys designing tables, views and automations and has time to maintain them, it's an excellent choice - and if your base already works, we can build around it.
But most agency owners don't want to become database designers. They want client onboarding that runs itself, reports that send themselves and a portal clients can trust. Forge builds and looks after those for you, on top of the tools you already use and on your own accounts.
A team that does the work, not another tool.
We build it - you don't configure anything
You don't buy a tool and then spend weeks setting it up. We find the manual work slowing your team down, then design, build and test the tools that give those hours back. Nothing technical on your side.
We look after it, too
It runs on your own accounts, so you own it. We monitor it, fix it when a connected tool changes and update it when your process changes - all part of your run plan. Nobody in your firm becomes the part-time admin.
Works with the tools you already have
ClickUp, Trello, Google Sheets, Slack, your CRM, your invoicing tool. We build the links between them, so your team keeps working where it works today - no migration project.
Made for how you actually work
Client onboarding, reporting, branded client portals and status pages, time and margin tracking, AI assistants for the team - built around your clients, your process and your terminology. AI drafts, people decide.
Published pricing, no per-seat fees
A run plan from $2,000 a month (Starter, Growth or Embedded) with your first build included, 3-month minimum, AI usage at cost. Your price doesn't climb as your team grows.
Starts with a 2-week ops audit
We map where your team's hours go and put a number on it, then recommend what to build first. The $2,500 audit is credited to your first month.
Forge vs Airtable
| Forge | Airtable | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Custom software built for your firm, looked after on a monthly plan | A relational database and app platform |
| Who does the work | We do - we build it, then monitor, fix and improve it on your own accounts | You design the base, automations and interfaces |
| Your existing tools | Kept - we build around the apps your team already uses | You connect and sync other tools yourself |
| Client-facing | Branded portals, status pages and reports, fed automatically | Interfaces and shared views you build |
| When your process changes | Tell us in plain English - we update and test it | Open the base, redesign, retest |
| Pricing model | A run plan from $2,000 a month with your first build included - no per-seat fees | Per seat, with record and automation limits |
| Getting started | A 2-week ops audit ($2,500, credited to your first month), then a monthly run plan | Sign up and design your base |
Glossary & calculators
Free agency concepts and tools from Forge - plain-English definitions and instant calculators.
Compare other tools, see Forge in action.
The Airtable alternative your agency can actually hand off.
Start with a 2-week ops audit. We’ll show you where your team’s time is going, then build the tools that win it back and look after them on a monthly plan.