SmartSuite
Configure records, views, automations, and dashboards for one team
The core loop is buildable, but a dependable replacement becomes a real weekend or multi-day project. For SmartSuite, configure records, views, automations, and dashboards for one team. The hard boundary is template breadth, workflow, integrations, permissions, and hosted collaboration, plus data model flexibility, collaboration, and integrations.
Build verification: not recorded. How we judge buildability
What you give up
- template breadth, workflow, integrations, permissions, and hosted collaboration
- real-time multiplayer
- automation and integration breadth
- scale and formula depth
- enterprise permissions
Why people still pay
People still pay for SmartSuite because teams pay when a flexible database becomes a shared operational system with integrations and years of accumulated business logic. The recurring cost buys schema changes, formulas, permissions, imports, attachments, views, APIs, concurrency, backups, and migrations, not just the visible interface.
Your build guide
The stack, security requirements, and agent rules for a focused replacement.
Before you start
- A supported Node release, PostgreSQL, HTTPS for a shared deployment, and a backup destination. Begin with one workspace and explicit owner/member permissions.
- Implementation components: Next.js App Router and TypeScript for server-rendered pages and validated mutations. PostgreSQL with Drizzle migrations; Better Auth sessions for a small private workspace.
- Scope boundary: template breadth, workflow, integrations, permissions, and hosted collaboration; real-time multiplayer
Use these project rules and optional skill references alongside the prompt. Review each skill before adding it to your agent; the AGENTS.md export includes the same guidance.
Optional external skill: vercel-react-best-practices — Improve React and Next.js data fetching, rendering, bundle size and server performance. Review its instructions and compatibility before use; it does not grant deployment, data-access or publication permission.
Optional external skill: supabase-postgres-best-practices — Review PostgreSQL schemas, queries, indexes, pooling, concurrency and row-level security. Review its instructions and compatibility before use; it does not grant deployment, data-access or publication permission.
Optional external skill: web-design-guidelines — Review web interfaces for accessibility, keyboard focus, forms, navigation and interaction quality. Review its instructions and compatibility before use; it does not grant deployment, data-access or publication permission.
Project rule — data model: solutions, typed tables, records, relation fields, saved views, automations and audit entries
Project rule — preserve this invariant: Schema changes validate existing values before migration; relation deletion and automation side effects require a preview and audit trail.
Project rule — acceptance evidence: Change an enum field with existing records and review affected rows; replaying an automation event cannot send a second notification.
Implementation plan
Phase 1
Scope and fixtures. Implement this bounded workflow: Model one team's operational records, provide grid/form/kanban views and define one explicit automation such as notifying an assignee. Keep a versioned schema and a documented limited API. Record prerequisites, select representative user-owned fixtures and document the unsupported features: template breadth, workflow, integrations, permissions, and hosted collaboration; real-time multiplayer
Phase 2
Durable model. Model solutions, typed tables, records, relation fields, saved views, automations and audit entries Add migrations or a versioned document format, explicit validation, stable IDs and a visible import-error report. Preserve this rule: Schema changes validate existing values before migration; relation deletion and automation side effects require a preview and audit trail.
Phase 3
Complete the first useful path. Implement the workflow's input, review and output interface, with clear controls and explicit empty/error states. Commit related database changes in one transaction. Use version checks for competing edits and an outbox for external notifications; retry delivery independently of saving the record.
Phase 4
Permissions and integration failure. Authorize every record read and mutation on the server using its workspace membership; validate payloads, protect mutations against CSRF, and escape user-authored HTML. Request integration credentials and permissions only for the enabled feature; show a disconnected state instead of mock results.
Phase 5
Portable handoff. Export versioned JSON plus attachments and a readable CSV summary. Restore into a separate database and compare record IDs and attachment checksums before switching. Include setup, operating limits, fixture walkthrough and shutdown/restart instructions in the README.
Phase 6
Acceptance scenarios. Change an enum field with existing records and review affected rows; replaying an automation event cannot send a second notification. Repeat the workflow after restart and with a denied permission or unavailable dependency; show recoverable failure rather than a success placeholder.
WORKING SLICE Model one team's operational records, provide grid/form/kanban views and define one explicit automation such as notifying an assignee. Keep a versioned schema and a documented limited API. Build this scoped SmartSuite-inspired workflow with a documented data model and visible failure states. Architecture - Next.js App Router and TypeScript for server-rendered pages and validated mutations. - PostgreSQL with Drizzle migrations; Better Auth sessions for a small private workspace. Prerequisites and limits A supported Node release, PostgreSQL, HTTPS for a shared deployment, and a backup destination. Begin with one workspace and explicit owner/member permissions. Outside this release: template breadth, workflow, integrations, permissions, and hosted collaboration; real-time multiplayer Data model and correctness solutions, typed tables, records, relation fields, saved views, automations and audit entries Invariant: Schema changes validate existing values before migration; relation deletion and automation side effects require a preview and audit trail. Commit related database changes in one transaction. Use version checks for competing edits and an outbox for external notifications; retry delivery independently of saving the record. Security and privacy Authorize every record read and mutation on the server using its workspace membership; validate payloads, protect mutations against CSRF, and escape user-authored HTML. Recovery and export Export versioned JSON plus attachments and a readable CSV summary. Restore into a separate database and compare record IDs and attachment checksums before switching. Implementation order 1. Phase 1 — Scope and fixtures. Implement this bounded workflow: Model one team's operational records, provide grid/form/kanban views and define one explicit automation such as notifying an assignee. Keep a versioned schema and a documented limited API. Record prerequisites, select representative user-owned fixtures and document the unsupported features: template breadth, workflow, integrations, permissions, and hosted collaboration; real-time multiplayer 2. Phase 2 — Durable model. Model solutions, typed tables, records, relation fields, saved views, automations and audit entries Add migrations or a versioned document format, explicit validation, stable IDs and a visible import-error report. Preserve this rule: Schema changes validate existing values before migration; relation deletion and automation side effects require a preview and audit trail. 3. Phase 3 — Complete the first useful path. Implement the workflow's input, review and output interface, with clear controls and explicit empty/error states. Commit related database changes in one transaction. Use version checks for competing edits and an outbox for external notifications; retry delivery independently of saving the record. 4. Phase 4 — Permissions and integration failure. Authorize every record read and mutation on the server using its workspace membership; validate payloads, protect mutations against CSRF, and escape user-authored HTML. Request integration credentials and permissions only for the enabled feature; show a disconnected state instead of mock results. 5. Phase 5 — Portable handoff. Export versioned JSON plus attachments and a readable CSV summary. Restore into a separate database and compare record IDs and attachment checksums before switching. Include setup, operating limits, fixture walkthrough and shutdown/restart instructions in the README. 6. Phase 6 — Acceptance scenarios. Change an enum field with existing records and review affected rows; replaying an automation event cannot send a second notification. Repeat the workflow after restart and with a denied permission or unavailable dependency; show recoverable failure rather than a success placeholder. Acceptance Change an enum field with existing records and review affected rows; replaying an automation event cannot send a second notification. Use real source data or clearly labeled fixtures. Explain unsupported input and provider failures; do not fabricate analytics, delivery receipts, accuracy claims or security guarantees. Optional agent guidance Optional external skill: [vercel-react-best-practices](https://github.com/vercel-labs/agent-skills/blob/main/skills/react-best-practices/SKILL.md) — Improve React and Next.js data fetching, rendering, bundle size and server performance. Review its instructions and compatibility before use; it does not grant deployment, data-access or publication permission. Optional external skill: [supabase-postgres-best-practices](https://github.com/supabase/agent-skills/blob/main/skills/supabase-postgres-best-practices/SKILL.md) — Review PostgreSQL schemas, queries, indexes, pooling, concurrency and row-level security. Review its instructions and compatibility before use; it does not grant deployment, data-access or publication permission. Optional external skill: [web-design-guidelines](https://github.com/vercel-labs/agent-skills/blob/main/skills/web-design-guidelines/SKILL.md) — Review web interfaces for accessibility, keyboard focus, forms, navigation and interaction quality. Review its instructions and compatibility before use; it does not grant deployment, data-access or publication permission. Project rule — data model: solutions, typed tables, records, relation fields, saved views, automations and audit entries Project rule — preserve this invariant: Schema changes validate existing values before migration; relation deletion and automation side effects require a preview and audit trail. Project rule — acceptance evidence: Change an enum field with existing records and review affected rows; replaying an automation event cannot send a second notification.
$ open in your agent (prompt prefilled, you press enter), copy the prompt or copy or download AGENTS.md · generated from this app's build plan
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SmartSuite pricing
| plan | monthly | annual (per mo) | what you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| team | $20/user | $15/user | Minimum 3 users; unlimited solutions; 5,000 records/solution; 50 GB storage; 30-day recycle-bin retention. |
| professional | $36/user | $32/user | Minimum 5 users; unlimited solutions; 100,000 records/solution; 100 GB storage; 45-day recycle-bin retention. |
| enterprise | — | — | 400,000 records/solution; 500 GB storage; 60-day recycle-bin retention; SSO, SCIM and audit controls.Quote required. |
| signature | — | — | Custom capacity and controls; the public page exposes no numeric plan limits.Quote required. |
free tierno permanent free tier; 14-day Professional trial with no card and no automatic charge
billingTeam and Professional offer monthly + annual billing; annual plans are prepaid; Enterprise and Signature are quote-based
hidden costsTeam has a 3-seat minimum and Professional a 5-seat minimum; a HIPAA BAA requires an annual commitment of at least 25 Professional, 20 Enterprise or 10 Signature seats; invoice payment on Enterprise requires an undisclosed minimum fee.
pricing sources checked 2026-08-11 · pricing source ↗
Questions about SmartSuite
Can you build your own SmartSuite with AI?
Partly. The core loop is buildable, but a dependable replacement becomes a real weekend or multi-day project. For SmartSuite, configure records, views, automations, and dashboards for one team. The hard boundary is template breadth, workflow, integrations, permissions, and hosted collaboration, plus data model flexibility, collaboration, and integrations.
What does the SmartSuite build prompt cover?
The prompt starts with this scope: Model one team's operational records, provide grid/form/kanban views and define one explicit automation such as notifying an assignee. Keep a versioned schema and a documented limited API. Full-product capabilities excluded from the comparison include: template breadth, workflow, integrations, permissions, and hosted collaboration; real-time multiplayer; automation and integration breadth. Follow the implementation plan and its prerequisites before expanding the build.
How do I use the prompt, AGENTS.md and agent skills?
Start with the SmartSuite prerequisites and stack, then copy the prompt into your coding agent. Save the project rules as AGENTS.md in the project root. Linked skills are optional packages or source instructions for specific tasks; review their current contents and install only those matching the chosen stack. A skill does not supply API credentials or verify the finished app.
How long will this SmartSuite project take?
The catalogue estimate is multi-day for the limited scope. Setup, integration approvals, debugging, deployment and ongoing maintenance can add time. This is an estimate, not a delivery guarantee.
What would I give up by replacing SmartSuite?
template breadth, workflow, integrations, permissions, and hosted collaboration; real-time multiplayer; automation and integration breadth; scale and formula depth; enterprise permissions. People still pay for SmartSuite because teams pay when a flexible database becomes a shared operational system with integrations and years of accumulated business logic. The recurring cost buys schema changes, formulas, permissions, imports, attachments, views, APIs, concurrency, backups, and migrations, not just the visible interface.
What price is this guide comparing against?
The recorded Team plan is $20/mo per seat (monthly per user), checked 2026-08-11. Check the linked pricing source before buying. Building your own also has hosting, API and maintenance costs; the recorded amount is not a guaranteed saving.
What can I use instead of building SmartSuite?
Baserow Free: Records, views, forms, automations, and a small dashboard-style app builder; the free limits are visible and sane. Fibery Free: Relational records, views, formulas, docs, automations, and dashboards for up to ten users. SeaTable Free: A serious grid with 10,000 rows, forms, automations, scripts, and an app builder before it asks for money. Compare all listed options at https://howtovibecodeit.dev/smartsuite/alternatives. Check each option's license, hosting needs and feature limits.