9 best Microsoft Access alternatives in 2026, and how to switch

The best Microsoft Access alternative depends on where you want your database to live next. Power Apps with Dataverse keeps you inside Microsoft 365, Zoho Creator imports .accdb files directly, Airtable and Grist put your database in a browser, LibreOffice Base is a free desktop option, and GoodTaco builds a web app from your exported tables.

This guide is for people who run a team’s work on an MS Access database and now need it in a browser, on a phone, or shared without passing a file around. We compare 9 tools, grouped by what you want next, then give a step-by-step plan for moving off Access.

Reviewed October 2026. Prices are list prices from each vendor’s own pricing page, and they change often.

The 9 best Microsoft Access alternatives compared

Paid prices are the lowest monthly price on each vendor’s pricing page, which usually means billing yearly.

Tool	Best for	Price to start	Runs in a browser	Can import Access data
Power Apps with Dataverse	Staying in Microsoft 365	$20/user/month, paid yearly	Yes	Yes: Access exports tables to Dataverse
Microsoft Lists	Simple shared lists	Included with Microsoft 365 plans that include SharePoint	Yes	Yes: Access moves tables to SharePoint lists
Zoho Creator	Turning an Access file into a web app	Free; Standard $8/user/month	Yes	Yes: imports .accdb and .mdb files
Caspio	Large databases with many app users	$270/month; free trial	Yes	Through Excel or CSV
Airtable	A friendly grid for a small team	Free; Team $20/user/month	Yes	Through Excel or CSV
Grist	Spreadsheet power users, open source	Free; Pro $8/user/month	Yes	Through Excel or CSV
Google AppSheet	Teams on Google Workspace	Free to prototype; Starter $5/user/month	Yes	Through Google Sheets or Excel
LibreOffice Base	A free desktop database	Free	No, desktop app	Has a Microsoft Access connection
GoodTaco (our product)	An app built from a description	Free plan; paid from $9/month	Yes	Through Excel or CSV upload

Why do people look for a Microsoft Access alternative?

Access is still a current Microsoft product. People start looking when one of these gets in the way:

• Older versions are out of support. Access 2016 and Access 2019 stopped getting security updates on 14 October 2025, along with the rest of Office 2016 and 2019 (Microsoft Learn).
• It runs on Windows only. Access isn’t part of Microsoft 365 for Mac (Microsoft Learn), so Mac users can’t open it.
• There’s no browser or phone version. Microsoft stopped new Access web apps in June 2017 and shut down the rest by April 2018. Desktop databases (.accdb) were not affected, and Microsoft points people to Power Apps for web and mobile apps (Access Services roadmap).
• Sharing means sharing a file. The simplest setup puts one database file in a network folder. Microsoft says this “might work if only a few people” use it at the same time, and that it’s less secure because each user has a full copy of the file. The sturdier options are splitting the database into a shared data file with a copy of the forms for each user, or moving the data to SQL Server (ways to share an Access database). Microsoft also warns against opening Access databases from OneDrive or SharePoint document libraries.
• The 2 GB ceiling. An Access database can hold up to 2 GB and 255 people at once (Access specifications). You can work around the size limit by linking tables in other database files.
• Not every plan includes it. Access comes with Microsoft 365 Apps for business, Business Standard and Business Premium, Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise, and Office 365 E3 and E5. It isn’t in Business Basic or Office 365 E1 (Microsoft Learn), so people on those plans don’t have it.

If none of these bother you and only a few people use the database, staying on Access is a reasonable choice.

Which Microsoft Access alternatives keep you in Microsoft 365?

If your company already runs on Microsoft 365, Access has built-in tools to send your tables there.

1. Microsoft Power Apps with Dataverse

Power Apps builds web and mobile apps, and Dataverse is the cloud database behind them. Microsoft recommends it as the replacement for Access web apps.

• Best for: companies on Microsoft 365 with someone in IT who can own the apps.
• Pricing: Power Apps Premium is $20 per user per month, paid yearly, and includes 250 MB of Dataverse database capacity per license (Power Apps pricing).
• Access import: in Access for Microsoft 365 or Access 2024, right-click a table and choose Export > Dataverse. Access links the migrated tables back, so your existing forms, reports and queries keep working. You need a Power Apps plan and the right Power Apps permissions, and a Dataverse database can hold up to 10 GB (migrate Access data to Dataverse).
• Limitation: moving the data is the easy part. Those linked forms still run in Access on Windows, so a browser or phone version means building the screens again in Power Apps.
• Verdict: the natural choice for Microsoft shops that can give an app builder real time.

Keep Access and move the data to SQL Server

If your Access forms work and the file is the problem, Microsoft’s SQL Server Migration Assistant for Access moves your tables to SQL Server or Azure SQL and links them back, so your queries, forms and reports use the server’s data (SSMA for Access). It fixes the size and sharing limits, not browser or Mac access, and you need SQL Server or Azure SQL to hold the data.

2. Microsoft Lists

Microsoft Lists are SharePoint lists: shared tables of records that open in a browser.

• Best for: simple trackers, such as requests, assets or contacts, that don’t need many linked tables.
• Pricing: included with Microsoft 365 plans that include SharePoint (SharePoint service description).
• Access import: in Access, Database Tools > Move Data > SharePoint starts the Export Tables to SharePoint Wizard. It turns tables into lists, keeps relationships where it can, and links the lists back so your Access forms keep working. It works with .accdb files (Microsoft support).
• Limitation: a list is a list, not a database of linked tables. Forms and reports that span several tables usually mean adding Power Apps on top.
• Verdict: a good home for a simple Access table, less so for a database with many linked tables.

Which online database apps replace Access forms and reports?

These tools give you tables, forms and reports in the browser, so they feel closest to Access.

3. Zoho Creator

Zoho Creator is a low-code app builder with its own database.

• Best for: turning an Access file into a web app without exporting each table by hand.
• Pricing: a Free plan covers one app. Standard is $8 per user per month billed yearly ($12 monthly), and there’s a 15-day free trial (Zoho Creator pricing).
• Access import: Zoho Creator imports .accdb and .mdb files. Each Access table becomes a form, and it detects the relationships between tables. Database files can be up to 100 MB on US accounts (Zoho help). Zoho also offers to migrate your Access database for free if you email it (Zoho Creator).
• Limitation: Zoho’s help describes importing tables, not Access queries, reports or macros, so plan to rebuild those. The Free plan stops at one app.
• Verdict: the most direct route from an Access file to a browser.

4. Caspio

Caspio is a no-code platform for database apps with forms, reports and portals.

• Best for: large databases with many app users, since every plan includes unlimited app users.
• Pricing: Team is $270 a month billed yearly ($300 monthly) with 250,000 records and 5 app authors. There’s a free trial but no free plan (Caspio pricing).
• Access import: Caspio dropped Access import and export in October 2023, and Access imports stopped working in April 2024 (Caspio help). Export your tables to Excel or CSV and use its import wizard instead (importing data).
• Limitation: no free plan, and the entry price suits larger teams.
• Verdict: worth it when many people outside your team use the app, too much for a small internal database.

Which spreadsheet-style databases work like Access in a browser?

If your team liked the Access datasheet more than its forms, a spreadsheet-style database is the gentlest change. Our Airtable alternatives guide covers this group in more depth.

5. Airtable

Airtable combines a familiar grid with linked records, views and automations.

• Best for: small teams that want something easy to learn.
• Pricing: Free plan; Team is $20 per user per month billed yearly (Airtable pricing). A base holds up to 1,000 records on Free, 50,000 on Team and 125,000 on Business (Airtable plans).
• Access import: export your tables to Excel or CSV, then import them. Airtable takes Excel files up to 5 MB and CSV files up to 100 MB (Airtable help).
• Limitation: pricing is per user and record limits are per base, so a large Access database can outgrow a plan quickly.
• Verdict: the easiest learning curve, best for smaller datasets.

6. Grist

Grist is a spreadsheet and a database of linked tables in one, with an open-source core.

• Best for: spreadsheet power users who want linked tables and formulas.
• Pricing: the Free plan allows 5,000 records per document. Pro is $8 per user per month billed yearly ($10 monthly) with 100,000 records per document, and the self-hosted Community edition is free (Grist pricing).
• Access import: Grist imports Excel, CSV, JSON and tab-separated files (Grist help), so you export each Access table first.
• Limitation: each document allows 2 guests, so sharing with many outside people adds up.
• Verdict: a strong, low-cost pick if your team thinks in formulas.

Does Google have an alternative to Microsoft Access?

Yes. Google’s answer is AppSheet, which builds apps on top of Google Sheets and other sources.

7. Google AppSheet

AppSheet is Google’s no-code app builder.

• Best for: teams on Google Workspace that want apps on their own spreadsheets.
• Pricing: free while you build prototypes, with up to 10 test users. Starter is $5 per user per month, and Core, at $10, is included in most paid Google Workspace plans (AppSheet pricing).
• Access import: AppSheet can’t open an Access file. It works with Google Sheets, Excel files in Microsoft 365 and SharePoint, its own AppSheet database and other databases (AppSheet help). For Excel, it supports .xlsx files only (AppSheet help).
• Limitation: pricing is per user, which adds up when many people use the app.
• Verdict: the obvious pick for Google shops. Our AppSheet comparison shows how it differs from GoodTaco.

Is there a free Microsoft Access alternative?

Several tools above have free plans. If you want a free desktop program that works like Access, there’s LibreOffice Base.

8. LibreOffice Base

Base is the database program in LibreOffice, a free office suite (LibreOffice). It runs on Windows, macOS and Linux (system requirements).

• Best for: one person or a small office that wants a free, Access-like desktop database.
• Pricing: free.
• Access import: its database wizard lists a Microsoft Access connection (LibreOffice Help). If the connection gives you trouble, export your tables and import them instead.
• Limitation: it’s another desktop program, so it doesn’t fix sharing, browser or phone access. You build forms and reports again in Base.
• Verdict: a free way off a paid license, not a way onto the web.

Which Microsoft Access alternative builds the whole app from a description?

Power Apps, Zoho Creator and Airtable now have AI helpers that draft tables or apps from a prompt (Power Apps Copilot, Zoho Creator, Airtable Omni). GoodTaco is built around that: you describe the app, it builds a working app, and you change it by asking.

9. GoodTaco (our product)

GoodTaco is an AI app builder for business apps. You get a working web app, with screens, forms, search, dashboards and sign-in, in minutes.

• Best for: teams that want their Access data in a browser app quickly and don’t want to learn an app builder.
• Pricing: Free plan with no credit card; paid plans from $9 a month. Pricing is per workspace, not per app user, and Pro includes 10 users.
• Access import: GoodTaco can’t open an Access file. Export each table to Excel or CSV, then upload the file, with no account needed, up to 10 MB and 2,000 records per upload. Each table becomes a table of records, and columns of repeated choices become dropdowns.
• Limitation: Access forms, reports, macros and VBA don’t carry over; GoodTaco builds new screens from your description. A built-in database holds up to 25,000 records. Apps can’t store files or photos yet, so Access attachments have no home. Apps work in a phone’s browser but not offline.
• Verdict: a quick route from Access tables to a signed-in web app for a small or mid-size dataset. With hundreds of thousands of records, Zoho Creator or Caspio fits better.

Other Microsoft Access alternatives

• Quickbase suits larger operations teams. Team starts at $35 per user per month, priced yearly, plus a platform minimum fee, and there’s a 30-day free trial (Quickbase pricing).
• Knack is an online database with unlimited app users. Starter is $59 a month, or $49 a month billed yearly, with 20,000 records (Knack pricing).
• Baserow is an open-source, Airtable-style database. The Free plan holds 3,000 records per workspace, and Premium is $10 per user per month billed yearly (Baserow pricing).
• Claris FileMaker is the long-standing desktop rival to Access, and its WebDirect feature runs apps in a web browser. FileMaker Cloud Starter is $22 per user per month, billed yearly, for 5 to 10 users (Claris pricing).

How to choose a Microsoft Access alternative

Start with what you need next:

If you want…	Start with
To stay in Microsoft 365	Power Apps with Dataverse, or Microsoft Lists for simple tables
To import the Access file as it is	Zoho Creator
A friendly grid in the browser	Airtable or Grist
To build on Google Sheets	Google AppSheet
A free desktop program	LibreOffice Base
A working app without building screens	GoodTaco

Then check each finalist against these criteria:

• Where your data lives. In Microsoft’s cloud, the vendor’s cloud, your own server or a desktop file. If you’re not sure you need a database at all, our guide to databases vs spreadsheets explains the difference.
• Who signs in, and what each person costs. Per-user pricing (Power Apps, Airtable, AppSheet) adds up with many occasional users. Caspio and Knack include unlimited app users. GoodTaco charges per workspace, not per app user, and Pro includes 10 users.
• Record limits. Count the records in your biggest tables and compare them with each plan’s cap.
• How your data gets in. Only Microsoft’s tools, Zoho Creator and LibreOffice Base work with Access files directly. Everything else starts with an Excel or CSV export.
• What has to be rebuilt. No tool on this list runs your Access forms, reports, macros or VBA in a browser. Budget time to rebuild the ones people use.

How to move off Microsoft Access, step by step

1. List what the database does

Write down every table, query, form, report and macro, and who uses each one. In Access, Database Tools > Database Documenter prints the design of every object (Microsoft support).

2. Export your tables

Select a table, then use External Data > Export > Excel. Access exports one table at a time. If you export into the same workbook and leave “Export data with formatting and layout” unticked, Access adds each table as a new sheet. Without formatting, lookup columns export their ID numbers rather than the names you see, attachments aren’t exported, and calculated columns export results only (export to Excel). For CSV, use External Data > Text File, choose Delimited and Comma, and tick “Include Field Names on First Row” (export to a text file). Our guide to turning Excel into a web app covers what happens after the export.

3. Check how tables link

Open Database Tools > Relationships to see which tables point to which (Microsoft support). Make sure every exported table kept its ID column, because those IDs are what link an order to its customer in the new tool.

4. Rebuild the busiest form first

Start with the form people open every day, such as order entry, and get it right with real records before you rebuild anything else.

5. Run both side by side

Keep Access running while a few people do real work in the new tool. Compare record counts and totals at the end of each week.

6. Switch

Do a final export, import the latest records, and move everyone over. Keep a read-only copy of the Access file for reference.

Turn your Access tables into a web app with GoodTaco

Export your Access tables to one Excel workbook, one sheet per table, and upload it to GoodTaco. GoodTaco imports the records into a built-in database and builds the app in minutes, then emails you a link. Each upload can be up to 10 MB and 2,000 records. You don’t need an account to try it; create one to keep the app, because unclaimed apps are deleted after 24 hours.

Then describe the screens your team used in Access, such as “an order form that picks the customer from a dropdown” or “a report of this week’s open jobs by technician”, and GoodTaco builds them. Tell it how your tables relate, for example that each order belongs to one customer. The built-in database checks that a linked record exists before saving and won’t delete a customer that orders still point to. For more on running a small business on a database, see database software for small businesses.

People sign in with Google or an emailed link, and private apps show no data until they do, with access limited to the users or roles you choose. Apps open in any browser, including a phone’s, and every change is saved, so you can roll back.

Get your Access data out of a file and into an app your whole team can open. Start free, no credit card needed.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best alternative to Microsoft Access?

It depends on what you need next: Power Apps if you're on Microsoft 365, Zoho Creator to import the Access file itself, LibreOffice Base for a free desktop option, and GoodTaco to build a web app from exported tables.

Does Google have an alternative to Microsoft Access?

Yes. Google AppSheet builds apps on Google Sheets, Excel files in Microsoft 365, its own AppSheet database or other databases. It can't open an Access file, so you export your tables first. It's free while you build and test with up to 10 people, and paid plans start at $5 per user per month.

Is there a free Microsoft Access alternative?

Yes. LibreOffice Base is a free desktop database for Windows, Mac and Linux, and its database wizard includes a Microsoft Access connection. For a browser-based option, Zoho Creator, Airtable, Grist and GoodTaco all have free plans, and Grist's Community edition is free and open source if you host it yourself.

Is Microsoft Access being discontinued?

No. Access for Microsoft 365 and Access 2024 are current products. Support for Access 2016 and 2019 ended on 14 October 2025, along with the rest of Office 2016 and 2019, and Access web apps in SharePoint were shut down in 2018. Desktop databases still open.

Can I use Microsoft Access on a Mac or in a browser?

Not directly. Access isn't part of Microsoft 365 for Mac, and there is no web version since Access web apps were retired in 2018. People on a Mac or a phone need a different tool.

Can I open an Access database without Access?

Yes, in a few ways. Microsoft's free Access Runtime runs existing Access apps on Windows but can't change their design. LibreOffice Base has a Microsoft Access connection, and Zoho Creator imports .accdb and .mdb files.

Can GoodTaco import a Microsoft Access database?

Not directly. Export each Access table to Excel or a CSV file, then upload it to GoodTaco, up to 10 MB and 2,000 records per upload. GoodTaco builds new screens from your description, because Access forms, reports, macros and VBA don't carry over.