Comparison · Access replacement
Access database alternatives compared
Six realistic options, what each one is good at, and where each one falls over.
"What should we use instead of Access?" is a bit like "what car should I buy?" The honest answer starts with "what do you use it for?"
So before the comparison, a quick test. Write down, in one sentence, what your database does. If the sentence describes something thousands of other businesses also do ("we track customers and quotes", "we manage stock"), you're probably looking for a product. If it describes something peculiar to you ("we schedule engineers against site test reports and invoice per site"), you're probably looking at building something.
We build bespoke software, so we've got an obvious bias. We've tried to write this as if we didn't.
The options side by side
| Option | Best for | How it's paid for | Works outside the office | Main risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Access with a SQL Server back end | Buying time on a database that mostly works | Migration work. SQL Server Express is free up to 10 GB per database. | Not really. Still a Windows desktop app. | Fixes the data side only. Forms, reports and the key person stay. |
| Power Apps | Simple internal forms in a Microsoft 365 business | Per user, per month, with premium features costing more | Yes | Licence costs as you grow, and complex logic gets awkward |
| Airtable, Zoho Creator and similar | Small teams who want a friendly hosted database | Per user, per month, in tiers | Yes | Record and automation limits, and your data lives on their platform |
| Off-the-shelf software | Common jobs: CRM, job management, stock, timesheets | Per user or per company, per month | Yes | The one thing you do differently that it can't do |
| Open-source software | Common jobs, without per-user fees | Setup, hosting and support. No licence fees. | Yes | Needs someone to host and look after it |
| Bespoke web application | A system central to how you make money | Up-front build, then monthly support | Yes | Higher up-front cost, and you need a supplier you trust |
Vendor pricing changes often, so check the current price for your number of users before deciding.
Each option, honestly
Keep Access, move the data to SQL Server
Your tables move into SQL Server and Access becomes just the screens. You get a sturdier database, better multi-user behaviour and proper backups. You don't get web access, and the key-person problem is untouched. Good for buying two or three years. We've written a full guide: Access to SQL Server, is migrating enough?
Power Apps
Microsoft's own successor to the "build your own business app" idea. If you're already on Microsoft 365, it fits in nicely, and simple forms over a SharePoint list or Dataverse can be built quickly. It gets harder with complicated logic, big reports and heavy data, and the per-user licensing adds up across a whole company. Worth trying for a small, self-contained process.
Airtable, Zoho Creator and other low-code tools
Friendly, fast to get going, and genuinely good for small teams. They're closer to a very clever spreadsheet than a full business system. Check the limits on records, automations and users at the tier you'd need, and check how easily you could get your data out again if you ever wanted to leave.
One warning from experience. On a project we're running now, the client had already moved part of their Access system onto a low-code platform. The person who built it left, and nobody else could change it. The platform wasn't the problem. The lack of anyone else who understood it was. Low-code makes it easy to build, which also makes it easy for one enthusiast to build something only they can maintain.
Off-the-shelf software
If your database does a common job, someone has almost certainly built a product that does it better, with support, updates and a mobile app. You'll change some of how you work to fit it. That's often a good thing. Moving your data across is still a project, but a much smaller one than building.
Open-source software
Products like ERPNext for stock and orders, or EspoCRM and SuiteCRM for customers, do the same jobs as paid products without per-user fees. You pay for setup, hosting and support instead, and they can be customised properly. See open-source customisation.
A bespoke web application
Built around exactly what your database does today, minus the workarounds, on a standard database you own. It's the most expensive option up front and the cheapest to live with if the system is central to the business, because there are no per-user fees and it changes when you need it to. With AI-assisted development it's far more affordable than it used to be. Timescales are on the main replacing Access page, and converting Access to a web application covers how it's done.
Four questions to decide
- Is what it does common or peculiar to you? Common points to a product. Peculiar points to building.
- How many people will use it in three years? Per-user pricing that looks cheap for five people can look very different for fifty.
- Who will look after it? If the answer is one person, whatever you choose, plan for them not being there.
- Does it need to connect to anything? Accounts, your website, a customer portal. Check each option can actually do that, not just that it "has an API".
If you still can't decide, that's normal. It's exactly what our free review is for.
Access alternative questions
Microsoft has never named a direct replacement, but Power Apps is the closest thing it offers for building your own business apps, usually with data in Dataverse or SharePoint. For the data itself, SQL Server is Microsoft's server database.
LibreOffice Base is a free desktop database, but it has the same limits as Access and isn't a step forward for a business. For a free database to sit behind your system, MySQL and SQL Server Express are both free. The cost is in building the screens and reports on top.
For simple, self-contained forms in a business already on Microsoft 365, it can be. For a large database with complex logic and heavy reporting, it tends to get awkward and the per-user licences add up.
If your database does something common, start with off-the-shelf. If it's central to how you make money and the way you work is part of what makes you different, bespoke usually fits better. Our bespoke or off-the-shelf guide covers this in detail.
More on replacing Access and spreadsheets
Choosing an Access alternative?
Tell us what your database does and we'll tell you what we'd pick.
What it does, how many people use it, and where you expect the business to be in a few years. We'll be straight with you, including if the answer is a product we don't sell.
What we will cover:
- Which option fits your database
- What each would roughly cost you
- What to check before you commit
Rather talk now? Book a call or ring 01474 639 089.
We reply within one working day.
