Everything IllusionDB can do—from the spreadsheet grid to PDF documents and your own API endpoints. And at the end: how it compares.
Group any table by a status or select field and move cards by drag & drop—the change is written straight to your database.
Start and end dates become bars. Move or resize them with the mouse, group by client or project, and export the chart.
Appointments, deadlines and date ranges from your date fields—by day, week, month or year. Click a day to create a record.
A page tree with full-text search and a Markdown editor with live preview—for processes, onboarding or documentation. The built-in handbook uses exactly this view.
A card list with image, title and teaser—ideal for blog posts, team pages or product catalogs. Combine it with IllusionCMS to publish them on your website.
Turn any row into a PDF, PNG or JPG with one click—invoices, quotes, certificates, delivery notes. Templates are HTML with a Twig-like syntax, designed right inside the app.
Write JavaScript with full data access and publish it as a REST endpoint or run it on record events—live, without a restart.
/api/v1/scripts/…
Every table, view and record is available through the REST API with personal tokens. The documentation is generated live in the app, with example requests you can copy.
Computed fields like in a spreadsheet app—across tables.
Attachment fields with preview and MIME checks, plus an instance-wide library.
Table, group and user permissions, public tables for read-only sharing.
Every change, with user and timestamp.
Run the server API-only and manage it from your local instance.
Raw SQL against the data source for anything the UI doesn’t cover.
Field types and endpoints as WASM modules, views as web components—no rebuild.
CSP, CSRF and clickjacking protection, HSTS behind TLS, login limits.
A snapshot against the best-known alternatives you can self-host.
| IllusionDB | Pocketbase | Supabase | NocoDB | Directus | Airtable | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| License cost (self-hosted) | Free | $0 · MIT | $0 software, cloud from $25 | $0 Community | $0 under $5M revenue | no self-hosting |
| Deployment | 1 binary | 1 binary | ~13 containers | Node.js + DB | Node.js + DB | cloud/SaaS only |
| Works on an existing database | Yes—core idea | No, its own DB | Partially | Yes | Yes | No |
| Supported databases | PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, SQLite | SQLite only | PostgreSQL only | PostgreSQL, MySQL, MSSQL, SQLite | 6 engines | proprietary storage |
| Formula, lookup, rollup | All three | No | No | All three | Partially | All three (+ scripting) |
| Modular extension | Field-type & view modules | No | No | No | No | No |
| Documents (PDF/PNG/JPG) from rows | Built in | No | No | No | No | extensions only |
| Telemetry | None | None | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Price per user (team plan) | $0, unlimited | $0 | from $25/mo per org | from $8/editor | from $15/mo | $45/user/mo |
Research as of August 2026. Competitor features and prices may change; IllusionDB figures refer to the core without extensions.
Free to use, self-hosted, ready in minutes—no migration of your data required.