Noloco alternative
The Noloco alternative that does not gate your database
Noloco is the closest thing to Emberblocks on the market: portals and internal tools for agencies, with real permissions and client-seat pricing. Its weak spot is that data connectivity is an upsell ladder: Airtable at one tier, SQL databases only at a higher tier, and everything only at Enterprise.
Emberblocks connects Postgres and Airtable on every plan, including the free one, and prices by app users. If you liked Noloco's idea and disliked paying a tier jump to reach the client's database, this is the alternative.
Builders are always free. Facts about Noloco on this page were last checked on against Noloco's own site. Tell us if something is out of date: hello@emberblocks.com.
Why people look for a Noloco alternative
Data sources by tier
Noloco unlocks SQL databases and HubSpot only on its Business tier. Emberblocks includes Postgres and Airtable on every plan.
Builders are free
Noloco counts team seats. Emberblocks never charges for workspace members who build; only the people using published apps count.
Smaller ecosystem
Noloco is a small team with a thin template library. Emberblocks ships ten complete templates you can open in the editor without an account.
Workflows and code
Emberblocks workflows trigger on row changes, schedules and buttons, and can branch, call webhooks and run code.
Publishing
Every publish is a versioned snapshot you can inspect and roll back, with a stable and a latest channel. Apps can be transferred to a client's workspace.
AI
Ember drafts a first version of an app from a plain-language description, and end users can ask questions of the data in plain language when you turn it on.
Emberblocks vs Noloco at a glance
| Capability | Emberblocks | Noloco |
|---|---|---|
| Built-in database | Yes | Yes |
| Connect your own Postgres | Yes | Business tier |
| Airtable as a source (two-way) | Yes | Pro tier, live API |
| Google Sheets as a live source | No | yes |
| No code required | Yes | Yes |
| Formula language | Yes | limited |
| Field-level permissions | Yes | Pro tier |
| Workflows and automations | Yes | Yes |
| Versioned publishing with rollback | Yes | unverified |
| Public links without accounts | Yes | unverified |
| Offline edits queued on phones | Yes | No |
| AI drafts the first version | Yes | unverified |
| Builders never pay | Yes | No |
| Paid plans priced by | app users | team seats plus client seats |
| Custom domains | not yet | unverified |
| SSO / SAML | not yet | unverified |
Emberblocks cells reflect what ships today. Noloco cells were checked against Noloco's public pages on the date shown at the top of this page; "unverified" means we could not confirm it and would rather say so than guess.
What you get in Emberblocks
Your data, live
Start on a built-in database, your own Postgres (Supabase, Neon, RDS, anything that speaks Postgres) or an Airtable base. Apps read and write live rows, so there are no exports to keep in sync.
Blocks on a grid
Drag tables, cards, record pages, kanban boards, calendars, maps, timelines, charts, stats, forms, buttons, comments, activity feeds, file viewers, signatures, barcodes and embeds onto a grid and wire them to tables. What you arrange is exactly what your team gets.
Real field types
Fields include text, email, phone, URL, number, boolean, date, date-time, time, duration, select, multi-select, reference, multi-reference, image, file, signature, address and JSON. Barcode scanning and signatures work in the browser without a native app.
Workflows
Workflows run when a row is created, updated or deleted, on a schedule, or from a button; steps update records, send email, call webhooks, branch on conditions and run code.
Roles and permissions
Roles decide which views a user sees and which fields they can read or edit; app users can be loaded from a table in your own data.
Publishing like software
Every publish is a versioned snapshot you can inspect and roll back, with a stable and a latest channel.
Phones and offline
Published apps are responsive, install on a phone's home screen, and queue edits made offline until the connection is back.
AI where it helps
Ember drafts a first version of an app from a plain-language description, and end users can ask questions of the data in plain language when you turn it on.
Where Noloco is still the better pick
- Client seats at one dollar each on Pro and Business. If you run portals with hundreds of low-activity client logins, price both before you decide.
- HubSpot, SmartSuite or Google Sheets as the live source. Emberblocks connects Postgres and Airtable.
- Custom domains and white-labelling today. Emberblocks can remove its badge on paid plans but does not offer custom domains yet.
How to move from Noloco
- 1
Bring the data
Connect the Postgres database the data already lives in, point Emberblocks at the Airtable base, or export a CSV and import it into a built-in table. Column types are detected on import.
- 2
Let Ember draft the app
Describe the tool in a sentence or two. Ember proposes tables, views and workflows; you review the plan before anything is created.
- 3
Rebuild the screens you actually use
Most teams find a third of their old views were never opened. Rebuild the ones that matter as blocks on a grid; the table, kanban, calendar and map blocks cover most of them.
- 4
Set roles, then publish
Decide who sees which views and fields, publish a versioned snapshot and send the link. Roll back in one click if something is off.
Questions
- Is Emberblocks made for agencies?
- Yes. Builders never pay, apps can be transferred to a client's own workspace by email invite, and plans are priced by the app users the client brings. There is a client-portal template to start from.
- Which data sources are included on the free plan?
- All of them: the built-in database, your own Postgres and Airtable. Plans differ in app users, rows, workflow runs, storage and similar allowances, never in which sources you may connect.
- How is Emberblocks priced?
- Builders are always free. Paid plans are priced by the number of people who sign in to your published apps: Starter $29, Pro $79 and Business $199 a month billed yearly. Every new workspace starts with a 14-day Pro trial, no card needed, and there is a free plan after that. Full details on the pricing page.
- Where does my data live?
- Wherever you want it. Use the built-in database, connect your own Postgres so rows never leave your server, or point an app at an Airtable base. Airtable bases are mirrored into Postgres and kept in sync both ways.
- What does Emberblocks not do yet?
- Custom domains, SSO and an Enterprise plan are not available yet. There is no live Google Sheets connector (import the sheet as CSV instead). Apps run in the browser and install to the home screen; there are no App Store or Play Store builds.
Try it on your own data.
Every workspace starts with a 14-day Pro trial without a card. You can also open a template in the editor first and sign up only when you want to keep it.