How to Save Emails to Airtable (3 Methods Compared)

If you use Airtable to track your work, you've probably wanted to log emails straight into your bases without copying and pasting. Good news: there are several ways to do it. In this guide, we'll compare three methods so you can pick the one that fits your workflow.

Method 1: Email Forwarding

The simplest approach is email forwarding. Services like Quicktion give you a unique email address (e.g., abc123@in.quicktion.io). Forward any email to that address and it lands in your Airtable table automatically.

How it works:

1. Sign up and connect Airtable. Create a Quicktion account and authorize access to your Airtable workspace. This takes about 30 seconds — you click through Airtable's OAuth prompt to grant Quicktion access to your bases.
2. Create a destination. A destination is a link between a forwarding address and an Airtable table. Pick which base and table should receive your emails.
3. Map your fields. Choose how email fields map to Airtable fields. For example, the subject goes into a single line text field, the sender email into another, the date into a date field, and the body into a long text field. Quicktion lets you configure which fields to include and how they map.
4. Forward emails. Send any email to your unique Quicktion address. Within 10-30 seconds, a new record appears in your Airtable table with everything mapped correctly.

This method works with any email client — Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail, Yahoo Mail, Thunderbird, or anything else that can forward messages. You can even set up auto-forwarding rules so specific emails go to Airtable without any manual effort.

Auto-forwarding is where this method really shines. In Gmail, you create a filter (e.g., "from:billing@stripe.com") and set it to forward matching emails to your Quicktion address. From that point on, every matching email is saved automatically. You never have to think about it.

The same works in Outlook, Apple Mail, and most other email clients. Set up the rule once and your emails flow into your Airtable base on autopilot.

Method 2: Gmail Add-on

If you live in Gmail, a workspace add-on might be more convenient. With Quicktion's Gmail add-on, you can save emails to Airtable without leaving your inbox.

How it works:

1. Install the add-on. Find Quicktion in the Google Workspace Marketplace and install it. It appears as a sidebar icon in Gmail.
2. Connect your Airtable account. On first use, the add-on walks you through connecting your Airtable workspace — the same OAuth flow as the web dashboard.
3. Open any email and click save. When you open an email, click the Quicktion icon in Gmail's right sidebar. You'll see your configured destinations. Pick one and hit save.
4. Edit before saving (optional). Before saving, you can review and edit the data that will be written to your Airtable record. Adjust the subject, trim the body, or update any field before it lands in your base. This is useful when emails need light cleanup before they're worth logging.

The advantage here is speed — you don't need to compose a forward. Just click and save. The add-on also shows you a confirmation once the email is saved, so you know it worked.

For a deeper walkthrough, see our complete Gmail to Airtable integration guide.

Method 3: Automation Tools (Zapier, Make)

Platforms like Zapier and Make can connect Gmail to Airtable through automated workflows. You set up a trigger (e.g., "new email with label X") and an action (e.g., "create record in Airtable").

How it works:

1. Create a new automation. In Zapier, this is called a "Zap." In Make, it's a "Scenario."
2. Set your trigger. Choose Gmail (or another email service) as the trigger app. Define conditions like specific labels, senders, or subject line keywords.
3. Configure the Airtable action. Select "Create Record" as the action. Map email fields (subject, body, sender, date) to Airtable fields one by one. Each field requires manual selection.
4. Test and activate. Run a test to verify the mapping works, then turn on the automation.

Pros:

• Highly customizable trigger conditions
• Can chain with other actions (Slack notifications, task creation, etc.)
• Useful if you already use Zapier or Make for other workflows

Cons:

• Requires 15-20 minutes of setup minimum, more if you hit mapping issues
• Paid plans needed for frequent use — Zapier's free tier caps at 100 tasks per month
• Email body arrives as plain text or raw HTML — no markdown conversion, no preserved links
• Attachments are not handled — Zapier provides attachment URLs from Gmail's servers, not actual files uploaded to Airtable
• Polling delays of 5-15 minutes before an email appears in your base
• Manual field mapping that breaks if you rename or rearrange Airtable fields
• Can be brittle if Airtable or Gmail API changes trigger maintenance work

Which Method Should You Choose?

For most people, email forwarding is the easiest starting point. It requires zero effort per email once auto-forwarding is configured, and it works regardless of which email client you use. If you use Gmail exclusively and want to save individual emails selectively — with the option to review what's being saved — the Gmail add-on is ideal. Automation tools make sense when you need complex conditional logic or want email saving as one step in a larger multi-app workflow. For a detailed breakdown of how forwarding compares to Zapier, see our Zapier vs Quicktion comparison.

What Gets Saved to Airtable

When you save an email to Airtable, each part of the email maps to a field on the record. Here's exactly what happens:

Subject becomes a single line text field. The email's subject line is saved to the field you designate. This makes your table scannable at a glance — you can see what each email is about without opening the record.

Body becomes a long text or rich text field. Quicktion converts the HTML email body into markdown. Links, headings, bold text, and lists are preserved. Airtable's long text fields support markdown rendering, so the body displays with proper formatting when you open the record.

Sender maps to a field. The "From" address and sender name are saved to fields you configure. Useful for filtering records by sender or building contact-based views.

Date maps to a date field. The email's send date is captured and saved to a date field. Useful for sorting records chronologically and building date-based filters or grouped views in Airtable.

Attachments are uploaded directly to an attachment field. PDFs, images, and other files are automatically uploaded to an Airtable attachment field on the record — not linked from an external storage service. You open them directly from the record in Airtable without navigating anywhere else.

Quicktion's field mapping system lets you control exactly which fields appear and how email data maps to them. You configure it once per destination and every email follows that structure.

Save Emails to Airtable by Use Case

Different workflows call for different setups. Here are four common use cases where saving emails to Airtable adds real value:

Lead Capture and CRM

Forward inquiry emails to an Airtable base set up as a lightweight CRM. The sender becomes the contact, the subject describes the inquiry, and the body contains their message. Add fields for status (New, Contacted, Qualified, Closed), deal value, and follow-up date.

Set up auto-forwarding from your contact form notification address or your general inquiry inbox. Every lead lands in Airtable automatically, ready for your team to act on. Use Airtable's views to filter by status, sort by date, or group by source.

Support Ticket Log

Forward customer support emails to a dedicated Airtable table. The email subject and body contain the issue details, the sender field identifies the customer, and the date shows when the request came in.

Add fields for priority, assigned team member, and resolution status. Use Airtable's kanban or grid views to manage the queue. Auto-forward from your support inbox so every ticket is captured without manual effort.

Receipt and Expense Tracking

Forward purchase confirmations and invoices to an Airtable expense tracker. The subject typically contains the vendor name, the date records the transaction, and attachments (PDF receipts or invoices) are uploaded directly to the Airtable record.

Set up auto-forwarding rules for common vendors — Amazon, Stripe, PayPal, your software subscriptions — and every receipt is logged automatically. Add fields for amount, category, and reimbursement status. Filter by date range for end-of-month reporting or tax season.

Newsletter and Research Archive

Subscribing to newsletters and research digests is easy. Finding something you read three months ago is not. Forward your subscriptions to an Airtable archive and you get a searchable, filterable log of everything you've received.

Set up a Gmail filter for each newsletter sender and auto-forward to your Quicktion address. Every issue lands in Airtable with the subject, sender, date, and full body preserved as markdown. Add a field for notes or category to annotate what was useful. Airtable's search and filter capabilities make finding past content fast.

Save Emails to Airtable for Free

You don't need to pay anything to get started. Quicktion's free plan includes:

• 25 emails per month — enough for occasional forwarding or testing your workflow
• 1 destination — one Airtable table linked to one forwarding address
• Gmail add-on access — save emails manually from Gmail at no cost
• Email forwarding — works with any email client
• Attachment uploads — files uploaded directly to Airtable attachment fields
• No credit card required — sign up and start saving immediately

For higher volume or multiple destinations, the Pro plan is $8/month. Pro gives you unlimited emails, unlimited destinations, and priority processing. Most people start on the free plan to test their workflow and upgrade when they need more capacity.

Getting Started

The fastest way to try email-to-Airtable is to sign up for Quicktion. You get both forwarding and the Gmail add-on in one platform, so you can use whichever method fits each situation.

For a detailed walkthrough of the Gmail add-on, check out our Gmail to Airtable integration guide.

Get started with Quicktion — it takes less than two minutes to connect your first Airtable table.