Small Tables vs. Glide Tables: What's the Difference?
Small Tables are the default table type of all new teams and are not shown as Small Tables, but just normally as Glide Tables. Legacy teams will default to the older "Regular Glide Tables" unless requested to be changed. They look and feel just like Glide Tables, but there's an important difference happening under the hood. Here's what you need to know to decide which is right for your app.
Why choose Small Tables?
Small Tables are built on the same powerful technology that runs Glide Big Tables. That foundation gives them one standout advantage today: faster, more direct writes.
Standard Glide Tables send writes through a multi-step pipeline before reaching the database. Small Tables skip much of that journey, writing directly to the database instead. For you, that means:
More reliable writes, with fewer chances of something getting stuck
Lower write latency, so changes show up faster
Better performance during high-frequency updates, like busy forms or rapid edits
Fewer bottlenecks, especially when many users are writing at once
If your app depends on quick, dependable data updates, Small Tables can give you a noticeably smoother experience.
Included in data backups
Small Tables come with another meaningful advantage: they're included in data backups when you've purchased the optional backups add-on. Standard Glide Tables aren't covered by backups, so if protecting your data against accidental changes or loss is a priority, Small Tables give you an extra layer of peace of mind—provided the backup add-on is active on your account.
The one important limitation: 25,000 rows
Small Tables come with a hard cap of 25,000 rows per table. That makes them a great fit for small to medium datasets, but not the right choice if you're working with large data collections or expect significant growth.
A quick rule of thumb:
Under 25,000 rows? Small Tables are a strong option.
Planning to scale beyond 25,000 rows? Reach for Glide Big Tables instead.
What stays the same
Aside from the faster write path and the row limit, Small Tables behave just like the Glide Tables you already know:
The same Data Editor experience
The same computed columns
The same data access behavior
The same usage in layouts and actions
Most builders won't notice any visible difference day to day—unless you're watching network calls closely, the improvement shows up as things simply feeling a little snappier.
Where we're headed
Over time, Glide plans for all Glide Tables to move to the Small Tables foundation, bringing consistent performance across the entire platform. For now, the benefits are focused on write speed and reliability, balanced by that 25,000-row ceiling.
If your dataset fits comfortably within the limit, Small Tables are a simple way to get faster, more reliable writes—with no other changes to how you build.