Spreadsheets · alternatives
Alternatives to Google Sheets
20 spreadsheets tools sit alongside Google Sheets in this directory. Below is what separates each from Google Sheets on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.
- Alternatives listed
- 20
- With a free tier
- 14
- Cheaper to start
- -
- Google Sheets starts at
- Free
Why people look past Google Sheets
Nothing on the record flags a reason to move. Google Sheets has a free tier. People still switch over fit and workflow, and those are not things a catalogue entry can measure, which is what the comparisons below are for.
What each alternative does differently
Ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry. Differences are drawn from price, pricing model, tier count and rating, the fields the category listing carries. For a feature-level difference, follow the head-to-head link on each card: those pages read both full records.
Free standalone cloud spreadsheet from Zoho, also bundled into the low-cost Zoho Workplace suite
- Sold on a Free standalone, bundled into paid Zoho Workplace for organisations model rather than Free personally, bundled into paid Google Workspace for organisations.
- 3 tiers to Google Sheets's 2.
Apple spreadsheet, free on Apple hardware, now with an optional Apple Creator Studio subscription for AI features
- Sold on a Free with Apple hardware, optional Apple Creator Studio subscription for AI features model rather than Free personally, bundled into paid Google Workspace for organisations.
Create apps that perfectly fit your team's needs
- Publishes an entry price of $20/month per editor, where Google Sheets does not.
- 4 tiers to Google Sheets's 2.
Open source spreadsheet database with an API first design and an embeddable widget system
- Sold on a Open source, no licence fee model rather than Free personally, bundled into paid Google Workspace for organisations.
- 1 tier to Google Sheets's 2.
Spreadsheet interface for Google Cloud Firestore with cloud functions written in the browser
- Sold on a Open source, no licence fee model rather than Free personally, bundled into paid Google Workspace for organisations.
- 1 tier to Google Sheets's 2.
Spreadsheet style interface that edits an existing PostgreSQL database directly, with no schema of its own
- Sold on a Open source, no licence fee model rather than Free personally, bundled into paid Google Workspace for organisations.
- 1 tier to Google Sheets's 2.
Every Google Sheets alternative at a glance
A dash means the catalogue entry carries no figure, not that the answer is nothing.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Tiers | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Sheets (this page) | Free | Free personally, bundled into paid Google Workspace for organisations | 2 | |
| Zoho SheetIf you want a spreadsheet bundled into a lower-cost workplace suite | Free | Free standalone, bundled into paid Zoho Workplace for organisations | 3 | vs Google Sheets |
| NumbersIf your organisation is Apple hardware based and wants a spreadsheet bundled with the devices | Free | Free with Apple hardware, optional Apple Creator Studio subscription for AI features | 2 | vs Google Sheets |
| AirtableIf you need database-like structure and views rather than a traditional grid | Free, then $20/month per editor | - | 4 | vs Google Sheets |
| APITable | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs Google Sheets |
| Rowy | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs Google Sheets |
| Mathesar | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs Google Sheets |
| SeaTable | Free, then €7/month | Per user per month | 5 | vs Google Sheets |
| Quadratic | Free, then $18/month | Per user per month | 4 | vs Google Sheets |
| Teable | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs Google Sheets |
| Redash | Free | Freemium | 2 | vs Google Sheets |
| Fibery | Free | Subscription | - | vs Google Sheets |
| Baserow | Free | Freemium | 4 | vs Google Sheets |
| Metabase | Free, then $90/month | Freemium | 4 | vs Google Sheets |
| Apache Superset | Free | Open-source | 1 | vs Google Sheets |
| Coefficient | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Google Sheets |
| Sigma Computing | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Google Sheets |
| Equals | $24000/year | Per year by connector count and refresh frequency | 4 | vs Google Sheets |
| Cube Software | On request | Quote | 3 | vs Google Sheets |
| Tableau | $70/month | Subscription | 3 | vs Google Sheets |
| Looker | On request | - | - | vs Google Sheets |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry; Softwr hosts no reviews of these products. How each figure is used is set out on the Google Sheets badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
What you would be giving up
Google Sheets is most often brought in for a freelancer or small team wanting real-time spreadsheet collaboration without installing software, a school or nonprofit already using free or discounted google workspace for education, a company standardising on google workspace for email and file storage that gets sheets included, a team building lightweight internal tools with apps script rather than a dedicated database. Anything replacing it has to cover the ones you actually depend on, and a cheaper tool that misses one of them is not cheaper.
Two things this page cannot settle. It compares on price, model, tier count and rating, because those are the fields the category listing carries, feature-level differences need both full records, which is what the head-to-head pages load. And the ratings are third-party aggregates imported with each entry rather than reviews written here, so a 0.2 difference between two tools is noise rather than a finding.
If Google Sheets is broadly right and the question is cost, the Google Sheets pricing breakdown covers every tier and what each one adds. If you want the whole field rather than a shortlist, the Spreadsheets category lists everything the directory holds, and best spreadsheets tools ranks them.
Google Sheets runs on web, ios, android. Platform coverage is not carried on the category listing for the alternatives, so it is one more thing to check on each head-to-head page rather than here.
Questions about Google Sheets alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to Google Sheets?
- 20 other spreadsheets tools are listed in this directory, led by Zoho Sheet, Numbers, Airtable, APITable. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
- What is the best free alternative to Google Sheets?
- 14 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: Zoho Sheet, Numbers, Airtable, APITable, Rowy.
- Is there a reason to switch away from Google Sheets?
- Nothing in the data flags one. Google Sheets has a free tier. Fit and workflow are the usual reasons to move, and those are not things this record can measure.
- What would I give up by switching from Google Sheets?
- Google Sheets is most often brought in for a freelancer or small team wanting real-time spreadsheet collaboration without installing software, a school or nonprofit already using free or discounted google workspace for education, a company standardising on google workspace for email and file storage that gets sheets included, a team building lightweight internal tools with apps script rather than a dedicated database. Anything you replace it with has to cover the ones you actually rely on, the side-by-side comparisons linked from each alternative below put the two feature records against each other.
- Is there an open-source alternative to Google Sheets?
- Apache Superset is recorded with an open-source licence model.
- How were these Google Sheets alternatives chosen?
- They are the tools filed in the same category, Spreadsheets, ordered by the aggregated rating on each entry. There is no editorial shortlist, and nothing on this page is paid: no sponsored placement runs on alternatives pages and the order cannot be bought. Softwr has not used these products.
- Where can I compare Google Sheets against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against Google Sheets covering price, platforms, features and what each one is used for. Those pages read the full record for both products rather than the summary shown here.
- Does this list cover every spreadsheets tool?
- No. It covers what this directory holds in the Spreadsheets category, 20 tools beside Google Sheets. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.