Is Baserow or Formance better?

Neither clearly leads. Baserow starts at Free and Formance at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Baserow or Formance?

Baserow starts at Free and Formance at Free.

Does Baserow or Formance run on more platforms?

Baserow runs on Web, Api, Self-hosted. Formance runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Web, API.

Can I use Baserow for free?

Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.

What is Baserow best used for?

Baserow is most often used for self-hosting an open source alternative to a spreadsheet database, structured team data with kanban, calendar and grid views, building internal tools on top of a database with an api, sharing data with external app users without giving them full seats. Of those, self-hosting an open source alternative to a spreadsheet database and structured team data with kanban, calendar and grid views are not what Formance is typically brought in for.

What can Baserow do that Formance cannot?

Baserow covers Database tables, Multiple views, Forms, API access. Formance covers Double-entry ledger, Numscript transaction DSL, Multi-currency, Payments connectivity. Both handle Self-hosted deployment.

Spreadsheets · head to head

Baserow vs Formance

Baserow

Spreadsheets

Open-source no-code database platform

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Formance

APIs

Open source double-entry ledger and payment orchestration for money-moving software

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Each has a real cost: Baserow the free tier is capped at 3,000 rows and 2GB of storage per workspace; Formance formance holds no money and provides no regulatory cover, so it must be paired with a payments provider or bank, and buyers occasionally mistake a ledger for a treasury system and discover the gap late.
They diverge on capability: Baserow covers Database tables, Formance covers Double-entry ledger.
Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Baserow and Formance actually diverge.

Attributes where Baserow and Formance differ
Attribute	Baserow	Formance
Pricing model	freemium	Open source, no licence fee
Platforms	Web, Api, Self-hosted	Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Web, API
Category	Spreadsheets	APIs
Founded	2019	Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Baserow

Database tables
Multiple views
Forms
API access
Real-time collaboration
Templates
Plugins
Self-hosting

Only in Formance

Double-entry ledger
Numscript transaction DSL
Multi-currency
Payments connectivity
Reconciliation
Cloud offering
API and SDKs

Both cover

Self-hosted deployment

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Baserow

Self-hosting an open source alternative to a spreadsheet databasenot Formance
Structured team data with Kanban, calendar and grid viewsnot Formance
Building internal tools on top of a database with an APInot Formance
Sharing data with external app users without giving them full seatsnot Formance

Formance

A marketplace splitting a single customer payment between seller, platform fee and tax that needs the split to be atomic and auditablenot Baserow
A fintech whose homegrown balances table produced numbers finance could not reconcile and now needs proper double-entry before an auditnot Baserow
A payments team that wants one normalised model across several PSPs so reconciliation is not written separately for eachnot Baserow
A company that wants its ledger under a licence it can keep running even if the vendor disappearsnot Baserow

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Baserow

The free tier is capped at 3,000 rows and 2GB of storage per workspace
Kanban, calendar and survey views need Premium at $10 per user per month billed yearly
Role-based permissions, audit logs and SSO require Premium or higher
Row limits are per workspace rather than per table, so splitting data across bases does not raise the ceiling
Automation runs are metered as credits, 2,000 a month on free

Formance

Formance holds no money and provides no regulatory cover, so it must be paired with a payments provider or bank, and buyers occasionally mistake a ledger for a treasury system and discover the gap late.
Numscript is a domain-specific language your team must learn, and while it makes complex splits expressible it also means transaction logic sits outside the languages your engineers already debug well.
Self-hosting a ledger that must never lose or duplicate a transaction is a serious operational commitment covering backups, upgrades and Postgres tuning, which is real cost the zero licence fee hides.
Enterprise pricing is not published, so the difference between the free path and the supported path cannot be evaluated without a sales conversation.
The company is much smaller than the incumbent alternatives, and while the MIT licence protects the code it does not protect the roadmap, so features on the hosted side may arrive slowly or change direction.

Pricing, plan by plan

Baserow

Free

FreeFree
- 3000 rows per workspace
- 2 GB storage per workspace
- 2000 automation credits monthly
Premium$10/month
- 50000 rows per workspace
- 20 GB storage per workspace
- 100000 automation credits monthly
Advanced$18/month
- 250000 rows per workspace
- 100 GB storage per workspace
- 500000 automation credits monthly
Enterprise$null/month
- 1000000 rows per workspace
- 1000 GB storage per workspace
- 2000000 automation credits monthly

Formance

Free

Open SourceFree
- MIT licensed core ledger
- Numscript transaction DSL
- Multi-currency tracking
Enterprise$undefined/year
- Managed or private deployment
- Payments connectivity and reconciliation
- Support with response commitments

Which should you pick?

Choose Baserow if

You need database tables.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Web, Api, Self-hosted.
You also want multiple views.

Baserow review

Choose Formance if

You need double-entry ledger.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Web, API.
You also want numscript transaction dsl.

Formance review

Questions people ask

Is Baserow or Formance better?: Neither clearly leads. Baserow starts at Free and Formance at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Baserow or Formance?: Baserow starts at Free and Formance at Free.
Does Baserow or Formance run on more platforms?: Baserow runs on Web, Api, Self-hosted. Formance runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Web, API.
Can I use Baserow for free?: Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Baserow best used for?: Baserow is most often used for self-hosting an open source alternative to a spreadsheet database, structured team data with kanban, calendar and grid views, building internal tools on top of a database with an api, sharing data with external app users without giving them full seats. Of those, self-hosting an open source alternative to a spreadsheet database and structured team data with kanban, calendar and grid views are not what Formance is typically brought in for.
What can Baserow do that Formance cannot?: Baserow covers Database tables, Multiple views, Forms, API access. Formance covers Double-entry ledger, Numscript transaction DSL, Multi-currency, Payments connectivity. Both handle Self-hosted deployment.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Baserow: Does Baserow have a free plan?

Baserow's Free plan includes 3000 rows per workspace, 2 GB storage, 2000 automation credits monthly, and access to Grid, Form, and Gallery views. It supports up to 500 external app users and includes 65+ templates with no credit card required.

Source

Formance: Is Formance really open source?

Yes. The core ledger is MIT licensed with full source access and no deployment restrictions.

Baserow: What row and storage limits does Baserow provide by plan?

Free plan: 3000 rows and 2 GB storage; Premium plan: 50000 rows and 20 GB; Advanced plan: 250000 rows and 100 GB; Enterprise plan: 1000000 rows and 1 TB. All limits are per workspace.

Source

Formance: Does Formance move money?

No. It records and orchestrates movements; the actual payments happen at a PSP or bank you connect.

Baserow: How much does Baserow Premium cost?

Baserow Premium costs $10 per user per month when billed annually, or $12 per month when billing monthly. Yearly billing provides better rates than monthly. Advanced plan costs $18/user/month annually or $22/month monthly.

Source

Formance: What does the enterprise version cost?

Not published. It is an annual subscription quoted per customer.

Baserow: What are automation credit limits in Baserow?

Free plan provides 2000 monthly automation credits, Premium provides 100000 monthly credits, Advanced provides 500000 monthly credits, and Enterprise provides 2000000 monthly credits for workflow automation.

Source

Formance: Do I have to use Numscript?

Yes for anything beyond the simplest transfers. It is how multi-party transactions are expressed atomically.

Baserow vs Formance

Baserow

Formance

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Baserow

Only in Formance

Both cover

What people use each for

Baserow

Formance

Where each one falls short

Baserow

Formance

Pricing, plan by plan

Baserow

Formance

Which should you pick?

Choose Baserow if

Choose Formance if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Baserow

More on Formance

Keep looking

Other head to heads