Softwr

Spreadsheets · head to head

Equals vs Mathesar

Equals logo

Equals

Spreadsheets

A real spreadsheet with SQL result sets landing in its cells, now sold only on annual contracts starting at 24,000 USD

From
$24000/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Mathesar logo

Mathesar

Spreadsheets

Spreadsheet style interface that edits an existing PostgreSQL database directly, with no schema of its own

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Mathesar has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Equals the price list now starts at 24,000 USD a year with no monthly billing and no self-serve signup, having offered a free plan in 2023 and 39 USD per seat in 2024, so any team that evaluated it previously is looking at a different product commercially.; Mathesar there is no hosted offering of any kind, so a team without someone who can run and secure a server cannot use it at all.
  • They diverge on capability: Equals covers Connected sheets, Mathesar covers Direct PostgreSQL editing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Equals and Mathesar actually diverge.

Attributes where Equals and Mathesar differ
AttributeEqualsMathesar
Starting price$24000/yearFree
Pricing modelPer year by connector count and refresh frequencyOpen source, no licence fee
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, APIWeb, Linux

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Spreadsheets).

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 Equals

  • Connected sheets
  • Real spreadsheet mechanics
  • Cell references into SQL
  • Equals Warehouse
  • Views
  • Writeback

Only in Mathesar

  • Direct PostgreSQL editing
  • PostgreSQL permissions
  • Schema editing
  • Data exploration
  • Relationship navigation
  • Import of tabular files
  • Self hosted only

What people use each for

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

Equals

  • A revenue operations team that wants software metrics computed in a spreadsheet rather than defined in a BI semantic layernot Mathesar
  • Analysts who need a SQL result and manual assumptions in the same file, with the assumptions visible as cellsnot Mathesar
  • Joining Stripe, Salesforce and a production database without building a warehouse and pipeline firstnot Mathesar
  • Distributing a recurring numbers pack to Slack, email or a wall display without rebuilding it as a dashboardnot Mathesar

Mathesar

  • A nonprofit or research group whose data is already in PostgreSQL and whose staff cannot write SQLnot Equals
  • Giving analysts a safe editing interface governed by database roles that already existnot Equals
  • Replacing a hand built Django or Rails admin screen that nobody wants to maintainnot Equals
  • Editing production reference data where an export, edit and reimport cycle would risk losing concurrent changesnot Equals

Where each one falls short

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

Equals

  • The price list now starts at 24,000 USD a year with no monthly billing and no self-serve signup, having offered a free plan in 2023 and 39 USD per seat in 2024, so any team that evaluated it previously is looking at a different product commercially.
  • Your data is copied out of your infrastructure by design, into a Snowflake warehouse that Equals operates, with Fivetran holding non-SQL source data in transit, and no self-hosted or bring-your-own-warehouse option is documented.
  • The financial function category contains only IRR, NPV and PMT, with no XIRR, XNPV, FV, PV, RATE or NPER, and there is no LAMBDA, LET, OFFSET or INDIRECT, so a substantial class of existing spreadsheet models cannot be ported without rework.
  • No documentation of importing or exporting Excel files exists anywhere in the docs index; the supported file sources are CSV and Google Sheets and the only documented export is dashboards as PDF, which is a notable gap for a product positioning itself as a successor to Excel.
  • Data freshness is a pricing lever rather than a setting, at six hours on Essential, one hour on Business and fifteen minutes on Enterprise, and the feature that removes row limits is itself gated above the entry tier, so the Essential row ceiling is neither published nor unlimited.

Mathesar

  • There is no hosted offering of any kind, so a team without someone who can run and secure a server cannot use it at all.
  • It works only with PostgreSQL, so a MySQL, SQL Server or SQLite estate is excluded outright.
  • There are no automations, no webhooks and effectively no integration catalogue, so it edits data and does nothing else.
  • Because it writes to the live database, a careless bulk edit or column type change is a production change with no staging step and no undo.
  • Development is grant and community funded rather than commercially funded, so roadmap pace and long term continuity carry a different risk profile from a venture backed vendor.

Pricing, plan by plan

Equals

$24000/year
  • Essential$24000/year
    • Unlimited viewers and unlimited editors
    • 3 connectors
    • Data sync every 6 hours
  • Business$36000/year
    • Unlimited viewers and unlimited editors
    • 5 connectors or a warehouse connection
    • Data sync every hour
  • Enterprise$60000/year
    • Unlimited viewers and unlimited editors
    • Unlimited connectors or a warehouse connection
    • Data sync every 15 minutes
  • Connector add-ons$199/month
    • 199 USD per month for each additional database or import script connector
    • 699 USD per month for each additional connector of any other type
    • Available on Business and Enterprise

Mathesar

Free
  • Self hosted open sourceFree
    • No licence fee
    • No hosted option offered
    • Connects to your existing PostgreSQL database

Which should you pick?

Choose Equals if

  • You need connected sheets.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want real spreadsheet mechanics.
Equals review

Choose Mathesar if

  • You need direct postgresql editing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux.
  • You also want postgresql permissions.
Mathesar review

Questions people ask

Is Equals or Mathesar better?
Neither clearly leads. Equals starts at $24000/year and Mathesar at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Equals or Mathesar?
Mathesar has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $24000/year for Equals and Free for Mathesar.
Does Equals or Mathesar run on more platforms?
Equals runs on Web, API. Mathesar runs on Web, Linux.
Can I use Mathesar for free?
Yes. Mathesar has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Equals starts at $24000/year.
What is Equals best used for?
Equals is most often used for a revenue operations team that wants software metrics computed in a spreadsheet rather than defined in a bi semantic layer, analysts who need a sql result and manual assumptions in the same file, with the assumptions visible as cells, joining stripe, salesforce and a production database without building a warehouse and pipeline first, distributing a recurring numbers pack to slack, email or a wall display without rebuilding it as a dashboard. Of those, a revenue operations team that wants software metrics computed in a spreadsheet rather than defined in a bi semantic layer and analysts who need a sql result and manual assumptions in the same file, with the assumptions visible as cells are not what Mathesar is typically brought in for.
What can Equals do that Mathesar cannot?
Equals covers Connected sheets, Real spreadsheet mechanics, Cell references into SQL, Equals Warehouse. Mathesar covers Direct PostgreSQL editing, PostgreSQL permissions, Schema editing, Data exploration.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Equals: Is it a real spreadsheet or a modelling tool with a grid?

A real spreadsheet. A1 references, absolute reference locking, pivot tables and spilling array formulas all work, and SQL results land in ranges that ordinary cells reference.

Mathesar: Is there a cloud version?

No. Self hosting is the only option, and that is a deliberate project decision rather than a gap waiting to be filled.

Equals: What does it actually cost?

24,000 USD a year for Essential, 36,000 for Business and 60,000 for Enterprise, billed annually. There is no monthly option and no self-serve signup; the trial is negotiated per customer.

Mathesar: How does it handle permissions?

Through PostgreSQL roles and privileges directly, so there is no second permission model to keep in step.

Equals: Are seats charged?

No. Viewers and editors are unlimited on every plan. The meters are connector count, refresh frequency and AI spend, with additional connectors at 199 or 699 USD a month.

Mathesar: What is the row limit?

Whatever PostgreSQL can handle. Mathesar adds no storage layer of its own.

Equals: Does my data stay in my own warehouse?

No. Connecting more than one source syncs data into a Snowflake warehouse that Equals runs, and non-SQL sources pass through Fivetran. There is no documented self-hosted option.

Mathesar: Does it support databases other than PostgreSQL?

No.

Mathesar: Can it replace Airtable?

Only for editing and exploring data. There are no automations, apps or integrations.

Share

Related pages

More on Equals

More on Mathesar

Keep looking

Other head to heads