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Spreadsheets · head to head

Google Sheets vs Sigma Computing

Google Sheets logo

Google Sheets

Spreadsheets

Cloud spreadsheet, free for a personal Google account and bundled into paid Google Workspace for organisations

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Sigma Computing logo

Sigma Computing

Spreadsheets

Spreadsheet-style analytics that queries a cloud data warehouse directly with no extract layer

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Google Sheets has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Google Sheets performance degrades noticeably on very large or formula-heavy spreadsheets compared with desktop Excel, particularly with complex array formulas.; Sigma Computing every user interaction is a live warehouse query, so compute costs rise with adoption and land on the warehouse invoice rather than the BI line item, which routinely surprises the team that approved the purchase.
  • They diverge on capability: Google Sheets covers Real-time collaboration, Sigma Computing covers Spreadsheet interface over SQL.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Google Sheets and Sigma Computing actually diverge.

Attributes where Google Sheets and Sigma Computing differ
AttributeGoogle SheetsSigma Computing
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelFree personally, bundled into paid Google Workspace for organisationsquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb

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 Google Sheets

  • Real-time collaboration
  • Formulas and pivot tables
  • Apps Script automation
  • Excel compatibility
  • Offline mode
  • Connected Sheets

Only in Sigma Computing

  • Spreadsheet interface over SQL
  • No extract layer
  • Input tables and write-back
  • Workbooks
  • Embedded analytics
  • Version control and dbt awareness

What people use each for

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

Google Sheets

  • A freelancer or small team wanting real-time spreadsheet collaboration without installing softwarenot Sigma Computing
  • A school or nonprofit already using free or discounted Google Workspace for Educationnot Sigma Computing
  • A company standardising on Google Workspace for email and file storage that gets Sheets includednot Sigma Computing
  • A team building lightweight internal tools with Apps Script rather than a dedicated databasenot Sigma Computing

Sigma Computing

  • A finance or operations team that lives in spreadsheets and needs warehouse-scale data without exporting CSVsnot Google Sheets
  • An organisation that has consolidated on Snowflake or Databricks and wants one governed access layer rather than several desktop toolsnot Google Sheets
  • Planning and scenario work where users need to type assumptions back into governed tables rather than into a local filenot Google Sheets
  • Embedding customer-facing analytics into a product where each tenant must only see their own rowsnot Google Sheets

Where each one falls short

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

Google Sheets

  • Performance degrades noticeably on very large or formula-heavy spreadsheets compared with desktop Excel, particularly with complex array formulas.
  • Its charting and pivot table features are less capable than Excel for advanced statistical or financial analysis.
  • Offline editing requires the Chrome browser or a specific offline-enabled setup, so it is not as seamless as a native desktop application.
  • The free personal tier has no admin controls, audit logging or data loss prevention, so it is not appropriate for regulated business data on its own.
  • Apps Script has execution time limits and quota restrictions that make it unsuitable for heavier automation workloads a dedicated backend would handle better.

Sigma Computing

  • Every user interaction is a live warehouse query, so compute costs rise with adoption and land on the warehouse invoice rather than the BI line item, which routinely surprises the team that approved the purchase.
  • It cannot work without a supported cloud data warehouse, so an organisation running analytics on an on-premises database or a plain application database has nothing to connect to.
  • Pricing is not published and seats are differentiated by capability, so budgeting requires a sales cycle and a headcount forecast before you can compare it with a tool you could simply buy.
  • Performance is only as good as the warehouse behind it, which means slow or badly modelled tables surface as a slow interface and the fix is a data engineering project, not a Sigma setting.
  • Statistical and scientific visualisation is limited compared with dedicated tools, so anything beyond standard business charting has to be done elsewhere and brought back in.

Pricing, plan by plan

Google Sheets

Free
  • Personal Google accountFree
    • Full Sheets functionality
    • 15GB shared Drive storage across Gmail, Drive and Photos
    • No admin controls
  • Google Workspace Business Starter$7/month
    • Sheets bundled with Gmail, Drive and Meet
    • Admin console and centralised management
    • 30GB pooled storage per user

Sigma Computing

On request
  • Sigma Computing$undefined/year
    • Quoted per organisation
    • Seat types are differentiated by whether a user views, explores or authors
    • Warehouse compute is billed separately by your cloud data warehouse vendor

Which should you pick?

Choose Google Sheets if

  • You need real-time collaboration.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want formulas and pivot tables.
Google Sheets review

Choose Sigma Computing if

  • You need spreadsheet interface over sql.
  • You also want no extract layer.
Sigma Computing review

Questions people ask

Is Google Sheets or Sigma Computing better?
Neither clearly leads. Google Sheets starts at Free and Sigma Computing at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Google Sheets or Sigma Computing?
Google Sheets has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Google Sheets and On request for Sigma Computing.
Does Google Sheets or Sigma Computing run on more platforms?
Google Sheets runs on Web, iOS, Android. Sigma Computing runs on Web.
Can I use Google Sheets for free?
Yes. Google Sheets has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Sigma Computing starts at On request.
What is Google Sheets best used for?
Google Sheets is most often used 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. Of those, a freelancer or small team wanting real-time spreadsheet collaboration without installing software and a school or nonprofit already using free or discounted google workspace for education are not what Sigma Computing is typically brought in for.
What can Google Sheets do that Sigma Computing cannot?
Google Sheets covers Real-time collaboration, Formulas and pivot tables, Apps Script automation, Excel compatibility. Sigma Computing covers Spreadsheet interface over SQL, No extract layer, Input tables and write-back, Workbooks.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Google Sheets: Is Google Sheets really free?

Yes, for a personal Google account with full functionality, subject to the 15GB Drive storage limit shared across Google services.

Sigma Computing: Does Sigma store a copy of my data?

No. Queries are executed on your warehouse and results are returned for display, which is why there is no extract refresh to manage.

Google Sheets: Why would a business pay for something that is free?

Businesses pay for Google Workspace, which bundles Sheets with admin controls, larger storage, audit logs and support that a personal account lacks.

Sigma Computing: What does it actually cost?

The vendor does not publish prices. Expect an annual contract priced by seat type, plus a warehouse compute increase you should model separately.

Google Sheets: Does Google Sheets work with Excel files?

Yes, it opens, edits and exports Microsoft Excel format files directly.

Sigma Computing: Can business users break the warehouse?

They can run expensive queries. Warehouse sizing, query limits and materialised tables are the controls, and they need configuring before a wide rollout.

Sigma Computing: Is it a replacement for a modelling layer like dbt?

No. Sigma works best on top of modelled tables and is usually deployed alongside dbt rather than instead of it.

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