Spreadsheets · head to head
Mathesar vs Rowy
Mathesar
Spreadsheets
Spreadsheet style interface that edits an existing PostgreSQL database directly, with no schema of its own
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Rowy
Spreadsheets
Spreadsheet interface for Google Cloud Firestore with cloud functions written in the browser
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: 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.; Rowy every Firestore limit is inherited, including the one megabyte per document ceiling and roughly one sustained write per second per document, which surprises users who expect spreadsheet behaviour.
- They diverge on capability: Mathesar covers Direct PostgreSQL editing, Rowy covers Firestore backed grid.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Mathesar and Rowy actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (Open source, no licence fee), free tier (Yes), 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 Mathesar
- Direct PostgreSQL editing
- PostgreSQL permissions
- Schema editing
- Data exploration
- Relationship navigation
- Import of tabular files
- Self hosted only
Only in Rowy
- Firestore backed grid
- Browser authored cloud functions
- Typed columns
- Runs in your Google Cloud project
- Role based access
- Form view
- Open source
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Mathesar
- A nonprofit or research group whose data is already in PostgreSQL and whose staff cannot write SQLnot Rowy
- Giving analysts a safe editing interface governed by database roles that already existnot Rowy
- Replacing a hand built Django or Rails admin screen that nobody wants to maintainnot Rowy
- Editing production reference data where an export, edit and reimport cycle would risk losing concurrent changesnot Rowy
Rowy
- A Firebase application that needs an internal admin interface without building onenot Mathesar
- Operations staff correcting production records in Firestore without developer involvementnot Mathesar
- Attaching a small transformation or notification function to a field change without a full deployment pipelinenot Mathesar
- A content team populating documents that a mobile application reads directly from Firestorenot Mathesar
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
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.
Rowy
- Every Firestore limit is inherited, including the one megabyte per document ceiling and roughly one sustained write per second per document, which surprises users who expect spreadsheet behaviour.
- Firestore has no joins, so linking tables in the grid is a convenience layer rather than a relational feature and reports across collections still need a separate query.
- It is useful only to teams already on Firebase, so choosing it effectively locks the operational tooling to one cloud vendor.
- Query costs are billed by document read, and an unfiltered grid on a large collection can generate a bill that a spreadsheet user has no intuition for.
- Development activity has slowed relative to the broader category, so evaluate current maintenance before making it load bearing for internal operations.
Pricing, plan by plan
Mathesar
Free- Self hosted open sourceFree
- No licence fee
- No hosted option offered
- Connects to your existing PostgreSQL database
Rowy
Free- Open source self hostedFree
- No licence fee
- Deploys into your own Google Cloud project
- You pay Google Cloud for Firestore reads, writes and storage
Which should you pick?
Choose Mathesar if
- You need direct postgresql editing.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Linux.
- You also want postgresql permissions.
Choose Rowy if
- You need firestore backed grid.
- You want to start without paying.
- You also want browser authored cloud functions.
Questions people ask
- Is Mathesar or Rowy better?
- Neither clearly leads. Mathesar starts at Free and Rowy at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Mathesar or Rowy?
- Mathesar starts at Free and Rowy at Free.
- Does Mathesar or Rowy run on more platforms?
- Mathesar runs on Web, Linux. Rowy runs on Web.
- Can I use Mathesar for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Mathesar best used for?
- Mathesar is most often used for a nonprofit or research group whose data is already in postgresql and whose staff cannot write sql, giving analysts a safe editing interface governed by database roles that already exist, replacing a hand built django or rails admin screen that nobody wants to maintain, editing production reference data where an export, edit and reimport cycle would risk losing concurrent changes. Of those, a nonprofit or research group whose data is already in postgresql and whose staff cannot write sql and giving analysts a safe editing interface governed by database roles that already exist are not what Rowy is typically brought in for.
- What can Mathesar do that Rowy cannot?
- Mathesar covers Direct PostgreSQL editing, PostgreSQL permissions, Schema editing, Data exploration. Rowy covers Firestore backed grid, Browser authored cloud functions, Typed columns, Runs in your Google Cloud project.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
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.
Rowy: Where is my data stored?
In your own Firestore instance inside your own Google Cloud project. Rowy does not hold a copy.
Mathesar: How does it handle permissions?
Through PostgreSQL roles and privileges directly, so there is no second permission model to keep in step.
Rowy: What does it cost to run?
No licence fee. You pay Google Cloud for Firestore reads, writes, storage and function invocations, and an open grid on a big collection reads a lot.
Mathesar: What is the row limit?
Whatever PostgreSQL can handle. Mathesar adds no storage layer of its own.
Rowy: Can it do joins across collections?
Not really. Firestore does not support joins, and no interface layer can add them.
Mathesar: Does it support databases other than PostgreSQL?
No.
Rowy: Is there a row limit?
Not from Rowy. The limits that bite are Firestore document size and per document write throughput.
Mathesar: Can it replace Airtable?
Only for editing and exploring data. There are no automations, apps or integrations.
Rowy: Is it suitable if I am not on Firebase?
No. It is specifically a Firestore interface.
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