Spreadsheets · head to head
Rowy vs Valkey
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: 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.; Valkey younger project, so its track record is short even though the codebase is not
- They diverge on capability: Rowy covers Firestore backed grid, Valkey covers Redis-compatible.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Rowy and Valkey actually diverge.
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 Rowy
- Firestore backed grid
- Browser authored cloud functions
- Typed columns
- Runs in your Google Cloud project
- Role based access
- Form view
- Open source
Only in Valkey
- Redis-compatible
- BSD licensed
- Rich data structures
- Replication and persistence
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Rowy
- A Firebase application that needs an internal admin interface without building onenot Valkey
- Operations staff correcting production records in Firestore without developer involvementnot Valkey
- Attaching a small transformation or notification function to a field change without a full deployment pipelinenot Valkey
- A content team populating documents that a mobile application reads directly from Firestorenot Valkey
Valkey
- Continuing on a permissively licensed in-memory store after the Redis licence changenot Rowy
- Caching and session storage where a foundation-governed project is a procurement requirementnot Rowy
- Migrating from Redis without rewriting application codenot Rowy
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
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.
Valkey
- Younger project, so its track record is short even though the codebase is not
- Divergence from Redis grows over time, so compatibility is strongest near the fork point and weakens as both evolve
- Ecosystem tooling and documentation still frequently assume Redis, leaving translation work
Pricing, plan by plan
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
Valkey
Free- ValkeyFree
- Full functionality
- Self-hosted
- No usage limits
Which should you pick?
Choose Rowy if
- You need firestore backed grid.
- You want to start without paying.
- You also want browser authored cloud functions.
Choose Valkey if
- You need redis-compatible.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Linux, macOS, Docker, Self-hosted.
- You also want bsd licensed.
Questions people ask
- Is Rowy or Valkey better?
- Neither clearly leads. Rowy starts at Free and Valkey at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Rowy or Valkey?
- Rowy starts at Free and Valkey at Free.
- Does Rowy or Valkey run on more platforms?
- Rowy runs on Web. Valkey runs on Linux, macOS, Docker, Self-hosted.
- Can I use Rowy for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Rowy best used for?
- Rowy is most often used for a firebase application that needs an internal admin interface without building one, operations staff correcting production records in firestore without developer involvement, attaching a small transformation or notification function to a field change without a full deployment pipeline, a content team populating documents that a mobile application reads directly from firestore. Of those, a firebase application that needs an internal admin interface without building one and operations staff correcting production records in firestore without developer involvement are not what Valkey is typically brought in for.
- What can Rowy do that Valkey cannot?
- Rowy covers Firestore backed grid, Browser authored cloud functions, Typed columns, Runs in your Google Cloud project. Valkey covers Redis-compatible, BSD licensed, Rich data structures, Replication and persistence.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Rowy: Where is my data stored?
In your own Firestore instance inside your own Google Cloud project. Rowy does not hold a copy.
Valkey: Is Valkey free?
Yes, BSD-licensed open source under the Linux Foundation.
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.
Valkey: Why does Valkey exist?
Redis changed its licence away from BSD in 2024. Valkey is the community fork continuing under permissive terms, backed by AWS, Google Cloud and Oracle among others.
Rowy: Can it do joins across collections?
Not really. Firestore does not support joins, and no interface layer can add them.
Valkey: Can I switch from Redis to Valkey?
At the fork point it is drop-in compatible with existing clients and data. The further both projects move from that point, the more you should verify the specific features you use.
Rowy: Is there a row limit?
Not from Rowy. The limits that bite are Firestore document size and per document write throughput.
Rowy: Is it suitable if I am not on Firebase?
No. It is specifically a Firestore interface.
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- Valkey vs Baserow
- Valkey vs Mathesar
- Valkey vs Budibase
- Valkey vs APITable
- Valkey vs Teable
- Valkey vs Quadratic
- Valkey vs Fibery
- Valkey vs Google Sheets
- Valkey vs Numbers
- Valkey vs Zoho Sheet
- Valkey vs Coefficient
- Valkey vs Sigma Computing
- Valkey vs Equals
- Valkey vs Cube Software
- Valkey vs Dragonfly
- Valkey vs Memcached
- Valkey vs MariaDB
- Valkey vs Aiven
- Valkey vs Redpanda
- Valkey vs Timeplus
- Valkey vs PostgreSQL
- Valkey vs Apache Kafka
- Valkey vs RabbitMQ
- Valkey vs Meilisearch
- Valkey vs NATS
- Valkey vs DataGrip
- Valkey vs Estuary
- Valkey vs Apache Airflow
- Valkey vs Apache Pinot
- Valkey vs Apache Pulsar
- Valkey vs Cassandra
- Valkey vs CouchDB