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Spreadsheets · head to head

Teable vs Timeplus

Teable logo

Teable

Spreadsheets

Spreadsheet interface over real PostgreSQL tables, so the data stays queryable by anything that speaks SQL

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Timeplus logo

Timeplus

Databases

Streaming SQL engine built on ClickHouse internals, shipping as one small binary

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Teable the automation builder is far less capable than the established commercial alternatives, so multi step workflows usually end up in an external tool that must be paid for and maintained separately.; Timeplus proton, the free version, is single-node by design, so any requirement for high availability or horizontal scale forces the commercial licence; the open source edition is a trial in practical terms.
  • They diverge on capability: Teable covers PostgreSQL native storage, Timeplus covers Streaming SQL.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Teable and Timeplus actually diverge.

Attributes where Teable and Timeplus differ
AttributeTeableTimeplus
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feePer month for cloud, quoted for self-hosted
PlatformsWeb, LinuxLinux, macOS, Docker, Kubernetes, Web
CategorySpreadsheetsDatabases

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 Teable

  • PostgreSQL native storage
  • Multiple views
  • Linked records and rollups
  • Generated REST API
  • Real time collaboration
  • Self hosting via Docker
  • Field level permissions

Only in Timeplus

  • Streaming SQL
  • Unified streaming and historical
  • ClickHouse-based engine
  • Single binary deployment
  • External streams
  • Materialised views

What people use each for

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

Teable

  • A team that has hit the record ceiling of a hosted spreadsheet database and does not want to move to raw SQLnot Timeplus
  • Operational data that a business intelligence tool must also read directly, without an export or a sync jobnot Timeplus
  • A regulated or data resident organisation that needs the underlying database inside its own infrastructurenot Timeplus
  • An internal tool where a grid interface and a REST API over the same table are both requirednot Timeplus

Timeplus

  • Real-time alerting on Kafka topics where standing up a Flink cluster is more work than the use case justifiesnot Teable
  • Fraud or anomaly detection that must join a live event stream against recent history in one querynot Teable
  • Streaming ETL from Kafka or MySQL change data capture into ClickHouse without writing Javanot Teable
  • A small data team that needs continuous aggregation but has no platform engineers to operate JVM infrastructurenot Teable

Where each one falls short

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

Teable

  • The automation builder is far less capable than the established commercial alternatives, so multi step workflows usually end up in an external tool that must be paid for and maintained separately.
  • Self hosting moves PostgreSQL backups, version upgrades, connection pooling and capacity planning onto your team, and the licence saving disappears if that time is costed honestly.
  • The integration catalogue is small, so connecting to a common business system often means writing against the REST API rather than installing a connector.
  • The project is young relative to the products it replaces, and interface and API changes still arrive at a pace that requires reading release notes before upgrading.
  • Storing every table as a real PostgreSQL table means schema changes are real migrations, so a careless field type change on a large table can lock it far longer than a spreadsheet user would expect.

Timeplus

  • Proton, the free version, is single-node by design, so any requirement for high availability or horizontal scale forces the commercial licence; the open source edition is a trial in practical terms.
  • It is a young project against Apache Flink’s decade of production history, so the hiring pool, the connector library and the body of known failure modes are all much smaller.
  • Inheriting ClickHouse internals also inherits ClickHouse constraints: memory-hungry queries, awkward updates and a SQL dialect that is not portable to other engines.
  • Exactly-once semantics and state recovery guarantees are less battle-tested than Flink checkpointing, which matters if the pipeline moves money.
  • Cloud pricing is by provisioned instance size rather than usage, so a bursty workload pays for peak capacity around the clock or has to be resized by hand.

Pricing, plan by plan

Teable

Free
  • Self hosted open sourceFree
    • No licence fee
    • Unlimited rows subject to your PostgreSQL capacity
    • Docker deployment

Timeplus

Free
  • Timeplus ProtonFree
    • Apache 2.0 licence
    • Single node only
    • Full streaming SQL engine
  • Timeplus Cloud$199/month
    • One to thirty-two CPUs
    • 4 GB to 128 GB memory
    • From 250 GB SSD storage
  • Self-hosted or BYOC$undefined/year
    • Multi-node clustering
    • Kubernetes or bare metal
    • Customisable compute and storage

Which should you pick?

Choose Teable if

  • You need postgresql native storage.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux.
  • You also want multiple views.
Teable review

Choose Timeplus if

  • You need streaming sql.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Docker, Kubernetes, Web.
  • You also want unified streaming and historical.
Timeplus review

Questions people ask

Is Teable or Timeplus better?
Neither clearly leads. Teable starts at Free and Timeplus at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Teable or Timeplus?
Teable starts at Free and Timeplus at Free.
Does Teable or Timeplus run on more platforms?
Teable runs on Web, Linux. Timeplus runs on Linux, macOS, Docker, Kubernetes, Web.
Can I use Teable for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Teable best used for?
Teable is most often used for a team that has hit the record ceiling of a hosted spreadsheet database and does not want to move to raw sql, operational data that a business intelligence tool must also read directly, without an export or a sync job, a regulated or data resident organisation that needs the underlying database inside its own infrastructure, an internal tool where a grid interface and a rest api over the same table are both required. Of those, a team that has hit the record ceiling of a hosted spreadsheet database and does not want to move to raw sql and operational data that a business intelligence tool must also read directly, without an export or a sync job are not what Timeplus is typically brought in for.
What can Teable do that Timeplus cannot?
Teable covers PostgreSQL native storage, Multiple views, Linked records and rollups, Generated REST API. Timeplus covers Streaming SQL, Unified streaming and historical, ClickHouse-based engine, Single binary deployment.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Teable: How many rows can it actually hold?

As many as your PostgreSQL instance can serve. There is no product imposed record limit on the self hosted edition, which is the main reason to choose it.

Timeplus: Is Timeplus open source?

The core engine, Timeplus Proton, is Apache 2.0. Timeplus Enterprise and Cloud are commercial.

Teable: Can I query the data with SQL directly?

Yes. Tables are real PostgreSQL tables, so any SQL client or reporting tool can read them.

Timeplus: What is the difference from Flink?

Timeplus is one binary with SQL as the only interface; Flink is a JVM cluster with a Java and SQL API and far more operational surface.

Teable: Is self hosting genuinely free?

The licence is. The database server, backups and the engineer maintaining them are not.

Timeplus: Can Proton run in production?

It can, but it is single-node only, so there is no high availability without the commercial edition.

Teable: Does it replace Airtable feature for feature?

No. Views and field types are close; automations, apps and the integration catalogue are not.

Timeplus: How much is the cloud?

From 199 US dollars a month, sized by CPU and memory, with a fourteen day trial.

Teable: What happens to my data if the project stops?

It remains in a standard PostgreSQL database that you control, which is a materially better exit than a proprietary export format.

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