7 popular spreadsheet-database tools to watch out for in 2026
Are you a business owner or a team manager looking to move away from spreadsheets but feel that sophisticated, function-specific software is overkill? Then it's time to switch to spreadsheet-database hybrid tools to get the best of both worlds.
Get Started- Introduction
- What is a spreadsheet-database hybrid?
- 7 powerful spreadsheet-database tools to watch out for in 2026
Zoho Tables
Stackby
Baserow
Grist
SeaTable
Nocodb
Rows.com
- How to choose the right spreadsheet-database hybrid tool for your business
Spreadsheets have been around for decades, and that's because they're easy to use when you are just starting out. Their familiarity, simplicity, and flexibility make them a go-to tool for managing your data and workflows. However, as you bring in more data and your processes evolve, spreadsheets start showing their limitations in terms of scalability, collaboration, automation, and data visualization.
Large enterprises often use separate tools for CRM, billing, support, communication, and other business functions. For most startups and SMBs, that's unnecessary complexity and cost. Spreadsheet-database hybrid tools offer a flexible alternative that can handle multiple workflows without juggling a dozen apps. They're also a strong fit for internal teams in large companies that need simple, customizable systems to manage work and data. In this article, we compare the pros, cons, and pricing of seven popular spreadsheet-database hybrid tools in 2026.
What is a spreadsheet-database hybrid?
Imagine your humble spreadsheets with upgraded features such as automation, AI assistance, real-time collaboration, bidirectional relationships, data visualization, dashboards, and mobile accessibility. It's a killer combination that enables you to create custom solutions for all your business functions without coding.
7 powerful spreadsheet-database tools to watch out for in 2026
Zoho Tables
Stackby
Baserow
Grist
Seatable
Nocodb
Rows.com
1. Zoho Tables
Zoho Tables is a spreadsheet-database hybrid that helps businesses organize data, streamline workflows, automate processes, create dashboards, and visualize data in grid, gallery, Kanban, form, and calendar views. You can create simple no-code solutions to organize work across various functions.
Unlike regular web-based spreadsheet-database hybrid tools, Zoho Tables' mobile application supports all the features of the web application and offers mobile-specific features, such as optical character recognition (OCR) for scanning tabular columns, voice search for creating bases, picture-in-picture mode for videos, and voice-to-text for adding comments. It's a popular choice for teams that need the flexibility of a spreadsheet and the structure of a sophisticated tool.
Pros
AI assistance: Zoho's native AI, Zia, helps create structured bases derived from your prompt. It analyzes your input and suggests relevant tables and fields. Once you select the tables you need, Zia creates an entire base for you with sample data and linked fields.
Dashboards: Get a bird's-eye view of your data with pie, bar, line, and column graphs. Add KPIs, text, and grid elements to create interactive dashboards that stay synced with your data.
Automation: Set automation rules for repetitive tasks such as sending emails and creating or updating records.
Cons
Minimal native integrations It offers integrations with tools such as Google Drive, Dropbox, WorkDrive, Zoho CRM, and Zoho Cliq. However, you have to use APIs, Zoho Flow, N8N, or Zapier to integrate with other tools.
Pricing
Free: No charge for up to two users
Professional: per user per month (billed annually)
Who is Zoho Tables for?
Zoho Tables is perfect for:
Individuals
Small and mid-sized businesses that want to move away from spreadsheets to manage data and business processes with advanced mobile capabilities
Internal teams within large enterprises
2. Stackby
Stackby is a no-code database platform that transforms your spreadsheet data into relational databases and web-based apps. It helps create end-to-end business processes across different departments, eliminating scattered data in multiple software systems.
Pros
Data views: Visualize your data in grid, Kanban, gallery, calendar, list, timeline, form, and grouped views.
Page designer: Create custom pages such as invoices, certificates, and receipts directly from your data.
Cons
Learning curve: It's challenging for new users to get started with the product.
Unintuitive mobile application: The mobile app has a rudimentary interface and lacks basic views like Kanban and calendar.
Pricing
Stackby's pricing differs based on the number of user licenses. For three users, the pricing is as follows:
Personal: $6 per user per month
Economy: $10 per user per month
Business: $20 per user per month
Business Plus: $35 per user per month
Who is Stackby for?
Stackby is suitable for teams that need to present data through custom pages rather than just tables or views. It's helpful for when different groups require tailored interfaces built over the same dataset.
3. Baserow
Baserow is a data collaboration platform that helps you build databases, web-based applications, and dashboards without coding. It turns raw data into structured projects so teams can collaborate easily.
Pros
Open source: Baserow is open-source and self-hostable, offering strong data ownership.
Dashboards: You can add summary boxes, bar charts, line charts, pie charts, and doughnut charts to visually represent your data.
Cons
No mobile application: Baserow has no mobile application for iPhone or Android.
Lack of AI assistance: Setting up workflows for the first time makes it even harder to onboard first-time users.
Rudimentary application builder: Baserow positions itself as a no-code app builder, but lacks advanced native integrations, iterative prompting, and scalability. It currently has basic drag-and-drop elements to create a webpage, but not a fully functional application.
Pricing
Baserow hosting
Free: Up to 3,000 rows per workspace
Premium: $10 per user per month (billed annually)
Advanced: $18 per user per month (billed annually)
Self-hosting
Open source: Always free
Premium: $10 per user per month (billed annually)
Advanced: $18 per user per month (billed annually)
Enterprise: Custom pricing
Who is Baserow for?
Baserow works for technical teams that want full control of their data and are comfortable configuring workflows without advanced AI guidance.
4. Grist
Grist is a modern open‑source tool that merges the familiarity of spreadsheets with the structure and power of a relational database. It helps you organize data, link tables, collaborate with your team, and build custom workflows.
Pros
Formulas and scripting: Supports spreadsheet, Python, and AI-powered formulas for advanced data manipulation.
Data relationships: Once you establish bidirectional relationships, you can add data tables side-by-side. The related data shows up every time you click on a record.
Cons
Outdated user interface: The interface looks clunky compared to modern spreadsheet-database tools.
No mobile app: Grist doesn't have a mobile application yet, which makes it harder for teams to access data on the go.
Pricing
Grist's servers
Free: Up to 5,000 records per document
Pro: $8 per user per month
Business: $24 per user per month
Enterprise: Custom pricing
Personal servers
Community edition: Free
Enterprise Lite: $24 per user per month
Enterprise: Custom pricing
Who is Grist for?
Grist is useful for teams that are comfortable tailoring workflows using Python or advanced formulas.
5. SeaTable
SeaTable helps you design databases, workflows, and apps without coding. You can create low-code/no-code solutions for any business vertical and collaborate with your team in real time through shared workspaces and access-based controls.
Pros
No-code app builder: Create simple data-based applications with SeaTable's drag-and-drop functionality.
Views: Visualize your data in table, gallery, Kanban, or calendar views.
Cons
No mobile app: SeaTable has no dedicated app on iOS. Its Android app opens in a web browser, not as a standalone app on your phone.
Limited trial experience: Key features like automation, view-sharing, and even email support aren't available in the free trial.
Pricing
Cloud
Free: For up to two users
Plus: €7 per user per month (billed annually)
Enterprise: €14 per user per month (billed annually)
On-premises
Free: For up to three users
10 users: €500 for a one-year license
25 users: €1,250 for a one-year license
50+ users: €90 per user for a one-year license
Who is SeaTable for?
SeaTable accommodates teams that want to organize their data, build simple apps without coding, and collaborate through shared workspaces.
6. Nocodb
Nocodb is an open-source tool with a spreadsheet interface that helps businesses create online databases from scratch or by connecting to Postgres or MySQL. It makes database creation and data visualization easier for users who have scripting knowledge.
Pros
Scalability: Supports millions of rows and lets you bring your own Postgres/MySQL database.
MCP server: Offers a unique endpoint that allows LLMs to perform direct role-based actions in your database on your behalf.
Cons
Lack of pre-built templates: Nocodb doesn't have templates to help users get started; you either have to start from scratch or import existing data.
No pre-built automation: Automation is yet to come. Currently, you have to write your own scripts to automate workflows.
Lack of AI assistance: Nocodb's AI is still a work in progress. Users can't generate tables using prompts, which makes it harder for non-technical people to get started quickly.
Pricing
Free: Up to three editors
Plus: $12 per user per month (billed annually)
Business: $24 per user per month (billed annually)
Enterprise: Custom pricing
Who is Nocodb for?
Nocodb is most suitable for users who have scripting knowledge and want to switch from other databases like Postgres or MySQL.
7. Rows.com
Rows.com is an AI-powered spreadsheet platform that businesses can use to connect and analyze data, build forms and dashboards, automate workflows, and create custom functions. It's designed for teams that rely heavily on data-driven decisions but prefer the simplicity of spreadsheets.
Pros
Extensive integrations: Rows.com integrates with all major tools like Google Ads, Zoho CRM, Stripe, HubSpot, Slack, and more.
Conversational AI: Analyze and summarize data, generate formulas, create charts, and explore scenarios with what-if questions.
Cons
Learning curve: Involves AI-driven computations that need clear iterative prompts.
Storage limits: Each table can only have 100,000 rows, and the import limit of CSV files is 100 MB per table. This makes it harder to manage large datasets.
Not suitable for all use cases: It's primarily built for data analysis rather than data management, making it unsuitable for handling business operations.
Pricing
Free: Up to 30 guests
Plus: $6 per user per month
Pro: $59 per month, plus $6 per user per month
Enterprise: Custom pricing
Who is Rows.com for?
Rows.com serves data analysts, digital marketers, and sales analysts.
How to choose the right spreadsheet-database hybrid tool for your business
An ideal spreadsheet-database tool should help you:
Move away from spreadsheets without hassle.
Create data relationships without queries.
Automate workflows.
Collaborate in real time.
Create bases with AI.
Visualize data.
Create dashboards.
Access data from your phone.
Like any software implementation, the best choice depends on your team's specific needs: how complex your workflows are, how comfortable your team is with technical setup, and how you want to visualize, share, and secure your data. The goal isn't to pick the "most powerful" tool, but the one that fits your people and your process without adding friction.
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Frequently Asked Questions
1. Why should businesses choose Zoho Tables over traditional spreadsheets?
Unlike traditional spreadsheets, Zoho Tables lets you create bidirectional relationships without coding. You can visualize your data, create dashboards, automate tasks, and collaborate with your team.
2. Is Zoho Tables cost-effective for small and mid-sized businesses?
Yes. Zoho Tables offers a free plan and a professional plan that starts at per user per month when billed annually.
3. Is Zoho Tables a better choice for non-technical teams compared to open-source or developer-heavy tools?
Yes, Zoho Tables can be used by people with limited technical expertise. Unlike traditional databases or developer-heavy tools, you don't need coding to create relationships, set automation rules, or visualize data.
4. Why should decision-makers pick Zoho Tables if their teams are currently using spreadsheets?
Zoho Tables helps teams become more productive by automating approvals, tracking each other's work, collaborating in real time, and integrating data with external tools.
5. Can I import my data from Baserow, Grist, Nocodb, and similar platforms into Zoho Tables?
Yes, you can export your data as a CSV file from other spreadsheet-database hybrid tools and import it into Zoho Tables.