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Sheetward and the alternatives
Five tools that turn spreadsheets into apps, on the questions that decide which one you should use. Every column links to the full comparison.
| Question | Sheetward | Glide | AppSheet | Softr | Sheetcast | AI app builders |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Flat per workspace — no per-user seats, no metered updates. | Per app/team, plus metered usage — updates beyond quota bill per update. | Per user, per month. | Plan tiers sized by users and apps. | Per user, per month. | Usually metered by AI usage or credits, tiered by seats or projects. |
| Where your business logic lives | In your workbook. Forms, validation rules and formulas are read from the sheets you author. | Rebuilt in Glide's editor, screen by screen. | Re-expressed as AppSheet expressions, slices and behaviours. | Mostly in the underlying Airtable/Sheets base, or approximated per block. | In the workbook — it executes your cell formulas. | In generated code you review after the fact. |
| What your spreadsheet is | The specification. It designs the app; it is not the database. | A connected data source the app reads and writes. | A live data source the app reads and writes. | A data source behind pre-made page blocks. | The runtime itself. | Not part of the model — you describe the app in a prompt. |
| Roles & permissions | Owner, editor and viewer per app; admin, builder and member per workspace — on every plan. | Row Owners on every plan; Roles require a paid plan. | Security filters — a per-row expression you write. | Default user groups on entry plans; custom user groups need a higher tier. | Not documented publicly. | Whatever the generated code implements. |
| Audit trail | Workspace audit log and per-record change history, included. | Not listed on their published plans. | Audit History included; filtering and analytics need Enterprise. | Audit logging on Enterprise only. | Not documented publicly. | Whatever the generated code implements. |
| If you leave | Export everything back to Excel anytime, or run a standalone bundle on your own machine — no subscription. | Your data exports; the app itself exists only inside Glide. | Data stays in your sheets; the app definition stays in AppSheet. | Data stays in your base; the portal definition stays in Softr. | Your workbook stays yours; the published app lives in Sheetcast. | You keep the generated code; portability varies by tool. |
| Typical use cases | Operational business apps — orders, claims, registers — where validation, roles and an audit trail matter. | Customer-facing, mobile-first apps where look and feel lead. | Field work on mobile: offline capture and sync, inside Google Workspace. | Client portals and membership sites over an existing Airtable base. | Calculators, configurators and what-if models — the formulas are the product. | Bespoke custom-coded software, and fast throwaway prototypes. |
Plan shapes and feature availability are summarised from each vendor’s own pricing pages and documentation, checked July 2026. No figures are quoted here and they change often — check each vendor’s pricing before deciding. Each column links to the full comparison.