3 ms·

Slightly Off Topic, are there any other online SpreadSheets other than Excel 365 and Google Sheets? Some of them are AirTable like which is CRM focus, but I ju

by ksec 1y ago

Slightly Off Topic, are there any other online SpreadSheets other than Excel 365 and Google Sheets? Some of them are AirTable like which is CRM focus, but I just want a really simple spreadsheet that is easily accessible and not from Big Tech.

actuallyalys 1y ago
I’ve mostly used LibreOffice for personal use and other cases where I don’t want to use Big Tech, but you could try OnlyOffice. I’ve also been interested in Grist, which is more like AirTable but programmed in Python and (relevant to your request) self-hostable. Edit: Depending on your reasons for avoiding big tech, you may want to research the owner of Only Office, which was a Russian company but apparently isn’t anymore? You might want to also try CryptPad, which is based off of OnlyOffice and recommended elsewhere in the comments (which reminded me).
- zenmac 1y ago
  What's cool about CryptPad is all the data is encrypted behind the # tag key which never gets sent to server. So even the server admin don't have access to the user docs. It has being easy to migrate from server to server. A truly shining example to google doc alternative. It would be great to have some kind of syncthing <-> cryptpad drive, then it can be very nice alternative to even dropbox. Not sure what the development is ATM.
criddell 1y ago
The web version of Apple Numbers is pretty good although I suppose it doesn't meet your non-big-tech criteria.
- ksec 1y ago
  I actually dont have big tech problem, it is just most of the well knowns once are blocked in where I work, and now even Notion is blocked.
blitt 1y ago
Try out rowzero.io! It's a pure spreadsheet like Sheets/Excel, but with a much larger row limit.
- ksec 1y ago
  Thank You that looks fantastic! It feels snappy as well.
- raybb 1y ago
  Have any thoughts on how it compares to https://baserow.io/ https://baserow.io/ ?
  - blitt 1y ago
    Baserow is in the same realm of Airtable/Monday.com/SmartSheet/etc, which are all effectively visual DBs. These tools shine with structured data & rich field types. The core assumption that unlocks their power is that every row of data in a given tab has the exact same schema. While powerful, this assumption also creates rigidity that a pure spreadsheet doesn't have. You can't, for example, do some quick scratchpad analysis off to the side of your data, or quickly subtotal a few rows with an adhoc formula. For that type of flexibility, you need a pure spreadsheet, which is the camp that Row Zero falls in (along with Excel & Sheets). So, to answer your question - they're solving different problems. Some spreadsheet usage may be better served by a visual (or actual) database, which is why that sector has exploded in the last decade. But not all use-cases fit that criteria - the flexibility of the pure spreadsheet remains an incredibly powerful thing.

by ksec 1y ago

actuallyalys 1y ago

I’ve mostly used LibreOffice for personal use and other cases where I don’t want to use Big Tech, but you could try OnlyOffice. I’ve also been interested in Grist, which is more like AirTable but programmed in Python and (relevant to your request) self-hostable. Edit: Depending on your reasons for avoiding big tech, you may want to research the owner of Only Office, which was a Russian company but apparently isn’t anymore? You might want to also try CryptPad, which is based off of OnlyOffice and recommended elsewhere in the comments (which reminded me).

zenmac 1y ago
What's cool about CryptPad is all the data is encrypted behind the # tag key which never gets sent to server. So even the server admin don't have access to the user docs. It has being easy to migrate from server to server. A truly shining example to google doc alternative. It would be great to have some kind of syncthing <-> cryptpad drive, then it can be very nice alternative to even dropbox. Not sure what the development is ATM.

criddell 1y ago

The web version of Apple Numbers is pretty good although I suppose it doesn't meet your non-big-tech criteria.

ksec 1y ago
I actually dont have big tech problem, it is just most of the well knowns once are blocked in where I work, and now even Notion is blocked.

blitt 1y ago

Try out rowzero.io! It's a pure spreadsheet like Sheets/Excel, but with a much larger row limit.

ksec 1y ago
Thank You that looks fantastic! It feels snappy as well.
raybb 1y ago
Have any thoughts on how it compares to https://baserow.io/ https://baserow.io/ ?
- blitt 1y ago
  Baserow is in the same realm of Airtable/Monday.com/SmartSheet/etc, which are all effectively visual DBs. These tools shine with structured data & rich field types. The core assumption that unlocks their power is that every row of data in a given tab has the exact same schema. While powerful, this assumption also creates rigidity that a pure spreadsheet doesn't have. You can't, for example, do some quick scratchpad analysis off to the side of your data, or quickly subtotal a few rows with an adhoc formula. For that type of flexibility, you need a pure spreadsheet, which is the camp that Row Zero falls in (along with Excel & Sheets). So, to answer your question - they're solving different problems. Some spreadsheet usage may be better served by a visual (or actual) database, which is why that sector has exploded in the last decade. But not all use-cases fit that criteria - the flexibility of the pure spreadsheet remains an incredibly powerful thing.