SHSelfHostIndex

Spreadsheet by Univer vs Plainpad

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted office suites options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
SP Spreadsheet by Univer Embeddable open-source spreadsheet engine VS PL Plainpad Note taking application
FeatureSpreadsheet by UniverPlainpad
CategoryOffice SuitesOffice Suites
LicenseApache-2.0AGPL-3.0-only
LanguageJavaScriptPHP
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM512 MB50 MB
Deploymentdocker, sourcebare-metal
GitHub stars★ 22,008★ 422
First released20122023
ReplacesGoogle Sheets, Excel Online—

Why pick each one

Choose Spreadsheet by Univer if…

  • Released under the Apache-2.0 license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Mature project with 22k GitHub stars
  • Written in JavaScript
Spreadsheet by Univer details

Choose Plainpad if…

  • Released under the AGPL-3.0-only license
  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
  • Written in PHP
  • Tiny footprint — runs in 50 MB RAM
Plainpad details

Frequently asked questions

Is Spreadsheet by Univer or Plainpad better?

Neither is universally better. Spreadsheet by Univer has the larger community, while Plainpad is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are Spreadsheet by Univer and Plainpad free and open-source?

Yes. Spreadsheet by Univer is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Plainpad under AGPL-3.0-only. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Spreadsheet by Univer and Plainpad with Docker?

Spreadsheet by Univer: yes. Plainpad: check the project docs for container support.

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