EtherCalc vs Rowy
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?
EtherCalc
Real-time collaborative spreadsheet editor
VS
Rowy
Spreadsheet-like UI for Firestore databases
| Feature | EtherCalc | Rowy |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Office Suites | Office Suites |
| License | CPAL-1.0 | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,041 | ★ 6,832 |
| First released | 2013 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Google Sheets | Airtable |
Why pick each one
Choose EtherCalc if…
- Released under the CPAL-1.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (3k GitHub stars)
Choose Rowy if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 6.8k GitHub stars
- Written in TypeScript
Frequently asked questions
Is EtherCalc or Rowy better?
Neither is universally better. Rowy has the larger community, while EtherCalc is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are EtherCalc and Rowy free and open-source?
Yes. EtherCalc is licensed under CPAL-1.0 and Rowy under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run EtherCalc and Rowy with Docker?
EtherCalc: yes. Rowy: yes.