EtherCalc vs Univer
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted office suites options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | EtherCalc | Univer |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 87 · Excellent | 95 · Excellent |
| Category | Office Suites | Office Suites |
| License | CPAL-1.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | source, docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,050 | ★ 16,464 |
| First released | 2013 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Google Sheets | Google Sheets, Microsoft Office |
What are EtherCalc and Univer?
EtherCalc
EtherCalc is an open-source web spreadsheet that allows real-time collaboration. Multiple users can edit the same spreadsheet simultaneously from their browsers.
- Real-time spreadsheet editing
- No login required
- REST API for cells
- Lightweight deployment
Univer
Univer is an open-source full-stack framework for creating and embedding spreadsheets, documents, and slides. It supports collaboration, formulas, and a plugin architecture.
- Spreadsheets, docs, and slides
- Real-time collaboration
- Plugin architecture
- Embeddable components
EtherCalc vs Univer: key differences
Both projects are written in TypeScript. Licensing differs — CPAL-1.0 for EtherCalc versus Apache-2.0 for Univer. EtherCalc is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Univer. EtherCalc is the more established project (first released 2013), while Univer arrived in 2023. Univer has the considerably larger community, at 16,464 GitHub stars versus 3,050.
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 Univer if…
- Sheets, docs and slides in one
- Embeddable in web apps
- Active development
Watch out for
- Developer integration required
- Collaboration server is commercial
Frequently asked questions
Is EtherCalc or Univer better?
Neither is universally better. Univer 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 Univer free and open-source?
Yes. EtherCalc is licensed under CPAL-1.0 and Univer under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run EtherCalc and Univer with Docker?
EtherCalc: yes. Univer: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, EtherCalc or Univer?
EtherCalc has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Univer. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.