Grist 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?
Grist
Spreadsheet meets database for structured data
VS
Rowy
Spreadsheet-like UI for Firestore databases
| Feature | Grist | Rowy |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Office Suites | Office Suites |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 11,431 | ★ 6,832 |
| First released | 2021 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Airtable, Google Sheets | Airtable |
Why pick each one
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 Grist or Rowy better?
Neither is universally better. Grist has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Grist and Rowy free and open-source?
Yes. Grist is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Rowy under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Grist and Rowy with Docker?
Grist: yes. Rowy: yes.