Rowy vs undb
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted office suites options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
undb
Archived
Private and self-hosted no-code database
| Feature | Rowy | undb |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 22 · At risk | 15 · At risk |
| Status | Actively maintained | Archived |
| Category | Office Suites | Office Suites |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 6,842 | ★ 2,981 |
| First released | 2021 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Airtable | Airtable |
What are Rowy and undb?
Rowy
Rowy is an open-source low-code platform that provides a spreadsheet-like interface for managing Firestore databases. It pairs data management with cloud functions.
- Spreadsheet UI for Firestore
- Cloud function automation
- Rich field types
- Low-code extensibility
undb
undb is an open-source, self-hosted no-code database platform. It provides a flexible table interface with multiple views to organize structured data.
- No-code table builder
- Multiple view types
- SQLite-backed simplicity
- Self-hosted and private
Rowy vs undb: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: undb's repository is archived and no longer developed, while Rowy is actively maintained. Both projects are written in TypeScript. Licensing differs — MIT for Rowy versus AGPL-3.0 for undb. Rowy has the considerably larger community, at 6,842 GitHub stars versus 2,981.
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
Choose undb if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (3k GitHub stars)
Frequently asked questions
Is Rowy or undb better?
Neither is universally better. Rowy has the larger community, while undb is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Rowy and undb free and open-source?
Yes. Rowy is licensed under MIT and undb under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Rowy and undb with Docker?
Rowy: yes. undb: yes.