Should you build your own Rows?
Build connected spreadsheets with a limited set of API-powered cells
The core loop is buildable, but a dependable replacement becomes a real weekend or multi-day project. For Rows, build connected spreadsheets with a limited set of API-powered cells. The hard boundary is integration catalog, formulas, ai, collaboration, and hosted computation, plus data model flexibility, collaboration, and integrations.
ENOriginal research content in English. Original prompt preserved in English.
Build a personal replacement for Rows in an empty repository.
Use Next.js 15, TypeScript, PostgreSQL, Drizzle ORM, and Docker Compose; do not offer alternative stacks.
The core loop is: build connected spreadsheets with a limited set of API-powered cells, provide grid, form, kanban, and filtered views, and expose a documented API.
Make the first run work locally with one documented command.
Store all user data locally by default and make export straightforward.
Put secrets in .env, ship .env.example, and never commit credentials.
Create workspaces, bases, tables, fields, records, attachments, relations, and saved views.
Support text, number, currency, date, boolean, select, formula-lite, and relation field types.
Build grid, form, kanban, and record-detail views from one canonical schema.
Add role-based permissions, optimistic concurrency checks, audit history, and trash restore.
Provide CSV import or export and a token-authenticated REST API generated from the schema.
Ship migrations, seed data, backups, health checks, and a schema export format.
Include clear empty, loading, success, and recoverable error states.
Add input validation, safe filenames, and graceful handling of unavailable APIs.
Write focused tests for the core transformation and one end-to-end happy path.
Create a README with setup, architecture, permissions, data location, and backup steps.
Do not add accounts, billing, telemetry, analytics, or a hosted control plane.
Deliberately leave out full spreadsheet formula compatibility.
Deliberately leave out hundreds of automations and integrations.
Deliberately leave out large-enterprise governance and vendor-managed scale.
Finish by running the tests and listing the exact commands used.The prompt opens pre-filled in your agent. Review it before running. · this prompt is generated from the build plan · improve it via PR
What would building your own look like?
Build connected spreadsheets with a limited set of API-powered cells, provide grid, form, kanban, and filtered views, and expose a documented API.
What you will need
- Docker
- PostgreSQL
- self-hosted server
- optional object storage for attachments
People still pay for Rows because teams pay when a flexible database becomes a shared operational system with integrations and years of accumulated business logic. The recurring cost buys schema changes, formulas, permissions, imports, attachments, views, APIs, concurrency, backups, and migrations, not just the visible interface.
xintegration catalog, formulas, AI, collaboration, and hosted computation
xreal-time multiplayer
xautomation and integration breadth
xscale and formula depth
xenterprise permissions
Prefer something ready-made?
Quadratic PersonalA real analysis spreadsheet with database connections and programmable cells; API work is less point-and-click than Rows.Free↗
Stackby FreeRows with tables instead of theatre: two live API columns, manual refresh, and 100 automations a month.Free↗
Superhuman Docs FreeConnected tables and manual-refresh integrations inside a formula-heavy doc; enough for small live reports, not data engineering.Free↗View all 3 alternatives to Rows →· Licença, instalação e limitações em cada alternativa.
How much does Rows cost?
- Monthly billing
- $8/mo$8/mo
- Per year
- $96/yr$96/yr
- Annual billing
- $72/yr25% cheaper than paying monthly
- On a Brazilian card, with 3.5% IOF
- R$41.81/moR$376/yr
Saved to My list. You will see a notice on this site when the price changes.
You complete the purchase on Rows’s site. Vibe Radar does not handle payments.
| Plan | Monthly | Annual (per month) | What is included |
|---|---|---|---|
| free | $0/workspace | $0/workspace | Unlimited spreadsheets; 5 AI tasks/month; 10 integration accounts; 3 guests; 500 cell-enrichment operations/month; 500 API calls/month; 1 MB imports; 7-day history. |
| plus | $8/user≈ $8 | $6/user≈ $6 | 200 AI tasks/month; 10 integration accounts; 10 guests; 1 million cell-enrichment operations/month; 50,000 API calls/month; 5 MB imports; 30-day history; daily refresh. |
| pro | $79/workspace≈ $79 | $59/workspace≈ $59 | 1,000 AI tasks/month; 100 integration accounts; 1 million cell-enrichment operations/month; 1 million API calls/month; 100 MB imports; 2-year history; minutely refresh. |
| enterprise | custom | - | Unlimited AI tasks, integration accounts and guests; starts at 1 million cell-enrichment operations and 1 million API calls/month. |
Free tierunlimited spreadsheets, 5 AI tasks/month, 10 integration accounts, 3 guests, 500 cell-enrichment operations/month, 500 API calls/month, 1 MB imports and 7-day history
Billing termsmonthly + annual; annual cards show $6 instead of $8 per Plus user and $59 + $6/user instead of $79 + $8/user for Pro
Additional costsEach workspace is upgraded and billed separately; Pro adds a per-member fee on top of the base; members added mid-cycle are prorated; every processed cell consumes an enrichment unit, and AI through the API consumes both API calls and AI tasks; taxes are extra.
verified 2026-08-11 · source ↗
Is it cheaper to build or buy Rows?
Adjust the numbers: hours to build, your hourly rate, running costs and the subscription price.
Over 24 months, subscribing is cheaper.
Starting hours estimated from the analysis (multi-day). Does not price what you give up (support, integrations, security).
Can I rebuild Rows?
Kinda. The core of Rows is buildable in a weekend with the prompt on this page, but there are real gaps: integration catalog, formulas, AI, collaboration, and hosted computation, real-time multiplayer. Read the honest list above before committing.
How much does Rows cost?
Rows costs about $8/mo (Plus, checked 10/20/2026), which is $72 per year.
What do I lose by replacing Rows?
Honestly: integration catalog, formulas, AI, collaboration, and hosted computation; real-time multiplayer; automation and integration breadth; scale and formula depth; enterprise permissions. If any of those are load-bearing for you, keep paying.
Is there an open-source alternative to Rows?
Yes: Quadratic Personal (A real analysis spreadsheet with database connections and programmable cells; API work is less point-and-click than Rows.) Stackby Free (Rows with tables instead of theatre: two live API columns, manual refresh, and 100 automations a month.) Superhuman Docs Free (Connected tables and manual-refresh integrations inside a formula-heavy doc; enough for small live reports, not data engineering.) All 3 curated free alternatives are at https://viberadar.si/rows/alternatives. The prompt is for when you want it exactly your way.