NERDY PICKS · SPREADSHEETS & DATA
Best Spreadsheets & Data tools
Clean, analyze and chart data, or write formulas in plain English.
Prices checked Oct 26, 2026
Which spreadsheets & data tool should I start with?
If you want free, start with Julius AI, Rows, Better Analyst (formerly Formula Bot). Clean, analyze and chart data, or write formulas in plain English. Below you'll find 22 tools with what each one does, the free plan and the cheapest solo plan in US dollars, checked Oct 26, 2026.
| Tool | What it does | Free plan | Paid from | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Julius AI | Upload a spreadsheet or connect data and ask questions in plain words to get charts and analysis. | Yes | Plus: US$20/month, or US$16/month on a yearly plan (US$192/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Rows | Spreadsheet with a built-in AI analyst and live data imports from your business apps. | Yes | Plus: US$8/month, or US$6/month on a yearly plan (US$72/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Better Analyst (formerly Formula Bot) | AI data analyst that writes spreadsheet formulas, turns PDFs into tables and builds dashboards. Formerly called Formula Bot. | Yes | Pro: US$30/month, or US$20/month on a yearly plan (US$240/year) | Oct 30, 2026 |
| GPTExcel | Generates Excel and Sheets formulas, scripts and SQL from a plain-English request. | Yes | Pro: US$9/month, or US$6.30/month on a yearly plan | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Numerous.ai | Adds an AI function to Google Sheets and Excel to write, sort and clean data across many cells. | No | Personal: US$19/month, or US$10/month on a yearly plan (US$120/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Ajelix | AI toolkit for Excel and Google Sheets that writes formulas, builds templates and analyzes data. | Yes | Lite: US$39/month, or US$32/month on a yearly plan (US$384/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Coefficient | Pulls live data from business systems into Google Sheets or Excel and keeps it refreshed. | Yes | Starter: US$59/month, or US$49/month on a yearly plan (US$588/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Microsoft Power BI | Microsoft's tool for building interactive dashboards and reports from your business data. | Yes | Power BI Pro: US$16.80/month, or US$14/month on a yearly plan (US$168/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Hex | Collaborative data workspace for SQL, Python and AI-driven analysis. | Yes | Professional: US$36/month | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Polymer | Turns spreadsheets and data into interactive dashboards you can question with AI. | No | Starter: US$20/month, or US$10/month on a yearly plan (US$120/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Quadratic | Spreadsheet that runs code and AI in cells and connects to databases. | Yes | Pro: US$20/month, or US$18/month on a yearly plan (US$216/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Deepnote | Collaborative data notebook with an AI assistant for analysis in Python and SQL. | Yes | Team: US$49/month, or US$39/month on a yearly plan (US$468/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Grist | Spreadsheet-database hybrid with forms, Python formulas and an AI formula assistant. | Yes | Pro: US$10/month, or US$8/month on a yearly plan (US$96/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
| SheetAI | Adds AI formulas to Google Sheets so you can generate and clean text across rows. | Yes | Starter: US$12/month | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Smartsheet | Spreadsheet-style work management for tracking projects, tasks and workflows. | Unclear | Pro: US$12/month, or US$9/month on a yearly plan (US$108/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Sheetgo | Connects spreadsheets and files to move data between them automatically. | Yes | Automations Pro: US$50/month, or US$35/month on a yearly plan (US$420/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Baserow | Open-source, Airtable-style database you can use in the cloud or host yourself. | Yes | Premium: US$12/month, or US$10/month on a yearly plan (US$120/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
| NocoDB | Turns databases into a spreadsheet-like workspace, open source and free for small teams. | Yes | Plus: US$15/month, or US$12/month on a yearly plan (US$144/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Zoho Sheet | Free online spreadsheet app for working on sheets together. | Yes | Zoho WorkDrive Starter (includes Sheet): US$3/month, or US$2.50/month on a yearly plan | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Microsoft Copilot | Microsoft's AI assistant, free on its own and built into Microsoft 365 apps. | Yes | Microsoft 365 Personal: US$9.99/month, or US$8.33/month on a yearly plan (US$99.99/year) | Oct 30, 2026 |
| Airtable | Spreadsheet-like database for building simple apps, trackers and automations. | Yes | Team: US$24/month, or US$20/month on a yearly plan (US$240/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Clay | Spreadsheet-like tool that finds and enriches lead data from many sources with AI. | Unclear | Launch: US$185/month, or US$167/month on a yearly plan (US$2,004/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
All 22 tools
Julius AI
Affiliate link: we may earn a commission if you sign up through this link, at no extra cost to you.
Upload a spreadsheet or connect data and ask questions in plain words to get charts and analysis.
Free plan: Yes: Free plan with a daily credit allowance.
Paid from: Plus: US$20/month, or US$16/month on a yearly plan (US$192/year)
Discounts: Save 20% with annual billing.
Cheaper or similar: Rows, Quadratic, Better Analyst (formerly Formula Bot)
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Rows
Spreadsheet with a built-in AI analyst and live data imports from your business apps.
Free plan: Yes: Free forever plan, no card needed; 5 AI uses/month.
Paid from: Plus: US$8/month, or US$6/month on a yearly plan (US$72/year)
Cheaper or similar: Julius AI, Grist
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Better Analyst (formerly Formula Bot)
AI data analyst that writes spreadsheet formulas, turns PDFs into tables and builds dashboards. Formerly called Formula Bot.
Free plan: Yes: 10 chat messages a month, 50 AI credits a month, 1 connected data source, 1 dashboard, 3 saved tasks; shared links carry a badge.
Paid from: Pro: US$30/month, or US$20/month on a yearly plan (US$240/year)
Discounts: Yearly billing saves 33% on Pro (US$20/month, US$240/year). The US$10 first-month offer is no longer shown.
Cheaper or similar: GPTExcel, Julius AI
Checked Oct 30, 2026
GPTExcel
Generates Excel and Sheets formulas, scripts and SQL from a plain-English request.
Free plan: Yes: Free plan: 50 credits a month plus 5 free tool runs daily.
Paid from: Pro: US$9/month, or US$6.30/month on a yearly plan
Discounts: Save 30% with annual billing.
Cheaper or similar: Better Analyst (formerly Formula Bot), SheetAI
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Numerous.ai
Adds an AI function to Google Sheets and Excel to write, sort and clean data across many cells.
Free plan: No
Paid from: Personal: US$19/month, or US$10/month on a yearly plan (US$120/year)
Discounts: Save 57% with yearly billing; first 7 days for $1.
Cheaper or similar: SheetAI, GPTExcel
Some details on this one weren't confirmed on the official pricing page, so we left them blank.
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Ajelix
AI toolkit for Excel and Google Sheets that writes formulas, builds templates and analyzes data.
Free plan: Yes: Free plan: 10 requests a month.
Paid from: Lite: US$39/month, or US$32/month on a yearly plan (US$384/year)
Cheaper or similar: GPTExcel, Julius AI
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Coefficient
Pulls live data from business systems into Google Sheets or Excel and keeps it refreshed.
Free plan: Yes: Free plan: 50 import refreshes, 50 export runs, 30 alerts per month.
Paid from: Starter: US$59/month, or US$49/month on a yearly plan (US$588/year)
Discounts: Save 17% with annual billing.
Cheaper or similar: Rows, Sheetgo
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Microsoft Power BI
Microsoft's tool for building interactive dashboards and reports from your business data.
Free plan: Yes: Free account (with Microsoft Fabric); upgrade to share reports.
Paid from: Power BI Pro: US$16.80/month, or US$14/month on a yearly plan (US$168/year)
Cheaper or similar: Polymer, Julius AI
Some details on this one weren't confirmed on the official pricing page, so we left them blank.
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Hex
Collaborative data workspace for SQL, Python and AI-driven analysis.
Free plan: Yes: Free Community plan.
Paid from: Professional: US$36/month
Discounts: 14-day free trial of Team; free Professional for students and educators.
Cheaper or similar: Deepnote, Julius AI
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Polymer
Turns spreadsheets and data into interactive dashboards you can question with AI.
Free plan: No
Paid from: Starter: US$20/month, or US$10/month on a yearly plan (US$120/year)
Discounts: Save 50% with yearly billing.
Cheaper or similar: Microsoft Power BI, Julius AI
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Quadratic
Spreadsheet that runs code and AI in cells and connects to databases.
Free plan: Yes: Free plan with limited AI usage.
Paid from: Pro: US$20/month, or US$18/month on a yearly plan (US$216/year)
Discounts: Yearly billing saves 10%.
Cheaper or similar: Rows, Grist
Some details on this one weren't confirmed on the official pricing page, so we left them blank.
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Deepnote
Collaborative data notebook with an AI assistant for analysis in Python and SQL.
Free plan: Yes: Free plan for individual analysts.
Paid from: Team: US$49/month, or US$39/month on a yearly plan (US$468/year)
Discounts: Yearly billing shown as 20% off; 14-day free trial.
Cheaper or similar: Hex, Julius AI
Some details on this one weren't confirmed on the official pricing page, so we left them blank.
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Grist
Spreadsheet-database hybrid with forms, Python formulas and an AI formula assistant.
Free plan: Yes: Free plan (up to 5,000 records per document); free self-hosting.
Paid from: Pro: US$10/month, or US$8/month on a yearly plan (US$96/year)
Discounts: Free activation key for small self-hosting orgs under $1M income.
Cheaper or similar: Airtable, Rows
Checked Oct 26, 2026
SheetAI
Adds AI formulas to Google Sheets so you can generate and clean text across rows.
Free plan: Yes: Free with your own AI API key.
Paid from: Starter: US$12/month
Discounts: Pro yearly $290 (about 2 months free).
Cheaper or similar: Numerous.ai, GPTExcel
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Smartsheet
Spreadsheet-style work management for tracking projects, tasks and workflows.
Free plan: Unclear: Free trial offered; free plan not confirmed.
Paid from: Pro: US$12/month, or US$9/month on a yearly plan (US$108/year)
Discounts: Lower per-member price with yearly billing.
Cheaper or similar: Airtable, Grist
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Sheetgo
Connects spreadsheets and files to move data between them automatically.
Free plan: Yes: Free plan for simple automations; paid plans have a 14-day trial.
Paid from: Automations Pro: US$50/month, or US$35/month on a yearly plan (US$420/year)
Discounts: Annual billing costs less.
Cheaper or similar: Coefficient, Zapier
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Baserow
Open-source, Airtable-style database you can use in the cloud or host yourself.
Free plan: Yes: Free forever: grid, form and gallery views.
Paid from: Premium: US$12/month, or US$10/month on a yearly plan (US$120/year)
Discounts: Yearly billing cheaper.
Cheaper or similar: Airtable, NocoDB
Checked Oct 26, 2026
NocoDB
Turns databases into a spreadsheet-like workspace, open source and free for small teams.
Free plan: Yes: Free for up to 3 users, 1,000 API calls/month.
Paid from: Plus: US$15/month, or US$12/month on a yearly plan (US$144/year)
Discounts: Lower per-seat price with annual billing.
Cheaper or similar: Baserow, Airtable
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Zoho Sheet
Free online spreadsheet app for working on sheets together.
Free plan: Yes: Free to create and collaborate on spreadsheets.
Paid from: Zoho WorkDrive Starter (includes Sheet): US$3/month, or US$2.50/month on a yearly plan
Cheaper or similar: Rows, Grist
Some details on this one weren't confirmed on the official pricing page, so we left them blank.
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Microsoft Copilot
Microsoft's AI assistant, free on its own and built into Microsoft 365 apps.
Free plan: Yes: Free Copilot app and web chat.
Paid from: Microsoft 365 Personal: US$9.99/month, or US$8.33/month on a yearly plan (US$99.99/year)
Discounts: Save up to 17% yearly; 1-month free trial; Workplace Discount Program; student offers. Business: Copilot add-on promo US$18 (was US$21) per user/month paid yearly, Jul 1-Dec 31, 2026, first year.
Cheaper or similar: Google Gemini
Checked Oct 30, 2026
Airtable
Spreadsheet-like database for building simple apps, trackers and automations.
Free plan: Yes: Free plan.
Paid from: Team: US$24/month, or US$20/month on a yearly plan (US$240/year)
Discounts: Save with annual billing.
Cheaper or similar: Notion, Glide
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Clay
Spreadsheet-like tool that finds and enriches lead data from many sources with AI.
Free plan: Unclear: Not confirmed in what we read.
Paid from: Launch: US$185/month, or US$167/month on a yearly plan (US$2,004/year)
Discounts: Lower per-month price with yearly billing.
Cheaper or similar: Apollo.io, Instantly
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Other jobs
FAQ
What's the best free spreadsheets & data tool?
18 of the 22 spreadsheets & data tools here have a free plan, including Julius AI, Rows, Better Analyst (formerly Formula Bot), GPTExcel. Start with the one whose job description matches yours, and check the free-plan limits in each card before you commit.
What's the cheapest paid spreadsheets & data tool?
Of the prices we could confirm, Zoho Sheet is cheapest: its Zoho WorkDrive Starter (includes Sheet) plan is US$3/month, or US$2.50/month on a yearly plan. Next is Rows: its Plus plan is US$8/month, or US$6/month on a yearly plan (US$72/year). Prices are in US dollars before tax, checked Oct 26, 2026.
How do you check these prices?
We read each tool's official pricing page (or the maker's own help pages) in US dollars before tax, and note the date. If a price isn't shown clearly, we leave it blank rather than guess.
Want to spend less? Tick the tools you pay for in the Nerdy Savings calculator.