Directory / AI for a task / Internal tools from a spreadsheet

The best AI to build an internal tool on top of a spreadsheet

Softr is the best front end for data you already keep in Airtable or Sheets, and it starts at $19/mo billed annually with your own domain included. Glide suits phone-shaped apps and has a generous free plan of 25K rows, but its custom domain costs $199/mo. Base44 is the pick when the tool needs custom logic and you want the source code.

  1. 01 Softr: Internal tools over Airtable or Sheets
  2. 02 Glide: Internal mobile-shaped apps over spreadsheet data
  3. 03 Base44: Getting a real app on your own domain cheaply

Top pick

Softr

Free · from $19/mo

A front end for Airtable or Sheets data, with client portals and directories as standard use cases. Free for 3 builders and 5 app users; Basic is $19/mo billed annually ($25/mo monthly) and includes a custom domain. No code export.

Free tier
3 builders, 5 combined app users, core building features
Entry plan
$19/mo billed annually ($25/mo billed monthly, Basic plan)

Pick 02

Glide

Free · from ~$10/mo

Excellent over a spreadsheet, especially for mobile-shaped apps: the free plan allows 1 editor and 25K rows. The catch is the custom domain, which needs the $199/mo Business plan.

Free tier
1 editor, 25K rows
Entry plan
~$10/mo

Pick 03

Base44

Free · from $16/mo

For an internal tool that outgrows a spreadsheet front end: a generated React app, the full source through two-way GitHub sync, and a custom domain from $16/mo.

Free tier
25 message credits/month, 5 apps
Entry plan
$16/mo

Skip if

Skip Glide if the app has to live on your own domain: $199/mo for that is roughly 20 times the going rate in this category.

The free option

Glide's free plan (1 editor, 25K rows) is the most generous free spreadsheet app here, as long as a Glide address is acceptable. Glide profile.

Prices side by side

Is there a free AI to build an internal tool on top of a spreadsheet?

Glide's free plan (1 editor, 25K rows) is the most generous free spreadsheet app here, as long as a Glide address is acceptable.

When is Softr the wrong choice?

Public marketing sites.

Deciding between these

Full kits by profession

Prices and free tiers verifiedbetween and against each vendor's own pages; each tool's profile lists its sources and its own check date.

Other tasks

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