Baserow vs Quadratic

Baserow is an open-source no-code database and one of the most complete Airtable alternatives. It is developed by a company based in the Netherlands and offered both as a hosted cloud service with EU data storage and as a self-hosted application you can run with Docker on your own servers. The core of the product is MIT licensed.

Data lives in tables with typed fields, links between tables, lookups, formulas and rollups, and can be viewed as a grid, gallery, form, kanban or calendar. On top of the database Baserow adds an application builder for simple internal tools and portals, automations, an AI field that generates or classifies content from a prompt, row comments, and a REST API with webhooks. The free self-hosted edition has no artificial row limits; paid Premium and Advanced tiers, priced per user, unlock extra views, AI, admin controls, audit logs, SSO and role management.

Baserow suits teams that like the Airtable model but need data ownership, GDPR-friendly hosting or predictable costs at large row counts. It falls short on ecosystem: Airtable has far more integrations, templates and a more mature Interfaces layer, and its community is larger. NocoDB is the closest rival, source-available rather than open source since 2026, and sits on top of an existing SQL database, while Grist is stronger for spreadsheet-style formulas. For many European organizations Baserow is the easiest open-source option to adopt.

Quadratic is a browser-based spreadsheet from a US startup in Boulder, Colorado, backed by a $5.6M seed round led by GV in 2024. It looks like a familiar grid, but any cell can hold Python, SQL or JavaScript alongside normal formulas, which makes it a bridge between Excel and a data notebook. The app runs on WebAssembly and WebGL, so large sheets stay responsive in the browser.

You can connect databases such as Postgres, MySQL, Snowflake, BigQuery, Supabase and Neon, import CSV, Excel, Parquet and PDF files, and pull from QuickBooks, Mixpanel or Plaid. The built-in AI writes formulas, code and charts from plain-language requests, explains existing cells, and runs agents for auditing, fixing errors and enriching data; an MCP server lets Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor read and write sheets. The free plan has limited AI and connections, Pro and Business are priced per user with monthly AI credits, and Enterprise adds SSO and self-hosting.

Quadratic fits analysts and technical teams who outgrow spreadsheets but do not want a full notebook or BI stack. Equals is the closer pick for finance teams wanting a classic spreadsheet with live data, Grist suits structured relational data, and Airtable is better as an operational database for non-technical teams.

The vendor says sheets handle up to 100 million rows. Because AI usage comes from a monthly credit allowance, heavy users should check whether Business with on-demand credits is cheaper than several Pro seats.