LibreOffice 25.8: New features
By LibreOffice - The Document Foundation ·
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Google Sheets Alternatives 2026: 5 Free Options
Google Sheets alternatives: LibreOffice, ONLYOFFICE, Zoho Sheet, Baserow and 1 more. Prices and licenses checked October 23, 2026.
•3 min read•Office, Docs & Presentations
Verdict:Leave Google Sheets if you want your files off Google's servers, need to work offline as a rule, or have outgrown the sheet as a database. LibreOffice Calc is the plain free answer: it runs on all three desktop systems and keeps data on your machine, but sharing means passing files around. ONLYOFFICE is the closest to Sheets in feel, with real-time co-editing; its free Startup cloud plan covers 12 rooms and 2 GB, and you can self-host the AGPL server if you want full control. Zoho Sheet is the lowest-effort free move if browser-based collaboration is the point, though it keeps you on a hosted vendor. When your sheet has turned into a list of linked records, Baserow or Airtable fits better than any spreadsheet. Baserow stays free to 3,000 rows per workspace, and Airtable's Team plan is $20 per user a month billed annually. The trade-off is Sheets' tight link to Gmail, Drive and Apps Script; none of these tools reproduce Apps Script, so automation you built there has to be rebuilt. Stay on Sheets if you rely on that; move when privacy, offline use or structure is the real reason you are looking.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Price | Platforms | Best for | Tested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LibreOffice | Free (download and use at no cost per its site) | Windows, macOS, Linux | Offline work with no Google account | Docs only |
| ONLYOFFICE | Free (Startup cloud plan with up to 3 admins, unlimited users and guests, 12 rooms and 2 GB of storage); paid from $20 per admin/month (Business cloud plan; only admins are paid) | Web, Self-hosted, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android | Self-hosted collaborative spreadsheets | Docs only |
| Zoho Sheet | Free (Page says spreadsheets can be created for free) | Web, Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Chromebook | A hosted free swap away from Google | Docs only |
| Baserow | Free (Free plan: 3,000 rows and 2 GB of storage per workspace); paid from $10 per user/month, billed yearly ($12 billed monthly; Premium) | Web, Self-hosted | Spreadsheets that are really databases | Docs only |
| Airtable | Free; paid from $20 per user/month, billed annually (Team) | Web browser | Teams tracking structured records | Docs only |
| Microsoft Excel | Free (Excel for the web is free with a Microsoft account and 5 GB of OneDrive; files must be saved in OneDrive) | Web | Spreadsheet | Docs only |
Independent comparison. Paid placements are labelled separately; editorial links earn no affiliate commissions. Learn more.
See the tools in action
Explore the interface and watch a workflow before choosing.
Good fit if
- You want files on your own disk with no account (LibreOffice is the pick)
- You need real-time co-editing you can self-host (ONLYOFFICE is the pick)
- You want another free browser spreadsheet (Zoho Sheet is the pick)
- Your sheet is really a set of linked records (Baserow is the pick)
Not ideal if
- You rely on Google Sheets features or integrations that these tools do not replicate
Google Sheets today: Free (Free with a personal Google Account; some Gemini features need a Workspace plan) (Google Sheets pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Why people look for Google Sheets alternatives
Google Sheets caps a spreadsheet at 20 million cells, or 100 MB, for files created in or converted to Sheets. Connected Sheets pivot tables are limited to 200,000 rows, and its extracts to 500,000 rows or 5 million cells. That ceiling matters for large datasets. Free use requires a Google Account, and Google's page says some Gemini features need a Workspace plan, so heavy AI use is not covered by the free tier.
LibreOffice
Compared with Google Sheets: Free MPL-2.0 desktop suite whose Calc opens and saves spreadsheets locally on Windows, macOS and Linux. You lose Sheets' live multi-person editing in the browser, and gain files that stay on your disk with no Google account.
Price: Free (download and use at no cost per its site) (LibreOffice pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Windows, macOS, Linux. MPL-2.0 (open source).
Best for: Offline work with no Google account.
Worth knowing: Desktop suite of Writer, Calc, Impress, Draw, Base and Math; it has no built-in cloud storage or email.
ONLYOFFICE
Compared with Google Sheets: AGPL-3.0 docs server you can self-host, plus a free Startup cloud plan with 12 rooms and 2 GB of storage. Real-time co-editing is closer to Sheets than LibreOffice is; paid cloud admins cost $20 a month.
Price: Free (Startup cloud plan with up to 3 admins, unlimited users and guests, 12 rooms and 2 GB of storage); paid from $20 per admin/month (Business cloud plan; only admins are paid) (ONLYOFFICE pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web, Self-hosted, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android. AGPL-3.0 (Docs server) (open source).
Project activity: 7.1k GitHub stars · latest release v10.0.0 (Oct 12, 2026) · last commit Oct 26, 2026
Best for: Self-hosted collaborative spreadsheets.
Zoho Sheet
Compared with Google Sheets: Free browser spreadsheet with Windows, macOS, Android and iOS apps, and offline support in some of them. It is a hosted service like Sheets, so you swap one cloud vendor for another rather than gaining control.
Price: Free (Page says spreadsheets can be created for free) (Zoho Sheet pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Platforms and license: Web, Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Chromebook. Proprietary.
Best for: A hosted free swap away from Google.
Baserow
Compared with Google Sheets: MIT-core database with a spreadsheet-style grid; free plan gives 3,000 rows and 2 GB per workspace. Weaker for formulas and charts than Sheets, stronger for linked tables and forms.
Price: Free (Free plan: 3,000 rows and 2 GB of storage per workspace); paid from $10 per user/month, billed yearly ($12 billed monthly; Premium) (Baserow pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web, Self-hosted. MIT (core) (open source).
Project activity: 6.2k GitHub stars · latest release 2.4.1 (Oct 13, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: Spreadsheets that are really databases.
Airtable
Compared with Google Sheets: Spreadsheet-database hybrid with a free plan and Team at $20 per user a month billed annually. You get views, forms and relations Sheets lacks, but ordinary formula-heavy sheets feel more cramped.
Price: Free; paid from $20 per user/month, billed annually (Team) (Airtable pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Platforms and license: Web browser. Proprietary SaaS.
Best for: Teams tracking structured records.
Other popular options (paid)
Microsoft Excel
Compared with Google Sheets: The standard desktop spreadsheet, so you gain Excel's file format and desktop app. Excel for the web is free with a Microsoft account and 5 GB of OneDrive, with files saved in OneDrive; desktop pricing was not confirmed.
Price: Free (Excel for the web is free with a Microsoft account and 5 GB of OneDrive; files must be saved in OneDrive) (Microsoft Excel pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Which one to pick
- You want files on your own disk with no account: LibreOffice
- You need real-time co-editing you can self-host: ONLYOFFICE
- You want another free browser spreadsheet: Zoho Sheet
- Your sheet is really a set of linked records: Baserow
Limits of this review
Docs-only for LibreOffice, ONLYOFFICE, Zoho Sheet, Baserow, Airtable: we did not install or run them, so feature claims come from vendor pages and we did not test import from Google Sheets. Vendor prices and free limits change; confirm on the linked pricing page before you buy or migrate.
Related guides
More in Office, Docs & Presentations
- Microsoft Excel alternatives
- Microsoft Access alternatives
- Google Docs alternatives
- Microsoft Word alternatives
Sources
Kevin Fan
Kevin Fan is a SaaS founder. He runs Free Instead Of, which tracks free and open-source alternatives to paid software and checks each price and free-plan limit against the vendor's own pages.
Methodology
Based on official pricing and product pages checked between 2026-10-22 and 2026-10-23: Google Sheets, LibreOffice, ONLYOFFICE, Zoho Sheet, Baserow, Airtable, Microsoft Excel. Prices, free limits and licenses are the figures shown on those pages on those dates. No tool on this page was installed or run. No accounts were created.