Glide — What It’s Best At (2025)
Turn spreadsheets into polished web apps fast. Glide is built for non-coders: connect Google Sheets, Airtable, Excel, or Glide Tables, then design screens and ship a link you can share or install as a PWA. No app-store uploads required.
Quick Facts
Best ForSpreadsheet-driven internal tools, portals, simple CRMs, directories, ops dashboards. |
Learning CurveBeginner. If you’re comfortable in Sheets/Airtable, you’ll move quickly. |
Hosting/DeployShare a web link or install as a PWA; no App Store/Play Store publishing. |
Free/TiersFree → Explorer → Maker → Business (+ Enterprise). Key limits are users, updates, storage, rows. |
IntegrationsData from Sheets, Airtable, Excel, Glide Tables/Big Tables; Zapier/Make; Stripe invoicing. |
Who It’s For
- Founders & ops teams turning spreadsheet processes into an app fast (no dev hand-offs)
- Educators & community admins who need simple portals with sign-in, directories, and resources
- Non-technical PMs/analysts who want quick, shareable demos for stakeholders
- Customer success & support teams offering client portals for tickets, orders, or knowledge bases
- Sales & field teams logging visits, inventory, or inspections on mobile
- Small businesses spinning up lightweight CRMs, booking dashboards, or inventory trackers
Who It’s Not For
- Native mobile publishing needs (App Store/Play) → not supported. Glide Help Center
- Heavy/complex data logic at scale unless you move to Big Tables/SQL. Glide Apps
- Real-time, multi-editor co-editing (Google-Docs style) → not currently
- Teams that require full source-code export or self-hosted control (you can export data, but not the app’s UI/workflows).
- Offline-first field operations where connectivity is unreliable (PWAs work best online; true offline apps are a better fit elsewhere).
- Projects that expect unmetered usage (very high updates/users/storage) without plan upgrades or per-unit costs.
Pricing Overview
| Plan | Price | Highlights |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | 1 app; 10 personal users included; No updates needed; Up to 25k rows; 40+ components; Community support |
| Explorer | $25/month | 1 app; 100 personal users included; 250 updates ($2/update); Up to 25k rows; Workflows; Integrations; AI support |
| Maker | $60/month | 3 apps; Unlimited personal users; 500 updates ($2/update); Up to 50k rows; Custom branding; Custom domains; Glide support |
Strengths & Tradeoffs
Strengths
- ⚡ From sheet to app in minutes with templates, 40+ components.
- 🧰 Spreadsheet-first mental model lowers barriers for non-coders.
- 🔁 Workflows + integrations (Zapier/Make) extend automations quickly.
- 📈 Upgrade path to Big Tables/SQL for higher data volumes.
Tradeoffs
- 📦 PWA only (no direct App Store/Play publishing).
- 🔢 Usage-metered (updates/users/storage/rows) can require plan bumps as you scale.
- 👥 No true live co-editing in the builder.
- 🧮 Very large/complex data can outgrow spreadsheets—use Big Tables/SQL.
Tutorial
Why this tutorial: concise, practical, and ships a small feature end‑to‑end (layout → interactivity → publish). Emphasizes iteration speed and how to layer in API calls.
Alternatives & When to Pick Them
Glide
Spreadsheet-first builder that turns Google Sheets/Airtable into shareable PWAs with sign-in and light logic—no app-store uploads required.
- Pick Glide if your data already lives in Sheets/Airtable and you want a polished app fast with minimal setup.
- Skip Glide if you need native App Store/Play publishing or heavy, custom backend logic.
Bubble
Max flexibility for complex workflows and logic with a large plugin marketplace—more power, steeper ramp than Glide.
- Pick Bubble if you need advanced logic, multi-step automations, or niche integrations at scale.
- Skip Bubble if speed and a spreadsheet-first workflow matter most—Glide is lighter and quicker to ship.
Bolt.new
Code-forward scaffolding that generates real source code—ideal for devs who want repo ownership and full stack control.
- Pick Bolt.new if you want to own the repo, wire custom APIs, and extend with your frameworks.
- Skip Bolt.new if you want a managed, no-code experience—Glide handles hosting and setup for you.
Webflow
Best-in-class for marketing sites and CMS content with pixel-perfect design—app logic isn’t its sweet spot.
- Pick Webflow if your priority is a high-fidelity website or content hub.
- Skip Webflow if you need spreadsheet-driven apps with sign-in and light logic—Glide fits better.
Softr
Turns Airtable/Google Sheets into portals and dashboards with membership out of the box—web-focused, not PWA-centric.
- Pick Softr if you need client portals or internal dashboards driven by Airtable.
- Skip Softr if you want app-like PWAs from spreadsheets—Glide excels there.
Adalo
Mobile-first builder with native publishing to the App Store and Google Play.
- Pick Adalo if native mobile distribution is non-negotiable.
- Skip Adalo if you’re fine with shareable web apps/PWAs from spreadsheet data—Glide is faster.
Base44
Browser-based full-stack builder (UI + data + auth + hosting). Strong for web apps that outgrow simple spreadsheet logic.
- Pick Base44 if you want one workspace for UI, database, and hosting with more built-in app logic.
- Skip Base44 if your workflow is spreadsheet-first and you want the quickest PWA—Glide fits better.
Opal (Google)
Google-aligned, early-stage builder—handy for lightweight experiments, not production-grade today.
- Pick Opal if you want tight Google ecosystem alignment and you’re comfortable with early-stage limits.
- Skip Opal if you need mature features, clear pricing, and production guarantees now.
Rule of thumb: Choose Glide when you want to turn Sheets/Airtable into a shareable, installable PWA fast—sign-in, basic logic, and simple portals included—without app-store uploads. For deep logic choose Bubble; for native mobile choose Adalo; for pixel-perfect CMS choose Webflow; for Airtable portals choose Softr; for code ownership choose Bolt.new; for full-stack web apps choose Base44.
FAQs
Bonus Questions
Can I assign a custom domain?
Yes—on paid plans. Point your DNS (A/CNAME) to Glide and set the primary domain in your app’s Domains settings. It’s a quick, no-code step once your app is ready.
Can I monetize apps (Stripe, PayPal, etc.)?
Yes. Glide supports Stripe for payments (commonly via Checkout links or embedded pages). Other providers like PayPal can be connected through links, APIs, or automations (Zapier/Make). Double-check plan limits (users/updates) and webhook needs before launch.
Do I own the code that’s created?
You own your data, content, and branding. Glide is a hosted, no-code platform—you don’t get full source code access. Apps run on Glide’s infrastructure.
Can I download or export the code and use it elsewhere?
No full code export. You can export data (e.g., CSV) and connect external services via APIs, but migrating off Glide typically means rebuilding the front end. Plan for some re-wiring if portability is a must.