Grist-core vs Smartsheet Grids
Grist-core and Smartsheet Grids are both internal tools and low-code software. Grist-core is open source under Apache-2.0, with 12k GitHub stars. Smartsheet Grids is a commercial product from Smartsheet Inc.
Which to pick
- Pick Grist-core when
- Your team has outgrown spreadsheets and wants Airtable-style structure that can be self-hosted.
- Pick Smartsheet Grids when
- Teams want shared tracking tables with approval workflows and already use Smartsheet.
Side by side
A spreadsheet-database hybrid with typed columns, linked tables, Python formulas, custom widgets and access rules.
Smartsheet's grid sheets used as a structured, shared table with forms, automations and reports.
Some features such as certain integrations live in Grist's paid hosted service, and very large datasets slow it down.
It is a spreadsheet model, not a relational database, so linking data is limited.
Production-ready (both)
Self-hosted server and cloud service
Cloud service and mobile app
TypeScript, Python, Node.js and SQLite
Not published
Open source, Apache-2.0 (permissive)
Closed source, sold by Smartsheet Inc.
You can build it into a product you sell, as long as you keep its copyright notice.
Closed source: you use it under the maker's terms and cannot change or resell the code.
12k GitHub stars
No Wikipedia article of its own
Established: started 6 years ago, latest release v1.7.22.
Not known
Other comparisons
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Both sides were judged on 2026-11-03 from makers' descriptions, Wikipedia, READMEs and GitHub data. License, age and popularity lines are worked out directly.