AppSheet alternative
The AppSheet alternative that imports your apps
AppSheet is a capable platform and Google keeps adding to it. People leave for three reasons: the editor feels slow and dated, expressions are hard to read, and per-user pricing gets expensive once an app has more than a handful of users.
Emberblocks is built on the same data-first idea (tables first, screens on top) with a fast modern editor, a readable formula language, pricing that never charges for builders, and an importer that reads your AppSheet app definition so you do not start from zero.
Builders are always free. Facts about AppSheet on this page were last checked on against AppSheet's own site. Tell us if something is out of date: hello@emberblocks.com.
Why people look for an AppSheet alternative
The editor
AppSheet's editor predates most of today's no-code tools. Emberblocks is a drag-and-drop grid with a live preview, the block you are editing outlined on the canvas, and undo everywhere.
Expressions
AppSheet expressions such as SELECT(Orders[Total], [Customer] = [_THISROW].[Customer]) can do a lot and are hard to read a month later. Emberblocks uses a spreadsheet-style language with autocomplete and inline checking.
Per-user pricing
AppSheet charges per user per month. Emberblocks never charges for builders, and paid plans include a block of app users rather than a per-seat meter.
Google Workspace gravity
AppSheet is at its best inside Google Sheets and Drive. If your data is in Postgres or Airtable, or you want it in a real database, Emberblocks starts there.
A migration path
Upload AppSheet's Application Documentation export and Emberblocks recreates the tables, columns, formulas, views, actions, format rules and roles it can bind, with a coverage report for the rest.
Sharing outside the org
Views can be shared as public links with no account, which is the usual answer to 'how do clients see this'.
Emberblocks vs AppSheet at a glance
| Capability | Emberblocks | AppSheet |
|---|---|---|
| Built-in database | Yes | AppSheet databases |
| Connect your own Postgres | Yes | Cloud SQL and others |
| Airtable as a source (two-way) | Yes | No |
| Google Sheets as a live source | No | Yes |
| No code required | Yes | Yes |
| Formula language | Yes | AppSheet expressions |
| Field-level permissions | Yes | column-level via expressions |
| Workflows and automations | Yes | Automation bots |
| Versioned publishing with rollback | Yes | version history |
| Public links without accounts | Yes | limited |
| Offline edits queued on phones | Yes | Yes |
| AI drafts the first version | Yes | Gemini features |
| Builders never pay | Yes | No |
| Paid plans priced by | app users | per user per month |
| Custom domains | not yet | unverified |
| SSO / SAML | not yet | unverified |
Emberblocks cells reflect what ships today. AppSheet cells were checked against AppSheet's public pages on the date shown at the top of this page; "unverified" means we could not confirm it and would rather say so than guess.
What you get in Emberblocks
Your data, live
Start on a built-in database, your own Postgres (Supabase, Neon, RDS, anything that speaks Postgres) or an Airtable base. Apps read and write live rows, so there are no exports to keep in sync.
Blocks on a grid
Drag tables, cards, record pages, kanban boards, calendars, maps, timelines, charts, stats, forms, buttons, comments, activity feeds, file viewers, signatures, barcodes and embeds onto a grid and wire them to tables. What you arrange is exactly what your team gets.
Real field types
Fields include text, email, phone, URL, number, boolean, date, date-time, time, duration, select, multi-select, reference, multi-reference, image, file, signature, address and JSON. Barcode scanning and signatures work in the browser without a native app.
Workflows
Workflows run when a row is created, updated or deleted, on a schedule, or from a button; steps update records, send email, call webhooks, branch on conditions and run code.
Roles and permissions
Roles decide which views a user sees and which fields they can read or edit; app users can be loaded from a table in your own data.
Publishing like software
Every publish is a versioned snapshot you can inspect and roll back, with a stable and a latest channel.
Phones and offline
Published apps are responsive, install on a phone's home screen, and queue edits made offline until the connection is back.
AI where it helps
Ember drafts a first version of an app from a plain-language description, and end users can ask questions of the data in plain language when you turn it on.
Where AppSheet is still the better pick
If one of these describes you, AppSheet is the better choice.
- Your data is in Google Sheets and you want it to stay there. Emberblocks has no live Google Sheets connector; you would import the sheet as CSV or move it to Airtable or Postgres.
- You need a white-labelled app in the App Store or Play Store. Emberblocks apps run in the browser and install to the home screen; there are no store builds.
- You are on a Google Workspace edition that already includes AppSheet Core and your apps have few users, so the price is effectively zero.
- You depend on deep Google-only integrations such as Apps Script, Google Chat bots or Google Forms triggers.
How the AppSheet import works
The importer is in beta and reads AppSheet's own export, so nothing runs against your AppSheet account.
- 1
Export from AppSheet
In the AppSheet editor open Manage, then Documentation, and download the Application Documentation HTML file.
- 2
Upload it to Emberblocks
Your browser parses the file into a compact manifest. The raw export, which is full of customer data, never leaves your machine.
- 3
Review the mapping
You see every table, the users table it detected, the views it could not bind, and a live coverage report of what carries over.
- 4
Create, then bring the rows
The export contains no data, so import your rows as CSV or connect the database the data already lives in.
Questions
- What does the AppSheet importer carry over?
- Tables and columns with their types, formulas that translate to the Emberblocks formula language, views the importer can bind to a table, actions, format rules as style rules, and roles. Automations, Apps Script and the row data itself do not come across; the review step shows a coverage report so nothing is a surprise.
- Does Emberblocks work with Google Sheets?
- Not as a live source. You can import a sheet as CSV into a built-in table, or keep the data in Airtable or Postgres and connect that. If a live Sheets connector is a must-have, AppSheet is the better fit today.
- How is Emberblocks priced?
- Builders are always free. Paid plans are priced by the number of people who sign in to your published apps: Starter $29, Pro $79 and Business $199 a month billed yearly. Every new workspace starts with a 14-day Pro trial, no card needed, and there is a free plan after that. Full details on the pricing page.
- Where does my data live?
- Wherever you want it. Use the built-in database, connect your own Postgres so rows never leave your server, or point an app at an Airtable base. Airtable bases are mirrored into Postgres and kept in sync both ways.
- Do I need to write code?
- No. Blocks, a spreadsheet-style formula language and visual workflows cover most internal tools. A run-code workflow step is there when you want it, and an MCP server lets AI assistants build and query apps for you.
- What does Emberblocks not do yet?
- Custom domains, SSO and an Enterprise plan are not available yet. There is no live Google Sheets connector (import the sheet as CSV instead). Apps run in the browser and install to the home screen; there are no App Store or Play Store builds.
Try it on your own data.
Every workspace starts with a 14-day Pro trial without a card. You can also open a template in the editor first and sign up only when you want to keep it.