AppSheet and Exepad
An AppSheet alternative beyond the spreadsheet
AppSheet turns a Google Sheet, an Excel file or its own database into a no-code app people open in the AppSheet app or a browser. See what moves, what stays, and when an Exepad web app fits.
AppSheet
Where AppSheet fits.
AppSheet is Google's no-code platform for apps and automations built on data you already keep. People open those apps on a phone, a tablet or a desktop browser. Before you compare, note which data sources, devices and automations your own apps depend on.[1][2]
Apps on tables you connect
Every account has a primary data source, commonly Google Drive, whose spreadsheets can feed your apps. Add others such as Excel on Office 365 or SharePoint, SQL databases or Salesforce, or use AppSheet's native database. One app can mix tables from several sources.[4]
Exepad
Where Exepad fits.
Exepad is Your App Cloud. Where an AppSheet app is shaped in the editor around its tables, you describe an Exepad app in Studio, review it, and publish it at its own web address. It opens in a browser, including on phones.
A database instead of a sheet
The app stores records in its own database rather than reading a Google Sheet on each sync. Uploading the sheet gives it a copy of the rows, so choose where edits happen from that day on.
Sign-in for crews and customers
Contractors, tenants or customers sign in to the app itself through its authentication. Describe the access for each collection in place of AppSheet security filters, and test it with a second account before you share the link.
Photos with a drafted description
An app can keep inspection photos in file storage and pass each one to a Vision model that drafts what it shows. The inspector confirms or corrects the draft. Try it on your own photos first; model usage is metered separately.
Compare the work you need to do.
| Consider | AppSheet | Exepad |
|---|---|---|
| Where the data lives | Apps read their tables from a data source you connect, such as Google Sheets, Excel on Office 365 or SharePoint, a SQL database or an AppSheet database.[4] | In the app's own database. After the upload, open a few records next to the sheet and check each column landed in the right field. |
| Starting a new app | Start from your own data, a sample template or a blank app. Paid accounts can also describe a process in plain language and review the suggested tables first.[2][3] | Describe the app in Studio and attach the sheet if you have one. Review what the building assistant made, refine it, and publish after review. |
| Where people open it | Through the App Gallery in the AppSheet iOS or Android app, or in a browser. Apps are shared by invitation, domain or link instead of an app store.[7][8] | At the app's web address in a browser, including on phones. Pro adds custom domains. |
| Working without a signal | The app definition and data are stored on the device, so an app first launched online keeps working offline. In a browser, images and documents are not cached for offline use.[5] | Apps open in a browser, including on phones. If crews work without a signal, try the app at those sites before you move them. |
| Who signs in | Users of a signed-in app need an account with a provider such as Google, Microsoft, Apple or Dropbox. AppSheet has no username-and-password option of its own.[9] | People sign in to the app through its own authentication. Describe the access for each collection, then try it with a second account. |
| Automation | Bots send email, SMS and push notifications, and change data from app events or on a schedule. Sending email and scheduled bots are not fully supported until you subscribe.[16][12] | Rebuild each bot you still need as an app action, an email or a scheduled task. Run each one on a sample record, sending any email to yourself first. |
| AI inside the app | On Enterprise Plus, AI tasks in automations categorize records, extract details from an image or PDF, and summarize long text.[13] | In an app, a Vision model can draft photo descriptions, and an agent can prepare follow-up work when asked or on a schedule you set. A person reviews each result. |
| Getting data out | An export action downloads a view's rows to CSV, only in a browser and only in apps that require sign-in. Rows kept in Sheets or Excel are already in that file.[14][4] | You can export your app's data and code. Run one export during the pilot and check it against the collections the app uses. |
| People who build the app | Share an app with Edit access to let someone change it in the editor. AppSheet advises one editor at a time, since simultaneous edits can conflict on save.[8] | Each Exepad account has one builder, who changes the app in Studio. Crews and customers sign in to the published app, with the access you describe. |
| How plans are charged | Per user per month, with licenses matched to active users. Public apps without sign-in are priced per app, and most paid Google Workspace plans include AppSheet Core.[16][15] | A crew app with sign-in, a database and email is an app with data, so it needs a paid plan to go live. Model and service usage is metered separately. |
Choose AppSheet when
Your team already works in Google Workspace.
Most paid Workspace plans include AppSheet Core, and apps can be published to Google Chat or embedded in Docs. If the data and the people are already there, a move adds a second place to manage.
Crews work where there is no signal.
AppSheet keeps the app and its data on the device, and changes sync once the phone is back online. If a day's work depends on that, stay on AppSheet or test any replacement at the same sites.
Scanning and signatures drive each visit.
AppSheet lists barcode scanning and NFC among its features, and its forms capture signatures and locations. When every visit depends on those inputs, list them and compare them one by one before you plan a move.
Other people keep editing the sheet.
AppSheet's sync carries changes made directly to the backend spreadsheet into the app, so office staff can keep working in the sheet while crews use the app. An Exepad app works from its own copy instead.
Choose Exepad when
The app serves customers or contractors.
They get a web address and sign in to the app itself, with the access you describe for each collection. Check what each person can open with a test account before you send the link.
Inspection photos need a first description.
Design the form so a Vision model in an app drafts a note on each photo and the inspector accepts or rewrites it before saving. Keep the original photo with the record in file storage, and check the drafts on a real inspection first.
The sheet only exists to feed the app.
Let the app keep its records in its own database, send its own email and run scheduled tasks. Then nobody has to keep a sheet's tabs and columns in shape just so the app works.
An agent should prepare the follow-up.
For example, on a schedule you set, an agent drafts next week's repair list from failed inspections. A manager approves the list before anyone is sent out.
What changes when you move from AppSheet.
Where the rows are depends on where the app keeps them. These points come from AppSheet's own pages, so read them before you copy anything.
What an export brings
- Tables kept in Google Sheets or Excel. AppSheet reads these rows from the spreadsheet you connected, and sync sends app changes back to it, so they are already in that file. Sync the app, then work from the file itself.[4][6]
- Tables kept in an AppSheet database. Copy Data to New Source, in a table's settings, copies the table to another connected data source, with an option to include file data. The target must be compatible with the data.[4]
- Rows from one view as CSV. An "export this view to a CSV file" action downloads a view's rows. Base the view on a slice to choose the columns and their order; a table view's column order has no effect.[14]
What stays behind
- Rows the view filters out. Only rows matching the slice's row filter, any filtered-view link and the user's search terms are exported. Clear those filters, or export from an unfiltered view.[14]
- Exports from public apps. The export action works only in apps that require sign-in, and only while the app runs in a browser. AppSheet does not support it for public apps.[14]
- Expressions, slices and bots. The CSV action downloads the rows of a view. AppSheet builds filters, dynamic screens and workflow automations with spreadsheet-like expressions, so list the ones you still need and describe them again in Studio.[1][14][12]
- Security filters and user rules. Security filters and USEREMAIL() expressions decide what each signed-in person sees. Write each rule down, then check the access you describe in Studio against it with a test account.[9]
Rebuild it in Exepad
Start with the busiest table
Pick the table crews open most, usually the one behind the main form. Upload its rows and say in Studio which Ref columns point to another table. Each Ref holds the key of the row it refers to, so bring that table's key column too.
Describe the views and forms
Name the lists, detail views and forms that take over from the AppSheet views, including every field a crew fills in on site.
Turn expressions into rules
Write in plain words what each Show? or Editable? expression and each action condition does. Check it with a record that should pass and one that should not.
Replace the bots you still need
Work from your list of bots. Rebuild each as an app action, an email or a scheduled task, and decide who reviews anything an agent prepares.
Set sign-in, then publish
Describe who signs in and the access for each collection, in place of security filters. Try it with a second account, then publish after review.
Try it with one task.
Move one inspection checklist first
An illustrative pilot for Atlas Property Care, a sample maintenance crew in Sacramento, California. Prove one checklist and its photos before you move the rest of the app.
Take last month's Inspections rows from the sheet behind the AppSheet app, and gather the inspection photos that belong to them.
In Studio, describe an inspection record with unit, date, inspector, pass or fail, notes and a photo.
Ask for a Vision model to draft a description of each photo, and have the inspector confirm or correct it before saving.
Ask for an email to the property manager when an inspection fails, and send a test to yourself.
Check ten inspections field by field against AppSheet, and let crews keep using AppSheet until every one matches.
Together in your app cloud
The pieces behind the possibility.
Choose the models and services that support the experience you want to create.
Database
Keep data and context for apps and agents
File storage
A home for your documents and media
Vision models
Make sense of images and documents
Authentication
Give the right people access
Email
Keep conversations moving
A little more context
Good questions.
Do I need Google Workspace to use AppSheet or Exepad?
AppSheet's pricing FAQ says an individual can buy Starter, Core or Publisher Pro without Workspace, while an organization buying Core or Enterprise Plus completes the purchase in the Google Admin Console. Exepad is separate from Workspace: you create and publish the app in Studio, and a sheet you bring is uploaded as a copy.
Will an Exepad app stay in sync with my Google Sheet?
No. An AppSheet app syncs with its data source, but uploading a sheet to Exepad gives the app a copy of the rows at that moment. Decide whether later edits happen in the app, come in through a deliberate re-import or arrive through a supported integration, and test that path.
Can people outside my organization sign in?
In AppSheet, each person using a signed-in app needs an account with a supported provider such as Google, Microsoft or Apple, and signed-in users count toward your licenses. In an Exepad app, people sign in through the app's own authentication. Test the access you describe before you share it.
Can an Exepad app handle inspection photos?
Yes. Describe a photo field saved to the app's file storage and a Vision model that drafts a description for the inspector to confirm, then try it on photos from a real inspection. Keep the original photo with the record. In AppSheet, the AI tasks that extract details from photos need Enterprise Plus.
How do I export my data from AppSheet?
It depends on where the table lives. Rows in Google Sheets or Excel are already in that file. An AppSheet database table can be copied to another data source from its table settings. Inside the app, an export action downloads a view's rows to CSV in a browser, in apps that require sign-in.
What happens to my AppSheet bots and expressions?
Plan to describe them again. List each bot's event and tasks, and each expression that controls what people see or change. In Studio, rebuild them as actions, emails, scheduled tasks and the access you describe for each collection. Test each one with a sample record before crews rely on it.
Can I export my data from Exepad later?
Yes. You can export your app's data and code. AppSheet's CSV export works one view at a time, so check the Exepad export just as closely: run one during the pilot and confirm it holds every collection the app uses before you depend on it.
Explore Pricing for plans, included capabilities, and usage details.
Related guides.
Compare other tools.
Sources.
AppSheet details checked September 25, 2026. Confirm them on AppSheet's site before you decide.
- AppSheet: product overview ↗
- AppSheet: create apps ↗
- AppSheet: AI-assisted app creation ↗
- AppSheet: manage data sources ↗
- AppSheet: offline and sync ↗
- AppSheet: sync between the app and the backend ↗
- AppSheet: access your apps ↗
- AppSheet: require sign-in ↗
- AppSheet: references between tables ↗
- AppSheet: limit users to tables, views and actions ↗
- AppSheet: automation essentials ↗
- AppSheet: AI in automations ↗
- AppSheet: export a view to a CSV file ↗
- AppSheet: active users and licenses ↗
- AppSheet: pricing and plan questions ↗
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