The spreadsheet is one of the most common ways to display and store data in a structured form. Simply inputting data into a spreadsheet doesn’t require knowledge of programming languages like MySQL or Cassandra. But, what if you want to display spreadsheet data within another application? For this, you’ll need an API.

Spreadsheet APIs extend the usability of spreadsheets and let you integrate the sheet into your application. This way, you don’t have to redirect your users to a third-party platform. In this article, we’ll review some of the most popular spreadsheet APIs that you can use to integrate data into your applications.

Excel

When it comes to spreadsheets, the name that pop-ups in everyone’s mind is Excel. Microsoft’s Excel is the leading spreadsheet and data analysis tool packed with many features and functions. Excel provides one of the best spreadsheet APIs for creating spreadsheets, tables, charts, and graphs and is the best way to organize data in general. When it comes to alternatives, the closest is Google Sheets.

Pros:

• Proper and organized data in a single place.
• Bunch of functions and features available.
• Data is highly secured and unlikely to be hacked.

Cons:

• Not that easy and simple to use.
• Some may find trouble with collaborative working.

Google Sheets

Google Sheets is another one of the most popular cloud-based spreadsheets. It is a real-time spreadsheet tool that enables editing and sharing on any PC, mobile device, or tablet. Anyone can use Google Sheets for free. It is one of the simplest spreadsheets with some necessary functions. It does not have as many tasks as compared to Excel.

Pros:

• Simple and easy-to-use.
• Fully Free. You don’t need to pay for anything.
• Exports documents in multiple formats.
• It has a faster loading time of documents as compared to Excel.

Cons:

• Poor internet connection can make it laggy.
• Some of the important functions are not available.

Smartsheet

Smartsheet is a web-based tool for creating hybrid, cross-data spreadsheets and automating workflows. It enables companies and teams to prepare, implement, and report on work at scale in real-time. Since Smartsheet is cloud-based, all you need is a good internet connection and a web browser to use it. Smartsheet also suggests that you keep JavaScript enabled and advises that some features on Internet Explorer aren’t supported. Using the Smartsheet API, developers can programmatically read and update Smartsheet documents and manage Smartsheet users. Smartsheet also provides SDKs in C#, Java, Python, Node, and Ruby.

Pros:

• Sharing permissions are generous and enable non-paid users the opportunity to collaborate.
• It is simple and easy to use.
• It is highly customizable.
• Gantt charts on Smartsheet are quick and intuitive with all the options.
• It keeps everyone up to date on specific changes that have been made in real-time.

Cons:

• It lacks full spreadsheet capabilities for advanced formulas and conditional formatting.
• Monthly cost is expensive.
• Not able to apply non-working days such as public holidays across all sheets at the same time.

Lucidchart

Lucidchart is cloud-based project management, data visualization, and diagramming solution. One can access all the shapes you need to build a polished and professional business process map with just a few clicks, including tasks, transactions, conversions, call operations, data storage, and more. Using the Lucidchart API, you can access user documents and return blocks, lines, connections, and text fields formatted in XML.

Pros:

• Easy to use.
• Intuitive and attractive interface to get started quickly.
• Very flexible sharing and collaboration options.
• Multi-edit a document in real-time with other users.
• Large list of export diagram export options.

Cons:

• No desktop apps.
• Drawing diagrams could be difficult.
• There is no option to create a custom shape.

Zoho Sheets

Another spreadsheet API you can go for is Zoho Sheets. It’s a spreadsheet application that allows you to organize data, collaborate on reports with your team, and analyze data from anywhere. For collaboration, Zoho Sheet spreadsheets can be shared instantly with all team members and edited or corrected in real-time. It allows users to easily switch between .xlsx,.xls,.csv, and .ods formats throughout platforms. With the Zoho Sheets Data API, remote applications can programmatically store, edit and analyze data.

Pros:

• Share any spreadsheet with multiple collaborating team members online.
• Allows the users to be more efficient in productivity with easy integration.
• You can apply multiple calculations just like you do in Excel.
• One can easily access saved data anywhere.

Cons:

• Zoho Sheet doesn’t have the best user interface, and some operations are slow.
• Requires a good, strong, and stable internet connection.
• Not fully compatible with mobile phones.

Quip

With the help of Quip, you can create and exchange documents, manage tasks, and stay connected at all times by centralizing and organizing your team’s work. Quip’s ‘Smart Inbox’ interface allows users to collaboratively create and edit documents, spreadsheets, and checklists in real-time, with the ability to browse and start documents to speed up searching. Quip also has chat rooms, which were once more popular but are now less so. This may be because many teams use group chat apps like Slack for this reason. Quip is available on desktop and smartphone, with native iOS and Android apps. With offline features, users can work on documents with changes modified whenever an internet connection is available.

Pros:

• Quip is simple and easy to use.
• It has an amazing interface.
• Communicate with others in real-time.
• Easy to search for docs.
• Good for documentation.

Cons:

• Exporting a Quip spreadsheet to Excel will export all the information over but leaves you with a lot of manual formatting and editing.
• No formatting in the pop-up menu for tables.
• Uploaded documents aren’t always available for markup
• No Task delegation features.
• No reporting feature.

Rowshare

Rowshare is a shared online table that allows you to collect data from multiple users. Users can construct visually appealing and intuitive tables and forms with them. Users can view or edit their lines, follow tables, receive updates when they are modified, and share tables with as many people as they want. This app allows users to switch to collaborative tables to share lists, collect data, and coordinate tasks. With the Rowshare API, users can manage and edit lists, individual rows, and users.

Pros:

• Easy to use.
• Share information with others easily.
• You can set the type of data contained in your rows, which speeds up the process of importing and exporting information.
• Rowshare allows easy collaboration across teams to get all the same data seamlessly and easily.

Cons:

• Multiple documents can’t be uploaded together to the Team Task Manager.
• Cannot copy/paste rows or columns, a bad undo feature.
• Some may find it difficult to move from column to column.

SheetDB

SheetDB is a platform that converts Google Sheets into an API. It offers end-to-end Web App development services. With the help of SheetDB, you can Create, Read, Update and Delete (together known as CRUD) any data without much setup required.

Pros:

• Simple and easy to use.
• Great supportive staff.

Sheety

Sheety is another platform that converts Google sheets into a RESTful JSON API instantly. An individual or business may use this platform to update their website by editing a Sheets field. In Sheety, one can retrieve and update all the data in real-time.

Pros:

• It saves a lot of time.
• Easy to use.

Cons:

• No way to retrieve old APIs if the tab gets closed.

API Spreadsheet

This is one of the most powerful tools to convert your spreadsheets into an API or a database. The API supports all the CRUD operations such as Create, Read, Delete, and Update without any hassle. The documentation is straightforward to use and comes with multiple integrations like Excel, Google Sheets, Dropbox, and others. It also allows developers to create custom HTML forms, custom websites, etc.

Pros:

• Supports multiple integrations
• Create custom websites using the same platform

Honorable Mentions

Did we leave out any Spreadsheet APIs? Comment below, and we’ll consider adding it to our list!

Final Words

In the article, we covered the most popular spreadsheet APIs to help developers perform CRUD operations directly using your code. By using web APIs, you can display spreadsheet data on any platform without much hassle.