What is Glide?
Glide (Y Combinator Winter 2019) builds business apps on top of spreadsheets and databases. Its current product, which customers call GlideOS, lets you upload an Excel file or Google Sheet and describe what you need; a feature called SheetSense reads the sheets, formulas and lookups, and an AI agent builds a desktop and mobile app with role-based access down to individual rows. Claude, Gemini and ChatGPT can also build into the same apps over MCP.
There is a free plan with 2 members and no publishing; paid plans run from Basic at $25 a month to Pro at $125, paid in credits that stand in for AI usage. Glide says more than 100,000 businesses have used it. The older product, Glide Classic, remains available on its own subscription.
How much does Glide cost?
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | 2 members, 10 projects, no published apps or workflows |
| Basic | $25/month | From 100 credits, 2 published apps, 1 workflow |
| Plus | $50/month | From 250 credits, 3 members, 5 published apps |
| Pro | $125/month | From 5 members, unlimited apps and workflows, build over MCP |
| Enterprise | Custom | SSO, audit logs, choice of LLM provider |
Free (2 members, no published apps); Basic $25/month (from 100 credits, 2 published apps); Plus $50/month (from 250 credits, 5 apps); Pro $125/month (from 5 members, unlimited apps, MCP); Enterprise custom. Monthly only; annual plans 'coming soon'. Glide Classic billed separately.
Is Glide worth it?
Every company has one spreadsheet that runs a whole process: inspections, stock counts, crew rosters. It works until two people edit it at once or someone on site needs it on a phone.
Glide turns that sheet into an app. You upload it, say what the app should do, and its AI reads the formulas and lookups before building screens for desktop and mobile. Each user sees only their rows, a manager sees the team's, and a change made once shows up everywhere. One customer quoted on Glide's site went from concept to working app in 15 minutes; that is the vendor's showcase, not a typical figure.
It is also unusually open to other AI tools. On Pro you can connect Claude, Gemini or ChatGPT over MCP and have them build into the same apps, data and permissions, rather than being locked into Glide's own agent. The homepage lists SOC 2 Type 2, GDPR and CCPA, and says your data never trains the models it uses.
The catch: the current product prices in credits, which stand in for AI usage, and the pricing page disagrees with itself on how many Pro includes. Free cannot publish an app at all, Basic allows just 2, and there is no annual discount yet. Single sign-on and audit logs need Enterprise. Glide Classic customers face a separate subscription, and the site does not explain the migration path clearly.
Our take: for a 20-person field team that lives in Google Sheets, Glide gets a usable app out the door with far less to learn than Bubble; Softr is the safer choice if your data already sits in Airtable and you want a portal for outside clients.
Where it earns its place
An operations manager at a 40-person roofing contractor
Replace a shared inspection spreadsheet with a phone app for crews
Upload the sheet, let the AI build an inspection app, and give each crew access to its own jobs. Plus at $50 a month allows 3 members and 5 published apps; a larger team of editors needs Pro at $125.
An IT lead at a 300-person distributor
Let staff build internal apps with the company's approved AI model
Enterprise lets the organisation choose its LLM provider and adds SSO, audit logs and publishing approval; pricing is custom.
A developer at a small agency
Build client apps from Claude or ChatGPT instead of a visual editor
On Pro, connect Claude or ChatGPT over MCP and build into Glide apps with its permissions and data already in place, with unlimited published apps.
Before you commit
- Setup
- Sign up free, upload an Excel or Google Sheets file, describe the app, and refine the AI's first version; publishing needs Basic or above.
- Integrations
- Excel, Google Sheets and databases plus tools such as Salesforce, NetSuite, HubSpot and Snowflake; MCP for Claude, Gemini and ChatGPT on Pro; premium integrations from Pro.
- Data and privacy
- SOC 2 Type 2, GDPR and CCPA, AES-256 encryption; Glide says only approved models are used and your data never trains them; SSO through Okta or your own provider and AI spending limits by team.
- Cost at scale
- Pro starts at $125 a month for 5 members and scales to 100 members with more credits, but prices for the larger seat and credit options are not published.
- Limits
- Projects: 10 on Free, Basic and Plus, 100 on Pro. Credit top-ups limited to once a month on Basic and twice on Plus.
What's good
- AI builder reads existing formulas and lookups, not just column names
- Row-level access for staff, managers, customers and partners
- Pro lets Claude, Gemini or ChatGPT build over MCP
- SOC 2 Type 2; says data never trains its models
- Templates for inspections, inventory and crew scheduling
What's not
- Credit-based pricing, with conflicting Pro allowances on the pricing page
- Free plan cannot publish apps
- No annual billing yet
- SSO and audit logs only on Enterprise
- Glide Classic and the new product are separate subscriptions
Best for
Operations teams and small businesses that run processes on Excel or Google Sheets and want mobile apps without developers.
Glide alternatives
Glide: common questions
- Is Glide worth it?
- Glide is the gentlest way to turn a spreadsheet the whole office depends on into a proper app, though its new credit pricing makes the bill harder to predict than it used to be. We rate it 3.8 out of 5.
- How much does Glide cost?
- Free (2 members, no published apps); Basic $25/month (from 100 credits, 2 published apps); Plus $50/month (from 250 credits, 5 apps); Pro $125/month (from 5 members, unlimited apps, MCP); Enterprise custom. Monthly only; annual plans 'coming soon'. Glide Classic billed separately.
- What are the downsides of Glide?
- Credit-based pricing, with conflicting Pro allowances on the pricing page; free plan cannot publish apps; no annual billing yet; sSO and audit logs only on Enterprise; glide Classic and the new product are separate subscriptions.
- Who is Glide best for?
- Operations teams and small businesses that run processes on Excel or Google Sheets and want mobile apps without developers.
- How much does Glide cost for a team or in production?
- Pro starts at $125 a month for 5 members and scales to 100 members with more credits, but prices for the larger seat and credit options are not published.
- Is Glide safe for company data?
- SOC 2 Type 2, GDPR and CCPA, AES-256 encryption; Glide says only approved models are used and your data never trains them; SSO through Okta or your own provider and AI spending limits by team.
- What are the best Glide alternatives?
- The closest alternatives we have reviewed are Softr, Bubble and Base44.
Answers checked Oct 26, 2026.