Equals vs GRID (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Equals if

• Fits if you are a company that reports from NetSuite or Salesforce data every week
• Makes sense if the finance team wants a spreadsheet rather than a separate dashboard tool

Look elsewhere if

• Pricey if you are a small team or a person, as the cheapest plan is $24,000 a year
• Not for you if you want to try it alone, since every plan is bought through a demo
• Tight if you have many data sources, because the entry plan allows 3 connectors with a 6-hour refresh
• Watch out: AI use above the included monthly spend is billed by usage
• Watch out: browser only, with no desktop or phone app listed

Pick GRID if

• Fits if you are a developer who needs spreadsheet calculations inside an AI agent
• Makes sense if your product must open and edit Excel files in code

Look elsewhere if

• Not for you if you want a spreadsheet to open and use, since it is a toolkit for developers
• Tight if you ship a product, as the free licence covers development, testing and personal use only
• Watch out: no prices are published and commercial licences go through a contact form
• Watch out: early-stage companies are told to get in touch for pricing

Equals

• Pricing starts at $24,000 a year and every plan is bought through a demo; there is no self-serve or free plan.
• Each plan limits connectors (3, 5 or unlimited), and refresh speed (6 hours, 1 hour or 15 minutes) rises with the tier.
• AI use beyond the included monthly spend is billed by usage.
• Browser-based only; no desktop or mobile apps are listed.

GRID

• No published prices: commercial licenses are scoped to the use case and quoted through a contact form.
• The evaluation license is for development, testing and personal use only; shipping a product or running an internal workflow needs a commercial license.
• It is a developer toolkit rather than a spreadsheet app for end users.
• Early-stage companies are told to get in touch for matching pricing.

Equals

Spreadsheet on live data

A spreadsheet connected directly to sources such as billing, CRM, accounting and warehouse data, with scheduled refreshes.

Dashboards

Dashboards built on the same spreadsheet logic, which can be pushed on a schedule to Slack or email.

AI agent

An agent that builds reports and answers questions about the data. Each plan includes a monthly AI spend, then usage-based billing.

Writeback

Pushes corrected or calculated values from the spreadsheet back into a CRM. Included from the Business plan.

Infinity

Works with large data sets without row limits. Included from the Business plan.

Forward deployed analyst

A named analyst builds the first reports during setup. Extra implementation work is $5k per 10 hours.

GRID

Spreadsheet engine

Runs spreadsheet logic and calculations natively inside an application, headless, and is described as compatible with Excel and Google Sheets.

Agent tools

Gives AI agents structured operations to read cells, apply changes and recalculate, offered as an MCP server and as skills.

Spreadsheet viewer and editor

A themeable viewer and a scoped editor component for showing and changing workbooks inside a product.

Excel add-in

Custom Excel add-ins built on the engine, as in a case the site describes for an investment-banking AI platform.

Equals

• Essential$24k

  per year, unlimited seats

  3 connectors, 6-hour data sync and $250 a month of included AI spend. Sold through sales.

• Business$36k

  per year, unlimited seats

  5 connectors or a warehouse, hourly sync, $500 a month of AI spend, Writeback and Infinity. Sold through sales.

• Enterprise$60k

  per year, unlimited seats

  Unlimited connectors or warehouse, 15-minute sync, $1,000 a month of AI spend and SSO. Sold through sales.

GRID

Pricing could not be confirmed. See grid.is.

Equals

No public discounts listed.

GRID

• Startups

  Startup pricing on request

  The license page says early-stage companies get pricing to match and should contact the team.