I only use Google Sheets

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Role and importance of spreadsheets (and Google Sheets)

  • Commenters trace spreadsheets back to Visicalc and call spreadsheets + word processors the original “killer apps” that made PCs indispensable in business.
  • Many see spreadsheets as the de facto programming environment for non-programmers: a “vernacular programming” tool that combines data, logic, and UI in a way almost everyone understands.
  • Several describe spreadsheets as the best authoring tool available: a quick way to model ideas, run analyses, track inventory, or even run parts of a company.

Strengths: speed, flexibility, collaboration

  • Repeated theme: “start with a spreadsheet.” It’s the simplest thing that works, ideal for MVPs, early business processes, and 1‑person or small‑team tools.
  • Google Sheets’ sharing and real-time collaboration are seen as significantly easier than traditional Excel workflows; entire teams and even large companies run planning, CRM, ML evaluations, and finances out of Sheets.
  • Integration with Apps Script, Colab, APIs, and LLMs lets people turn Sheets into lightweight apps: accounting systems, card-game backends, dashboards, even partial ERPs.
  • Personal use is extensive: budgets, expense trackers, asset summaries, project management, training logs, and more.

Weaknesses: scale, correctness, and maintainability

  • Critics emphasize lack of structure: fragile formulas, no enforced schema, ad‑hoc relations, poor testing, and opaque business logic that becomes a “black-box” dependency once the creator leaves.
  • Version control exists (history, change tracking, CSV+git), but is rarely used systematically. Complex multi-sheet systems can be hard to audit or refactor.
  • Many horror stories: enterprises and banks with mission‑critical spreadsheets, inventory or trading systems held together by a few people, and costly multi‑year rewrites into proper apps.
  • Some report performance or usability issues on large or poorly designed sheets; others say Sheets handles tens of thousands of rows instantly, suggesting local or design factors.

Cloud dependence, lock‑in, and privacy

  • Strong warnings about relying on Google (or any SaaS) as a single point of failure: account bans, product shutdowns, opaque support, and surveillance concerns (third‑party doctrine, FAA702).
  • Multiple users “de‑Google” their workflows, self-host alternatives, and stress 3‑2‑1 style backups and Google Takeout. Others note similar risks with Microsoft and other providers.

Alternatives and hybrids

  • Numerous tools are mentioned: Excel, LibreOffice, Numbers, OnlyOffice, CryptPad, Airtable, Grist, VisualDB, RowZero, Baserow, Notion databases, Access, Nextcloud-based suites.
  • Spreadsheet‑database hybrids are promoted as a middle ground: familiar spreadsheet UX backed by real relational databases and constraints, though adoption and usability vary.