A Honest Reflection on AppSheet’s Direction (and Why We’re Getting Frustrated)

AppSheet AppSheet Q&A
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As someone who has loved AppSheet for years, trained thousands of users, and built hundreds of management solutions with it, I had high hopes when Google acquired AppSheet back in 2020. I truly believed this would be the moment for AppSheet to accelerate and compete head-to-head with platforms like PowerApps, LarkSuite, or Glide.

But here we are, 5 years later — and I have to admit, I feel disappointed. The pace of improvement has been painfully slow, sometimes even regressing, while competitors have been pushing forward aggressively.

Take LarkSuite, for example: in just this year alone, they have rolled out remarkable improvements in UX, automation, mobile views, AI integration, and extended data to millions of rows. Meanwhile, AppSheet updates from Google feel like a slow drip — minor features here and there, often overshadowed by persistent bugs that frustrate both developers and end-users.

In the age of AI, when tools like VibeCode AI or PowerApps’ AI Builder allow you to spin up a full-featured mini-ERP system without writing a single line of code, AppSheet’s limited AI capabilities feel… underwhelming.

Personally, I now use AppSheet mainly for what it does best:

  • CRUD operations (add/edit/delete),
  • User permissions, and
  • Lightweight process integration within Google Workspace.
  • But for anything beyond that — automation, printing, dashboards, advanced customization — I’ve had to rely more and more on Apps Script, APIs, and AI-assisted coding.

I’m saying this not out of negativity but out of deep concern and love for this platform: if Google doesn’t start treating AppSheet as a serious competitor in the no-code/low-code space — especially against LarkSuite, PowerApps, Glide, and others — it risks losing the very community of builders and developers who have been loyal from the start.

:backhand_index_pointing_right: AppSheet team, please listen:

  1. We need real UX improvements,
  2. We need robust automation and integrations,
  3. We need serious AI capabilities,
  4. And above all, we need stability and fewer bugs.

AppSheet has immense potential, but currently, it feels like that potential is being left on the table while others move ahead.

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So why stick with AppSheet? I really think all AppSheet app creators that aren’t already on an enterprise license should be looking elsewhere.

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We are still using Appsheet for some flexible situations. And we built applications on App sheet for my customers who are using Google Workspace

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Hi Steve.

I think that a few of us old dissatisfied and problematic people will not change things, because it is not the fault of these people from the AppSheet team, but of the superiors who will not provide them with more funds for a larger team, because they themselves claim that they are a really small team.

I’ll probably have to replace AppSheet with something else, though I don’t really like it, years of work wasted :frowning:

Have you researched any good replacements for the AppSheet platform?

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I agree, the team is likely understaffed and underfunded. I have not researched alternatives.

Here’s my hope for AppSheet: the reason they aren’t communicating and releasing is because the team has undergone extensive training in AI-assisted coding (as all developers should be) and are now deeply entrenched in an AI-assisted overhaul of the entire platform with a goal of making no-code app creation almost if not entirely possible with just natural language and drag-and-drop/WYSIWYG.

Myself, I’m learning to use Firebase Studio to reimplement an AppSheet app I worked on for several years. It’s not trivial, and learning the quirks of working with AI is a challenge in itself. But some of the things that are tedious in AppSheet are obscenely easy with AI. And it lacks the built-in constraints of AppSheet. I don’t recommend this approach for most AppSheet app creators, as there are a lot of risks involved! But the exercise has demonstrated to me that AI-assisted development is 100% the way to go, and that no-code app creation must be AI-driven.

All AppSheet app creators should at least tinker with app creation using Gemini (with Canvas), the Gemini Coding Assistant Gem (also with Canvas), Google’s AI Studio, and Firebase Studio. Probably in that order. (I have no experience with non-Google development platforms.)

  • “Make a simple Uber clone app for drivers and passengers.”
  • “Make a simple timecard app for employees to clock-in and -out.”
  • “Make a simple inventory management app that can scan stock in and out.”

Again, these are not going to replace anything you’re doing with AppSheet, but it should make clear that Appsheet is way too cumbersome to develop with as it is today and needs to evolve fast.

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Your reflection hits a chord that many long-time AppSheet users are feeling right now. The acquisition by Google in 2020 sparked real optimism—especially for those of us who saw AppSheet’s potential to become a dominant force in the no-code space. But as you’ve pointed out, the reality has been more sobering.

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I agree with your opinion.

Before GPT appeared, my Appsheet applications only accounted for <10% coding; now my applications are 50% coding, 50% Appsheet. Besides that, I am also gradually developing frontend and backend solutions for my management and digital products, so that they do not depend on AppSheet. It seems that Google is neglecting AppsSheet, and as a result, it is losing its fast and flexible app creation application that helps people who don’t know how to code create applications tailored to their needs during this period.

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When I first tried AppsSheet I was initially very impressed. One could sort of layout your data in Sheets much like you might do in SQL, and then magically have foreign keys from say Page.OwnerRef to Users.User … how wonderful, I was sold. It made sense and was easy,

But it then failed to easily handle literally the very next and obvious challenge I threw at it. Which is to have Tags on Pages and let a page have multiple tags, and Tags to list the pages tagged with that Tag. I mean, one could almost get it going, but then the interface never worked, in that you couldn’t edit the data. And to do this (entirely reasonable) data thing one has to resort to AppsSheet formulas, a whole bizarre world in themselves that make a totaly mockery of the relative fluidity and good UX of the rest of the App. They don’t work.

This is the most basic feature of any data-based app… many-to-many relationships and it’s missing. It should be a core feature not an expert power tool. A large part of making “solutions” in an organisation is making them in a way that other people can copy them, or maintain them, or adapt them. I couldn’t bear the thought of teaching colleagues AppsSheet formulas.

I honestly think Google bought AppsSheet before it was finished, and quickly lost interest.

Google could do worse than resurrect their AppMaker visual GUI builder that non-programmers at my org happily used to create really amazing apps.

And if the very least Google could do is add an AppsScript feature to Google Slides buttons, to be able navigate the slides, insert and format data, get data from Form items… This’d take a week to implement and let people make interactive training materials and similar mini apps.

But then again, Google only made $100.1 billion last year so where would they find the money to make something that was any good AND contribute to Trumps inauguration?

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Hey Steve, What is the main reason that creates such a big difference between the enterprise license and the core plan?

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Honestly, I’m not sure even enterprise customers shouldn’t be looking elsewhere. From some of the comments here in the community, enterprise support isn’t much better than the lower levels. I imagine it depends on how big an enterprise customer you are. I’ve never had an enterprise license so I can’t say for sure.

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Hi @Steve I am not sure that I fully agree with you, although most of your comments are pretty accurate for me, and I am sure many others. However, most of the other comments by other users are a little unfair. Having tried several low code / no code tools Appsheet still comes top overall. Yes, of course, it has flaws, but so do the other tools. With a lot of testing and perserverance Appsheet can still deliver exceptional applications. I have written about half a dozen serios apps and always end up using Appsheet. My latest project includes a massive application that seems to grow by the day, but the power of Appsheet is far better than any other app creator, even witht he flaws. As I said with perserverance there seems to always be a solution

My main disappointment is not with Appsheet, but with Gemini and its interpretation of Appsheet. Despite very detailed Gems, Gemini really struggles with suggestions and solutions to apply to Appsheet. Maybe that is just me.

THis thread has been very interesting and has generated an honest debate, but at the end of the day each developer / App creator has their own approach that always raises eyebrows with someone.

I think the Enterprise version is a “must” and Big Query opens up far more options….. but that is just me, others will have their own preferences.

Thanks for this thread.

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I agree that AppSheet has definite advantages over the others, which is why I’ve stuck with it. But development velocity, support quality, and product team engagement with the community are absolute weaknesses of AppSheet/Google. Developing a business-critical app with anything less than an enterprise license is so very risky because AppSheet/Google seems to effectively ignore the lower grade license holders.

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Never actually tried it. But feels like the idea behind new Google AI Studio. The thing is though, these are solutions that are like “build your own house”. They sent you the pieces and you “only had to put it together”. Saving money on those contractors and labor.

Reality strikes when things get complicated. And with any app, they get complicated with time.

Why new solutions normally work great? Because you start from scratch again. It is not complex in the beginning.

That’s why these solutions can never have a big user base. Because it depends on enthusiasts like you and me to try and squeze the best out of them.

So I assume Google just does not see success here. If we were building many apps that had many users, yes. But I guess not enough apps with not enough users are built on these solutions.

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I did several projects in Appsheet before discovering that Airtable paired with Fillout.com did a much better job of getting us what we needed more elegantly, more easily, and at less cost. We work with hundreds of organizations, many of whom had AppSheet shut off at the org level, which made it necessary to have a scalable solution that a) was allowed and b) still supported authentication and c) did not break the bank.

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I remember how appsheet had forums for appmaker users when they closed it and migrated to appsheet, and here we are now perhaps on the verge of something similar.

I sadly think that depending on any no code platform is something that we can’t afford anymore. Reality shows us that if the platform doesn’t make enough profit it will shutdown.

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I agree with the general sentiment but I actually hope AppSheet forget AI-generation for now and work urgently on improving AppSheet. AI-generated apps are going to be constrained by the same feature-set, UI and bugs.

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I used AppSheet for almost 5 years. But I think It’s the end of Appsht era. :face_holding_back_tears:

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I think that Google’s lack of interest is because this technology, or rather API, will not allow for an increase in synchronization speed or concurrent users in the foreseeable future, and probably not even with SQL

  1. That’s why they greatly limit the functionality of licenses other than Enterprise
  2. That’s why Enterprise is so expensive
    They simply can’t have many users with large applications.

That’s why only the Enterprise version has so many necessary functions for acceleration (for example partitioning), and that’s why they require a login to this version in order to be able to withdraw more money (even though other applications give it for free or for a small amount of money).
To facilitate the withdrawal of money for licenses, users must preferably be from one own domain, otherwise it’s complicated, so best in connection with their Google Workspace.

So they use Appsheet more as a marketing tool for beginners who are satisfied with smaller applications, not so fast, and with support as it is, that is, which can give advice to a beginner, but not for a professional, who has to look for a workaround here on the forum, and the bigger the professional, the more he encounters limitations, until it discourages him completely, and he moves elsewhere.
It is a natural process, and maybe Google will have a competitor somewhere that will think of importing from the App definition documentation AppSheet, or AI will do it, so that we can move elsewhere more easily.

Maybe Google will buy this other competitor again, and we will pray that it will be a platform that can be developed better, or that Google’s management will give it sufficient funding, that is, a larger number of quality programmers, and not such a small team as it is now, because they put most of their energy into AI and other products.

I’ve come to terms with it, I’m just sorry that they won’t allocate at least a few capable programmers to fix the long-standing current bugs and leave us to suffer, and even their employees are embarrassed not to respond to our greetings, but the poor guys can’t do anything about it themselves.

But that’s business, we are negligible income for Google, or rather a small loss even if everyone leaves for the competition over time.

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Same

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I got burned by making several tools in App Maker. Fool me once…