Jspreadsheet vs Columns AI (formerly Columns)

Jspreadsheet is a JavaScript spreadsheet component you drop into web apps when users expect Excel behavior, not just a sortable table. It ships as a front-end library for vanilla JavaScript, React, Vue, or Angular, with 500+ Excel-compatible formulas, import and export for 16+ file formats, and optional AI functions wired into cells. Because the code runs in your application, data stays on your infrastructure under your security model.

Most data grid libraries optimize for read-heavy tables with filtering and pagination. Jspreadsheet targets the opposite workload: modeling, bulk edits, and reporting where the fill handle, absolute references, and paste-from-Excel round-trips are what users test in the first minute. Google Sheets and Excel bake AI into their clouds; Jspreadsheet ships code so you choose the model endpoint, including a local one with no outbound traffic.

It fits teams building SaaS products, internal tools, financial dashboards, and data entry screens that still revolve around spreadsheets. Customer logos on the site include Samsung, Deloitte, and Johnson & Johnson. Jspreadsheet Server adds an optional Node.js backend for live multi-user editing, version history, and document persistence when a browser-only component is not enough.

Columns AI takes messy files and live data sources through ingestion, automation, and chart publishing without making you stitch together separate tools. Drive ingests CSV, Excel, PDF, and images with OCR, Flow connects warehouses and apps with plain-language transformations, and Graph publishes brand-matched visuals you can embed or export.

Most BI tools assume your data is already clean and your team knows SQL. Columns splits the problem into three steps on purpose: structure files in Drive, automate sync and transforms in Flow, then ship client-ready charts from Graph without opening a separate design tool. You pay per row processed, and the Basic plan has no monthly base fee.

The site lists 12,000+ users across business operators, consultants, marketing and RevOps teams, analysts, and freelancers. Founder Shawn Cao previously built data infrastructure at Microsoft, Facebook, and Pinterest.