The verdict
For most small B2B teams, I'd pick Sheets. It is the quickest route from having some data to seeing it, and shared trackers, manual reports and lightweight dashboards work well there. Lock the cells that matter and name an owner for every important sheet.
Pick BigQuery when a simple question needs data from three places, the sheet is slow and nobody can join billing, CRM and product data without a messy export. You also need someone who can write SQL.
Move across when a file takes a long time to load, or when a sheet has become the system of record for something important. A sheet is not a database, and BigQuery is overkill for a few thousand rows. For that middle ground, a hosted Postgres database may be enough.
Side by side
| 5 points compared | ||
|---|---|---|
| Starts at | €6.80/mo | |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| MCP server | Yes | Yes |
| Ask questions in plain English | Yes | Yes |
| Links |
Plans and pricing
Google BigQuery
- Free usage tierFree
Google Sheets
- FreeFree
- Google Workspace Starter€6.80/mo/seat
Who each is for
Choose Google BigQuery if…
Pick BigQuery if your data has outgrown spreadsheets and the reporting inside your individual apps. Revenue sits in billing, leads in the CRM and behaviour in product analytics, and you want one place to join them with SQL.
It suits a data-minded company that already uses Google Cloud or Google's marketing stack, and has someone to own the table structure, naming and access. Machine learning and streaming ingestion are built in, and Google offers a remote MCP server.
Control the cost. On-demand billing follows the data your queries scan, so select only the columns you need, partition large tables and set a maximum bytes billed. The free sandbox expires tables after 60 days, so use it to learn.
Choose Google Sheets if…
Pick Sheets if you are a lean B2B founder or small team that needs shared trackers, manual reports and lightweight dashboards, and you have no analytics tool or database yet. It is one file at one link, with comments, version history and clear sharing controls.
Apps Script turns a sheet into a small automation hub, and the public API reads and writes cell values. Forms, ad platforms and CRMs can export into it.
Know when to stop. Large files get slow, there are no relations or row-level access control, and anyone with edit access can overwrite a formula. Use protected ranges, keep inputs apart from calculations and write down what the sheet does. When it becomes the home for customer data, move it.
Other options worth a look
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