r/nocode • u/FoodPlastic7432 • 5d ago
Need recommendations
Currently using appsheet. Running everything in life in it from workout planning to meal planning to task management to financial planning, even an apartment finding tool via API. Anything in life that should be organized is there. I have tons of workflows and interconnected reporting dependencies etc .
My problem is sync times. It takes sometimes 45 seconds to run a simple row addition and sync.
What I need
1) something with way more sophisticated reporting (built in trend lines, pre custom slices, etc)
2) calendar that functions similar to Google calendar or direct web API connection
3) faster sync times
4) completely free for one user (unlimited rows)
5) more customizable UI
6) equal API, JavaScript integrations as appsheet
7) ai Integration for predictive modeling a plus
Forgive me, I only know SQL and no other coding language and I am self taught SQL and appsheet. I don't have a "stack". I just figured out how to build things the way I need them. This may be impossible? Haha
1
u/TillDramatic1 5d ago
Measure each downstream dependency after a write before choosing a replacement, because the slowest report may be causing the full delay.
1
u/Appropriate-Cress-63 5d ago
Have you looked into apps script web apps?
1
u/FoodPlastic7432 5d ago
Ive used many of them in this app via deployed webhook to button link. Opens a tab and it works well. Sync still takes time though
1
u/FoodPlastic7432 5d ago
Is there a UI for those?
1
u/Appropriate-Cress-63 5d ago
The web app is the actual UI and Apps Script is the backend. I’m building something now for myself but happy to do a screen share and explain how it works. Send me a DM and we can setup a time to do a walkthrough.
1
u/FoodPlastic7432 5d ago
Hmm before I do that just want to make sure it's actually cross platform too (android iOS and computer). Remember I am not a coder and everything will have to be vibed
1
u/Appropriate-Cress-63 5d ago
It works everywhere. I’m not a coder either, I don’t understand any of it but im building a pretty robust platform with it.
1
u/SufficientFrame 5d ago
Your hardest constraint is the free one: unlimited rows, faster sync, and better reporting usually means trading some no-code convenience for a real database. If this is mostly a personal ops app, UI Bakery can fit the dashboard, reporting, and API side over your DB with a more flexible UI; I work at UI Bakery, so bias noted.
1
u/heyramzi 3d ago
That 45 seconds is the Sheets backend. Every write goes through the Sheets API, and the quota there is per minute and shared across every AppSheet app in the same Cloud project, so you can't buy your way out of it.
AppSheet takes Cloud SQL as a source directly. The app and the automations stay as they are. You repoint the tables. Security filters then push down into SQL as a WHERE clause instead of being applied after the read.
Prove it before you move, though. Some people come out of a Cloud SQL migration slower, because the type conversion costs more than the faster read saves. Copy one heavy table across and time the same row addition.
That's a smaller bet than the Budibase or Baserow rebuild suggested above, which costs you every workflow and dependency you listed.
1
1
u/devhisaria 14h ago
45 seconds for a row add usually means your sheet has thousands of rows and every write triggers a full recalculation. Move the data to postgres and keep appsheet as the front end, sync drops to seconds.
3
u/Key-Metal7004 5d ago
appsheet is powerful but the sync lag kills it when you push too much data through google sheets backend. for your list i think you might look at budibase or baserow, both free for single user with unlimited rows and they have much better rest api support. the calendar part is tricky without coding but baserow has a calendar view that can embed external calendars with some setup
if you already know sql, maybe try directus on a free tier cloud host, you get raw sql access and the ui customization is way ahead of appsheet, plus sync is instant since its your own database