Directify vs SpreadSimple A SpreadSimple alternative built for directory websites

Looking for a SpreadSimple alternative? Start here

SpreadSimple is the most mature Google-Sheets-to-website tool in this comparison. They've shipped live payments across six gateways (Stripe, PayPal, Razorpay, BillPlz, Payplug, Mollie), a built-in map view, 30+ integration add-ons, multi-language support across 30+ languages, and a Memberstack-powered paywall option. If your project fits their shape, they earn the recommendation.

So why are you here? Almost certainly because you've hit one of the limits of the Sheets-as-database model — typed custom fields with validation, public submissions tied to a moderation queue, paid-submission flows wired to listing creation, or just the realisation that 5,000 rows is a ceiling that's closer than you'd like. Directify is the database-driven SpreadSimple alternative built for those cases.

If your project is shaped more like a small e-commerce catalogue with a structured menu of items — restaurant menus, jewellery shops, real-estate listings tied to a checkout — SpreadSimple is the right tool, and probably the cheapest mature option. If your project is shaped like a real directory with submissions and monetisation, you'll save weeks of integration work by starting somewhere built for that job.

What SpreadSimple actually is in 2026

SpreadSimple is a "no-code website builder that lets you create feature-rich websites using just Google Sheets". Connect a sheet, the rows become items on your site. The interesting thing about SpreadSimple compared to other Sheets-to-website tools is the breadth of features they've layered on top:

The verified 2026 pricing splits into two tracks: per-website subscriptions for one project, and a bulk offer for running 3-10 sites under one bundle.

Per-website (one site, monthly · yearly):

• Free — $0/mo: 3 websites, 50 rows each, branding shown, no custom domain, no search engine visibility (intentionally — keeps free sites out of Google).
• Starter — $17.90/mo ($12.90/mo yearly): Custom domain, branding removed, SEO settings, sandbox-only payments. 500-row sheet limit.
• Business — $19.90/mo ($13.90/mo yearly): Adds live payments across six gateways, advanced checkout (taxes, shipping, promo codes), 30+ extensions, customer accounts (Beta). 5,000-row sheet limit.
• Connect — $29.90/mo ($20.90/mo yearly): Adds webhooks, custom JS/CSS, redirect rules, role-based access, priority support. 10,000-row sheet limit.

Bulk offer (multi-site bundles, monthly · yearly):

• Small — $50/mo ($25/mo yearly): 3 websites bundled, shared access for 10 editors.
• Large — $59/mo ($29/mo yearly): 5 websites bundled.
• Mega — $79/mo ($39/mo yearly): 10 websites bundled — works out to $3.90 per site at yearly billing. The headline value if you're running multiple directories under one workspace.

Yearly billing is a real 30% off across both tracks.

A few things worth flagging from a directory-builder perspective:

1. Live payments are real and broad. Six gateways (Stripe, PayPal, Razorpay, BillPlz, Payplug, Mollie) on the Business plan and above. SpreadSimple is a credible e-commerce builder, not just a directory builder.
2. Row limits are explicit. 50 / 500 / 5,000 / 10,000 across tiers. If your directory grows past 10,000 rows, you've reached the ceiling and there's no higher tier.
3. Webhooks and custom JS/CSS gated to the Connect plan ($20.90/mo). That's still cheap, but worth knowing if you want them on a lower tier.
4. Custom fields are spreadsheet columns. Whatever's in your column header is the field name; everything is a string. No validation, no typed field types, no first-class image upload.
5. "Charge for premium listings" is documented as a use case — but the implementation is "use the checkout to charge, then add the listing to your sheet" rather than a wired-together submit-and-pay flow.

Where Directify is the right call

Directify uses a real database. Practically:

• Typed custom fields. A cuisine enum, a website URL field with validation, an opening_hours repeater. All created from the dashboard in 10 seconds — none of which exist as native types in a spreadsheet.
• Paid submissions wired into listing creation. Stripe or Creem keys plus a price. The submission form becomes a checkout. Featured-listing upgrades and recurring submissions live in the same flow — no Zapier glue.
• Public submissions with moderation. Visitor submissions create database records (not sheet rows) with a moderation queue, approval workflow, and email notifications.
• Webhooks and custom JS/CSS available on every paid plan, not gated to the top tier.
• Real database scale. Browsing, filtering, and search performance stays good past 50,000 listings — well beyond SpreadSimple's 10,000-row Connect cap.
• Twelve+ ready-made directory templates including real-estate, restaurants, jobs, events, and SaaS tools.

If your reaction to that list is "I don't need typed fields or paid submissions," SpreadSimple is genuinely cheaper and broader on integrations. If your reaction is "I'm going to need at least three of those," Directify will save you the integration work.

Where SpreadSimple is the right call

Being specific so this is actually useful, not generic.

You should pick SpreadSimple over Directify if:

• Your project is a catalogue + checkout site — restaurant menu, online store, real estate portfolio with inquiries. SpreadSimple's e-commerce primitives (six payment gateways, advanced checkout, Memberstack paywall) are wider and more mature than ours for that use case.
• You need a built-in interactive map view tied to e-commerce checkout — both platforms ship map view, but SpreadSimple's is paired with their stronger checkout primitives if your listings are also products.
• You want 30+ language UI translations out of the box.
• Your team already lives in Google Sheets and you don't want editing to move into a dashboard.
• You need a permanent free tier to prototype with no commitment (3 websites with 50 rows each).
• Your dataset will stay under 10,000 rows for the foreseeable future.

In any of those scenarios, SpreadSimple is the right call and Directify is over-specced.

On total cost — the real comparison

The real framing depends on which billing track you compare and how many sites you need.

One site, monthly billing:

• SpreadSimple Business — $19.90/mo: live payments (six gateways), 5,000-row catalogue, advanced checkout, 100 content pages.
• Directify Professional — $39/mo: unlimited listings, custom domain, native payments tied to submissions, lead capture, ads, analytics, integrations.

For a pure catalogue + checkout site, SpreadSimple Business is half the price of Directify Professional and gets you more checkout primitives. For a directory with submission flows tied to payments, Directify earns the higher tier price by shipping that as a wired-together feature.

One site, yearly billing:

• SpreadSimple Business — $13.90/mo yearly: same features, 30% off
• Directify Professional — $33/mo yearly: same features, 17% off

The yearly gap widens slightly in SpreadSimple's favour at the Business tier — they have a more aggressive yearly discount.

Multi-site projects:

This is where the comparison flips. SpreadSimple's Mega bulk offer at $39/mo yearly gets you 10 websites — that's $3.90 per site. Directify's Agency plan at $124/mo yearly is unlimited websites, so the break-even is around 32 sites before Directify Agency is cheaper per-site. If you're running 3-10 separate small directories, SpreadSimple's bulk pricing is genuinely hard to beat. If you're running 30+ sites or want unlimited, Directify Agency wins.

The catch on every comparison: SpreadSimple's row limits (50 / 500 / 5,000 / 10,000) are hard ceilings. There's no per-site upgrade past 10,000 rows. If any of your directories grows past that, the bulk offer's per-site cost advantage disappears because you'd have to migrate.

On the row limit specifically

SpreadSimple's Connect plan caps at 10,000 rows displayed. That's plenty for most directories — but it's worth knowing as a hard ceiling because there's no higher paid plan.

Directify doesn't have a row limit. We pay attention to performance at scale (search index, pagination, server-side rendering) so a 50,000-row directory still feels fast. If your project might cross the 10,000-row line within 2-3 years, Directify's lack of a ceiling is a real planning consideration.

Migration: typical path from SpreadSimple to Directify

If you have an existing SpreadSimple site and want to evaluate Directify:

1. Export your sheet to CSV via File → Download → Comma-separated values.
2. Spin up a Directify free trial and import the CSV. The import preview lets you map columns to fields before committing.
3. Replace text columns with typed fields where it helps — cuisine to enum, hours to repeater, photo URL to image upload.
4. Plug in Stripe or Creem if you want paid-submission flows live.
5. Repoint your custom domain at Directify when you're ready.

In our experience the migration takes an afternoon for most projects.

Final recommendation: is Directify the right SpreadSimple alternative for you?

SpreadSimple is the best Google-Sheets builder if your project is shaped like a catalogue + checkout — they have the most mature e-commerce primitives, the broadest integration set, and a credible map + multi-language story. For that use case, they earn the recommendation, not Directify.

Directify is the right tool when your project is genuinely a directory: typed custom fields, public submissions with moderation, paid submissions wired to listing creation, scale past 10,000 rows. We ship those primitives natively rather than asking you to assemble them.

If you're not sure: start a Directify free trial below. The CSV import makes coming from SpreadSimple straightforward. If after seven days you'd rather have SpreadSimple's broader integration set, you've lost nothing — and their free plan is still there.