Glide is a no-code app builder that turns a spreadsheet or database into a mobile-friendly web app in minutes. It’s built for operators who want to put data in front of a team or customers through a clean interface — without design, development, or a complicated setup process.

What it is

Glide connects to a data source — Google Sheets, Airtable, Excel, or its own built-in tables — and builds an interface around it. You choose layouts, add screens, configure what data each user sees, and set up actions like form submissions or row edits. The resulting app works in a browser and is optimized for mobile. Glide has expanded from simple list-and-detail apps to supporting more complex logic, user authentication, conditional visibility, Stripe payments, and computed columns. It also has AI features: you can add columns that automatically generate text, classify data, or extract information using an AI model.

What it’s best at

• Field team apps — put a checklist, directory, or inspection form in your team’s pocket
• Customer-facing directories and catalogs built from a spreadsheet
• Simple forms that write back to a database your team already manages
• Quick data lookup tools — staff can search inventory, contacts, or schedules from their phone
• Small internal tools where speed-to-build matters more than custom features
• AI-enriched data tables — classify or summarize records automatically

How operators use it

Glide’s practical audience is operators with field teams or customer-facing staff who need data on the go. A contractor builds a mobile app for crews to log job progress and submit photos — data goes into Google Sheets that the office team already manages. A retail operator builds a product lookup app so staff can check inventory and specs from the floor. A professional services firm builds a client portal where customers log in to see their project status, which is actually just a filtered view of an Airtable base. The AI columns are useful for pre-processing data: auto-tag incoming form responses before they land in the table.

Getting started & pricing

• Free: 3 apps, Glide subdomain, limited rows and updates — good for testing
• Maker ($49/month): Custom domain, more rows, 5 editors, basic features
• Business ($99/month): Higher limits, user-specific data, advanced logic, Stripe payments
• Enterprise: Custom pricing, SSO, dedicated support

Start at glide.new — you can sign in with Google and connect a Google Sheet immediately. Glide’s templates are a fast way to see what’s possible. Most operators have a working prototype within an hour of signing up.

Bottom line

Glide’s strength is speed: if you have data in a spreadsheet and want it in a mobile-friendly app, Glide gets you there faster than any other tool. It’s not the right choice for complex multi-page applications or anything that needs sophisticated business logic — Bubble handles those. But for operators building lightweight tools for teams or customers to interact with existing data, Glide is the fastest path from idea to deployed app.