Article · ~10 min read
Spreadsheets vs databases: when to make the switch
Max Musing, Basedash · basedash.com Free Beginner
An August 2026 guide on the signs a team has outgrown spreadsheets and how to migrate without a big project. Written by a database-tool founder, but the tests it gives are tool-neutral.
- Switch when data is shared, must be trusted as the source of truth, or edited by several people at once.
- The trigger is the cost of broken formulas and competing copies, not a row limit.
- Migrate one table at a time rather than in one big project.
