Read a Google Sheet in Python

How do you read a Google Sheet in Python?

There are three routes. Use gspread if you need to write back or read a private sheet. Use the official google-api-python-client if you need low-level control. If you only need to read a shared sheet, fetch it over plain HTTP — no library, no credentials.

Most scripts fall into that third case and reach for the first out of habit, which is how a five-line read turns into a Cloud project.

The simplest version: plain HTTP

Connect the sheet to PasteSheet once, then read typed JSON with requests. Filtering, sorting, and pagination are query parameters:

import requests

res = requests.get(
    "https://pastesheet.com/api/your-endpoint-id",
    params={"status": "active", "sort": "-created", "limit": 100},
).json()

for row in res["data"]:
    print(row["name"], row["email"])

print(res["total"], "rows total")

Which route?

The quota gotcha

If your script runs often, or runs per-request in a web app, you will meet Google's ceiling: 300 reads per minute per project, 60 per minute per user, then a 429 (published limits). A cached endpoint reads the sheet once per window regardless of how many times your code asks.

What it costs

MCP is included on the Free plan. Connect any public endpoint over MCP with no Google Cloud project and no credit card. Private endpoints and the account-wide workspace server need a paid plan (from Starter ($9/mo)) for the keys and OAuth they authenticate with.

Pro adds full-text search and aggregation (count, sum, avg, group_by) that your AI agent can call through query_rows.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Authorize requests — Google Sheets API — Google
• Usage limits — Google Sheets API — Google
• Service accounts overview — Google Cloud

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