# A hosted alternative to self-hosted Sheets MCP Open-source Google Sheets MCP servers are free but make you run them: a Google Cloud service account, credentials, and a process to host. PasteSheet is the hosted, zero-setup, read-only version — you paste a URL. *Last updated: 2026-07-11 · Source: * ## Key facts - Google's API requires a **Google Cloud project plus OAuth credentials or a service account** before it will return a single row. ([source](https://developers.google.com/workspace/sheets/api/guides/authorizing)) - A self-hosted server is **free of licence cost, not free of work**: a Cloud project, a service account, the Sheets API enabled, and a process you deploy, patch and keep online. ([source](https://cloud.google.com/iam/docs/service-account-overview)) - The Google Sheets API allows **300 read requests per minute per project** and **60 per minute per user**. Past that it returns `429 RESOURCE_EXHAUSTED`. ([source](https://developers.google.com/workspace/sheets/api/limits)) - It needs **no Google Cloud project, no OAuth consent screen and no service-account JSON**. You paste a share URL, and MCP is included on the Free plan. ## What a self-hosted MCP server involves Community servers like `mcp-google-sheets` are open source (MIT) and free to run. The catch is everything around them: you create a **Google Cloud project**, enable the Sheets API, generate a **service account** or OAuth credentials, then run the server yourself via `uvx`, Docker, or a hosted process — and keep it patched and online. For a developer who wants full control and read-write access, that is fine. For everyone else, it is a lot of moving parts before an agent reads a single row — and most of these servers default to read-write. ## Where PasteSheet is different PasteSheet is the managed version of the same idea: - **No infrastructure:** nothing to deploy, patch, or keep online — the MCP server is hosted and edge-cached for you. - **No Google Cloud:** no project, service account, or OAuth client — a sheet shared "Anyone with the link" is read from a pasted URL. See [the no-Cloud guide](https://pastesheet.com/guides/google-sheets-mcp-without-google-cloud). - **Read-only by design:** the tools cannot mutate the sheet, so it is [safe to hand to an agent](https://pastesheet.com/guides/read-only-google-sheets-mcp) — no accidental writes or injection risk. - **Same sheet, three surfaces:** the MCP server is also a REST API and an embeddable widget, from one query engine. ## Which one you actually want If you need read-write control, want to self-host for data-residency reasons, and are comfortable managing a service account, a community server is a great free option. If you want a sheet readable by an agent in two minutes with nothing to run, PasteSheet is the hosted alternative — start with the [Google Sheets MCP](https://pastesheet.com/guides/google-sheets-mcp) overview. Compare the setup burden in [MCP vs Google's official servers](https://pastesheet.com/guides/google-sheets-mcp-vs-google-official). ## 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`. **Starter — $9/month.** For indie makers shipping a real app. - Endpoints: 10 - Requests: 50,000 / month - Rows per endpoint: 5,000 - Tabs per endpoint: 5 - Rate limit: 300 / minute ## Frequently asked questions ### Why use PasteSheet instead of a self-hosted Sheets MCP server? To skip the setup. Self-hosted servers need a Google Cloud service account and a process you host and maintain. PasteSheet is hosted, read-only, and connects from a pasted URL with no credentials to manage. ### Is PasteSheet open source like mcp-google-sheets? No. PasteSheet is a hosted service. The trade-off is convenience for control: you get a maintained, cached, read-only endpoint without running or patching anything. ### Can I still keep private data private? Yes. Paid plans provide private endpoints protected by a bearer key — without ever creating a Google Cloud service account or OAuth client. ## Sources - [Authorize requests — Google Sheets API](https://developers.google.com/workspace/sheets/api/guides/authorizing) — Google - [Service accounts overview](https://cloud.google.com/iam/docs/service-account-overview) — Google Cloud - [Usage limits — Google Sheets API](https://developers.google.com/workspace/sheets/api/limits) — Google ## Related guides - [Google Sheets MCP Server for Claude & ChatGPT](https://pastesheet.com/guides/google-sheets-mcp) — Turn any public or private Google Sheet into an MCP server so Claude, Cursor, and ChatGPT can read and query it in plain English. No code, no backend. - [Open Source Google Sheets MCP Servers](https://pastesheet.com/guides/open-source-google-sheets-mcp) — Comparing open source Google Sheets MCP servers? See what running one really costs in setup and upkeep, and when a hosted read-only endpoint beats it. - [Composio Alternative for Sheets MCP](https://pastesheet.com/guides/composio-alternative) — A Composio alternative focused on one job: publish a Google Sheet as a read-only MCP server and REST API from a URL — no OAuth, no Google Cloud project. - [Google Sheets MCP Without Google Cloud](https://pastesheet.com/guides/google-sheets-mcp-without-google-cloud) — Connect a public or restricted Google Sheet to Claude or ChatGPT over MCP without your own Cloud project, OAuth client, or service account. - [Read-Only Google Sheets MCP for Agents](https://pastesheet.com/guides/read-only-google-sheets-mcp) — A read-only Google Sheets MCP server is safe to hand an AI agent: it can query, filter, and analyze your data but can never modify the spreadsheet. --- [PasteSheet](https://pastesheet.com) turns any Google Sheet into a live REST API and MCP server for AI agents — no backend, no code. 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