# A Sheety alternative with a bigger free tier and MCP Sheety makes a Google Sheet into a simple JSON API, but its free tier is tight and it has no AI story. PasteSheet gives you a larger free tier, a typed query engine, and a read-only MCP server for agents — from the same pasted URL. *Last updated: 2026-07-11 · Source: * ## Key facts - PasteSheet's **Free plan** covers 3 endpoints and 2,000 requests a month, with MCP included — no credit card, no expiry. - That free tier also covers **up to 500 rows per endpoint** and one tab, with a 60-requests-per-minute ceiling — enough to actually ship a small project on, not just to demo one. - MCP is an **open protocol** built on JSON-RPC 2.0. A server exposes Resources, Prompts and Tools to any MCP client — Claude, Cursor, ChatGPT, VS Code and Windsurf all speak it. ([source](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/specification/2025-06-18)) - PasteSheet's MCP server exposes three tools — `list_tabs`, `get_schema` and `query_rows` — and is **read-only by design**: an agent can query your sheet but can never modify it. ## What Sheety does Sheety is a lightweight tool that turns a Google Sheet into a REST API with minimal fuss. Its free plan is genuinely small — on the order of 200 requests a month and 100 rows per sheet as of 2026 — and paid plans scale that up. It is great for a quick prototype. But it is REST-only, the free limits are easy to hit, and there is no way to hand the sheet to an AI agent. ## Where PasteSheet is different PasteSheet keeps the "paste a URL" simplicity and gives you more headroom: - **Bigger free tier:** 3 endpoints, 2,000 requests a month, and up to 500 rows — no credit card. - **MCP built in:** the same endpoint is a read-only [MCP server](https://pastesheet.com/guides/google-sheets-mcp) for Claude, Cursor, and ChatGPT, on every plan including free. - **Real querying:** filter, partial match, full-text search, sort, and paginate — instead of dumping the whole sheet each call. - **Cached and read-only:** responses are edge-cached so busy clients do not trip [rate limits](https://pastesheet.com/guides/google-sheets-api-rate-limits), and nothing can modify your sheet. ## Sheety vs PasteSheet, side by side Same "paste a URL, get a JSON API" idea — the difference is how much you can ship on the free tier and whether an agent can read the sheet: | | Sheety | PasteSheet | | --- | --- | --- | | Setup | Connect a Google Sheet | Paste a share URL | | Free requests / month | ~200 | 2,000 | | Free rows per sheet | ~100 | Up to 500 | | Writes to the sheet | Yes | No — read-only by design | | MCP for AI agents | No | Yes — Claude, Cursor, ChatGPT | | Query engine | Limited | Filter, contains, full-text search, sort, paginate | | Caching | No | Edge-cached responses | ## Which one you actually want If all you need is a throwaway read-write JSON API for a tiny project and you are already set up in Sheety, there is no reason to switch. If you are hitting the free limits, want real query params, or want the sheet to be agent-readable over MCP, PasteSheet is the upgrade path. See [what a free Google Sheets API really costs](https://pastesheet.com/guides/is-google-sheets-api-free), or start from the [convert-a-sheet-to-REST guide](https://pastesheet.com/guides/convert-google-sheet-to-rest-api). ## 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 ### Is PasteSheet a good Sheety alternative? Yes. PasteSheet offers a larger free tier, a typed query engine with filtering and search, and a read-only MCP server for AI agents — none of which Sheety provides. ### How big is the PasteSheet free plan compared to Sheety? The PasteSheet free plan includes 3 endpoints and 2,000 requests a month with up to 500 rows, and MCP is included. Sheety's free tier is much smaller, around 200 requests a month. ### Can I connect the sheet to an AI agent? Yes. Every PasteSheet endpoint is also an MCP server, so Claude, Cursor, and ChatGPT can query the sheet directly. Sheety is REST-only. ## Sources - [Model Context Protocol specification](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/specification/2025-06-18) — Model Context Protocol ## Related guides - [SheetDB Alternative: REST API + Free MCP](https://pastesheet.com/guides/sheetdb-alternative) — SheetDB turns a Google Sheet into a REST API. PasteSheet does that too — plus a read-only MCP server for AI agents, with MCP included on the free plan. - [Sheet Best Alternative for Google Sheets](https://pastesheet.com/guides/sheet-best-alternative) — A Sheet Best alternative that turns a Google Sheet into a REST API and a read-only MCP server for AI agents — with filtering, search, and aggregation. - [Turn Google Sheets Into a REST API (No Code)](https://pastesheet.com/guides/google-sheets-rest-api) — Turn a public or restricted Google Sheet into a live JSON REST API with filtering, sorting, and pagination — no backend, no code. - [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. --- [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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