Flatly Alternative for Google Sheets — Live SQL Without CSV Exports

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Query Streams is a secure, real-time database integration platform that replaces CSV-based sync tools like Flatly with on-demand, live SQL queries directly into Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel. Learn more at QueryStreams.com and sign up for free to start querying your databases from Google Sheets without CSV exports or stale data.

What Is Flatly?

Flatly is a Google Sheets add-on that syncs data from cloud applications — Airtable, Salesforce, Trello, HubSpot, and others — into spreadsheets through scheduled CSV-like exports. It works by pulling snapshots of your cloud app data at set intervals (hourly, daily, or custom schedules) and writing the results into a designated sheet.

For teams that rely on Airtable or Salesforce as their primary data source and just need that data mirrored in Google Sheets on a schedule, Flatly solves a real problem. But if your data lives in SQL databases — Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL, Oracle, or any other relational database — Flatly was not designed for you. It has no SQL query builder, no direct database connectivity, and no way to run live, on-demand queries. According to Statista, the global database management market continues to expand as organizations generate more structured data, which means the gap between CSV-based sync tools and true database connectors is growing wider.

Flatly Limitations for Database Users

Flatly was built for cloud-app-to-spreadsheet sync, not for database integration. If you have searched for a Flatly alternative for Google Sheets because you need SQL access, these are the limitations you are likely running into:

Query Streams vs Flatly: Side-by-Side

The comparison table below shows where Flatly and Query Streams diverge. Flatly is a cloud-app sync tool; Query Streams is a full Google Sheets database connector with live SQL, AI analytics, and automation. The differences are fundamental because the two tools were built for different problems.

Why Query Streams Is the Better Flatly Alternative

If you are looking for a Flatly alternative because you need to get SQL database data into Google Sheets, Query Streams was built for exactly that workflow. Here is what makes it a fundamentally different — and more capable — tool for database users.

Live SQL Queries, Not CSV Snapshots

The core difference between Flatly and Query Streams is how data reaches your spreadsheet. Flatly takes a snapshot of your cloud app data and writes it to Google Sheets on a timer. Between refreshes, that data is stale. Query Streams runs your SQL query against the live database at the moment you click “Run” and streams the results directly into your worksheet. There is no CSV file, no intermediate export, and no waiting for the next scheduled refresh. You get current data, on demand, every time. This makes Query Streams a true CSV alternative for teams that need live data in Google Sheets.

Query Streams also supports parallel query execution: launch five saved queries into five different worksheet tabs simultaneously and the Network Agent streams each concurrently, regardless of result size. With Flatly, each cloud app sync runs independently on its own schedule — there is no concept of running multiple queries at once.

10 Database Dialects with Full SQL Power

Query Streams connects to 10 SQL databases: Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, SQLite, Microsoft Access, Oracle, Snowflake, Google BigQuery, and DuckDB. Each database gets dialect-specific SQL validation, syntax highlighting, and auto-complete in the query editor. Write JOINs, CTEs, window functions, subqueries, and any syntax your database supports — the full language, not a simplified subset. Flatly has zero database connectivity. If your data lives in Postgres, MySQL, SQL Server, or any relational database, Flatly cannot reach it. Query Streams also includes 6 API connectors (Stripe, HubSpot, Shopify, GA4, Google Search Console, and ShipStation) that cache data locally in DuckDB on the Agent and expose it through standard SQL. Explore all supported sources on the features hub.

Agent-Based Security with Zero Firewall Changes

The Query Streams Network Agent installs on any machine inside your network — Windows, Linux, or macOS — and makes outbound-only connections to the Query Streams cloud. No inbound firewall rules, no exposed database ports, no public endpoints, and no VPN tunnels required. Your database credentials stay on your server and are never transmitted to the cloud. The Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report consistently shows that misconfigured access and exposed credentials are leading breach vectors. The Agent’s outbound-only architecture eliminates these attack surfaces entirely.

Deploy multiple Agents across your entire infrastructure — on-premise servers, AWS EC2, Azure VMs, Google Cloud, or any environment globally. All agents self-maintain with automatic updates and present their data sources as a unified dropdown list in the query builder, so end users simply select from available data sources without needing to know which agent or location hosts them. For optimal performance, deploy agents in the same network or region as their databases.

Nova AI: Schema-Aware Text-to-SQL

Not everyone on your team knows SQL, and that should not be a barrier to accessing database data. Nova AI is Query Streams’ schema-aware text-to-SQL assistant. Describe what data you need in plain English — “show me last quarter’s revenue by product category” — and Nova reads your actual database schema, generates validated SQL in the correct dialect, executes the query live, and returns results with optional interactive charts. Flatly has no AI capabilities and no query generation of any kind. Nova makes it possible for business users, analysts, and anyone who can describe what they need to get live database results in Google Sheets or Excel without writing a single line of SQL.

Don’t know SQL? Nova AI builds the query for you.

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Nova reads schema
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Help me create a query for last month’s revenue by product — I need it for my weekly sales report.

Found order_items and products in your schema. Here’s your query — run it to preview, then save it to your library and share it with your team.

SQL Results

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SELECT
    p.product_name,
    SUM(oi.quantity * oi.unit_price) AS revenue
FROM   public.order_items oi
JOIN   public.products p ON oi.product_id = p.id
WHERE  oi.created_at >= DATE_TRUNC('month', NOW() - INTERVAL '1 month')
GROUP BY p.product_name
ORDER BY revenue DESC

Automation That Goes Beyond Scheduled Imports

Flatly’s automation is limited to scheduling cloud app exports into Google Sheets. Query Streams’ automation engine syncs database query results to six platforms: Airtable, Smartsheet, SeaTable, Baserow, Google Sheets, and Anvil.Works. Two sync modes are available: Append mode (10-150x faster, adds new records without rewriting existing data) and Full Sync mode (drift correction that replaces the destination with the latest query results). This means you can keep an Airtable base, a Smartsheet workspace, and a Google Sheet all in sync with the same database query — on a schedule, automatically — while still being able to run that same query on-demand from Excel or Google Sheets whenever you need fresh data.

Who Should Switch from Flatly to Query Streams?

Flatly remains a practical choice for teams that exclusively sync Airtable, Salesforce, or other cloud app data to Google Sheets and have no need for SQL databases. But if any of the following describes your situation, Query Streams is the better alternative:

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Related guides: Databases in Google Sheets | Text to SQL with Nova AI | Automation and Integration | All Features

Category: Articles

Tags: Flatly Alternative, Google Sheets, SQL, Database Connector, Live Data, CSV Export, Automation

Meta Description: Flatly alternative for Google Sheets. Live SQL, no CSV exports. 10 databases. Try free.