Handsontable is a popular JavaScript data grid library that brings Excel-like functionality to web applications. It's feature-rich, well-documented, and used by many companies for building spreadsheet-style interfaces. However, understanding its pricing structure can be confusing, and many developers are surprised by the actual costs.
In this comprehensive guide, we'll break down Handsontable's 2026 pricing, explain the licensing terms, calculate real costs for different team sizes, and explore free alternatives that might be a better fit for your project.
TL;DR: Handsontable Pricing at a Glance
- • Evaluation: Free for 90 days (full features)
- • Standard: From $899/year (per developer)
- • Priority: From $1,299/year (per developer)
- • Enterprise: Custom pricing (typically $20K+/year)
- 💡 See free alternatives that could save you $5K-$30K+/year
Handsontable Licensing Tiers: What's Available?
Evaluation
A great starting point to explore Handsontable before committing.
What's Included
- • Full access to all features
- • No credit card required
- • Standard support included
- • 90-day evaluation period
Limitations
- • Only 90 days
- • Cannot use in production
- • Must upgrade or remove after trial
The Trap: Teams often build their entire app during the trial, then face a tough decision: pay up or rebuild with a different solution.
Standard
For small to mid-sized teams ready for reliable, supported use.
What's Included
- • Full access to all features
- • Frequent product updates
- • Email and forum support
- • Standard terms and conditions
- • Commercial use allowed
License Terms
- • Per-developer pricing
- • Annual subscription
- • Named developer licenses
- • Covers all projects
Priority
Advanced support with expert guidance to keep your projects moving.
Everything in Standard, Plus:
- • Code review (2 hours)
- • Email, forum and call support
- • Priority response times
- • Expert guidance
Best For
- • Teams needing faster support
- • Complex implementations
- • Mission-critical applications
Enterprise
For large organizations with advanced needs in mind. Built for scale, compliance, and long-term partnership.
Everything in Priority, Plus:
- • Custom contract terms available
- • Code review (5 hours)
- • Email, forum, call and Slack support
- • Custom support options (including SLAs)
- • Dedicated Customer Success Manager
Best For
- • Large enterprises (20+ developers)
- • Custom compliance requirements
- • Mission-critical systems
- • Need for SLA guarantees
What You'll Actually Pay: Real Numbers
Let's break down the actual costs for different team sizes. These are 2026 prices based on Handsontable's standard licensing.
Solo Developer / Freelancer
1 developer license (Standard)
Small Team / Startup
3-5 frontend developers (Standard)
Medium Team / Growing Company
10 frontend developers (Standard)
Large Team / Enterprise
20+ developers or unlimited license
Is Handsontable Worth the Cost?
The honest answer: it depends. Handsontable is worth it for specific use cases but overkill for many others.
Handsontable IS Worth It When:
- You need true Excel-like spreadsheet functionality
- Users expect copy/paste from Excel to work seamlessly
- You're building internal enterprise tools (not customer-facing)
- You have a substantial software budget ($5K+/year for tools)
- Bundle size isn't critical (internal apps, desktop-first users)
Consider Free Alternatives When:
- You're a startup or small team with limited budget
- You need a data grid, not a full spreadsheet (sorting, filtering, editing)
- Bundle size and performance are priorities
- You're building customer-facing applications
- You want to avoid vendor lock-in
Free Alternatives That Could Save You $20K+ Over 5 Years
Before committing to Handsontable, consider these completely free alternatives:
Simple Table
Free tier availableA lightweight (42 kB), batteries-included React data grid with a generous free tier and optional PRO plan ($85/mo) for enhanced support. All core features included in FREE.
What You Get Free:
- ✓ Sorting & filtering
- ✓ Column pinning (frozen columns)
- ✓ Row grouping & aggregation
- ✓ Cell editing (inline & form-based)
- ✓ Built-in virtualization
- ✓ CSV export
- ✓ Custom renderers
- ✓ Excellent TypeScript support
5-Year Cost Comparison:
TanStack Table (React Table v8)
$0 ForeverHeadless table library with powerful features but requires you to build the UI yourself. Great if you need complete control over rendering.
AG Grid Community
FreeMIT-licensed version of AG Grid with basic features. Enterprise features require paid license ($999+/dev/year).
Pro tip: Most teams don't need Handsontable's full spreadsheet features. Start with a free alternative and only upgrade if you hit a specific limitation. You can always migrate later if needed—but you probably won't. Read our complete guide to Handsontable alternatives.
Decision Framework: Should You Pay for Handsontable?
Use this simple framework to decide:
✅ Choose Handsontable If:
- • You need true Excel-like spreadsheet functionality (formulas, cell references, etc.)
- • Users expect to copy/paste from Excel and have it "just work" with formatting
- • You're building internal enterprise tools where bundle size doesn't matter
- • Your company has budget allocated for commercial software licenses
- • You need enterprise support and SLA guarantees
✅ Choose Simple Table If:
- • You need a data grid (not a full spreadsheet) with sorting, filtering, editing, grouping
- • You're building customer-facing apps where performance matters
- • You want quick setup without configuration complexity
- • You want to avoid vendor lock-in and recurring costs
- • Your team is 1-10 developers
- • You need all features free without license fees
✅ Choose TanStack Table (React Table) If:
- • You need absolute control over UI/UX and are willing to build components from scratch
- • You have complex, highly custom design requirements
- • Your team has experience with headless libraries
- • You might need to support multiple frameworks
Bottom Line: Start Free, Upgrade Only If Necessary
For 90% of React applications, a free alternative like Simple Table provides everything you need. Start there, save thousands, and only consider Handsontable if you hit a specific feature wall. Your CFO (and your team) will thank you.