Docs & databases · checked 2026-10-19

Can I vibecode Coda?

KINDA· weekend project

Coda, now sold as Superhuman Docs, mixes pages with tables whose columns hold formulas, buttons that edit rows, and automations. One person's version is a page editor with embedded tables, a small formula language and a button runner, which an agent can assemble over a weekend; Notion sits in the same band. The hard part is the formula engine: references across tables, recalculation without loops, readable errors. What you cannot copy is the Pack ecosystem that syncs tables with other apps, real-time editing with a team and the shipped AI.

$15/moprice per seat

$180you'd save a year

weekendbuild time

—people replaced it

Before you start

What you need on hand.

DifficultyIntermediate · Some system setup or keys.

TimeA weekend; the formula engine is the slow part

Claude Code, Codex or CursorAny of them can run the prompt.
Node.js 22better-sqlite3 compiles a native module, so build tools must be installed.
Your Coda exportsAccount settings > Advanced Settings > Export My Data, plus a CSV per important table.
A list of the formulas you actually useHand it to the agent so it builds those first.

Before you buildCoda Free is generous for docs you share with nobody: unlimited objects and rows. The caps only bite once you share a doc.

1. Install one agent: Claude Code, Codex, Cursor.
2. Make an empty folder and open it in the agent.
3. Paste the prompt below, press enter, and answer its questions as it builds.

The prompt

Build me a personal workspace of pages and formula tables to replace Coda. Requirements:

- Node.js 22 + TypeScript: a Hono API and a Vite + React front end with Tiptap for pages.
  `npm start` serves http://localhost:4750.
- Storage: better-sqlite3 in ./data/workspace.db. A page tree with Tiptap JSON per page;
  tables with typed columns (text, number, date, checkbox, select, formula) and rows; a table
  block embeds a table by id inside a page. Snapshot a page every 10 minutes while it is
  edited, keep 30 days.
- A table can be shown in a page three ways, each with its own filter and sort: table, board
  grouped by a select column, and month calendar by a date column.
- Formulas: parsed with `jsep` against an allow-list (IF, SUM, COUNT, ROUND, TODAY,
  FILTER(Table, condition), LOOKUP(Table, Column, value)); no eval. Recalculate dependants
  through a dependency graph, detect cycles, and show the error text inside the cell.
- Buttons: a button column or block runs an ordered action list (set a cell, add a row,
  delete a row, open a URL) whose values can be formulas.
- Automations: a schedule (`croner`) or "when a row is added" runs a button's action list;
  keep the last 100 runs with their errors.
- Import CSV and Markdown. Export a page as Markdown, a table as CSV, everything as a JSON backup.
- Single user, one password from .env (signed cookie). No accounts, no telemetry, local-first.
- Out of scope: real-time collaboration, sharing, third-party connectors (Packs), AI, mobile apps.
- README: setup, backing up ./data, and the formula functions that exist.

Opens your agent with the prompt filled in, you press enter. Or copy it and paste it into an empty folder.

Share on X

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Then keep going

Next prompts, same folder.

The first prompt builds the core. Run these one at a time in the same folder to grow it into your own Coda.

Extend the workspace in this folder. Requirements:

- An import page that takes the files from Coda's Export My Data: the text and CSV files.
- Create one page per exported doc and one table per CSV, guessing column types and showing
  a preview first.
- Report anything not converted, such as formulas, buttons and Pack tables, instead of dropping it silently.
- Update the README.

Add synced tables to the workspace in this folder. Requirements:

- A table can be marked as synced from a JSON API: URL, headers with secrets from .env, a
  JSONPath for the row list, and a column mapping.
- Refresh on a `croner` schedule and by a Refresh button; upsert by a key column and never delete rows I added.
- Show the last refresh time and error on the table.
- Update the README.

Add page templates to the workspace in this folder. Requirements:

- Save any page, with its embedded tables and button definitions, as a template.
- New page from template copies the tables so edits do not touch the original.
- A date token in titles, such as {{today}}, is filled in when the page is created.
- Update the README.

Add PDF export to the workspace in this folder. Requirements:

- Export a page, with its embedded tables rendered as static tables, to PDF using Playwright's
  page.pdf.
- A print stylesheet that hides the sidebar and keeps table rows from splitting across pages.
- Wide tables shrink to fit the page width.
- Update the README.

What you lose

Packs that sync tables with other apps
Real-time editing, comments and sharing with permissions
Cross-doc tables and actions, and version history beyond what you build
Docs AI and the MCP connection to AI tools
Desktop and mobile apps, custom domains and public doc publishing

Why people still pay

Teams use Coda to replace a pile of separate tools with one doc that has data, formulas and buttons in it, and a doc built that way is hard to move once other people depend on it. Packs and shared editing are what turn a personal doc into a team system.

Moatcollaboration integrations switching costs

Do the math

Coda or your own copy?

Seats

Over

Your usage

Count my time12h ×$/h

Coda, 1 yr$180

Your own copy, 1 yr$40running + build session

You keep$140pays for itself in the first month

Estimate · Runs on your laptop or a $5 VPS. The build is token usage on your agent plan, and the formula engine usually takes a few rounds.

Leaving Coda

Take your data, then cancel.

1 · Take your data out of Coda

1One doc or page: open the three-dot menu by the doc name, go to Print & export and choose Export to PDF for the whole doc, the page, or the page with subpages.
2One table: open the table's Options, then See all options, click the three-dot menu and choose Download as CSV. Show hidden columns and clear filters first.
3All your docs: Account Settings > Advanced Settings > Export My Data, which produces several .txt and .csv files for every doc you own.
4Coda has no built-in HTML or Markdown export; the REST API can fetch pages one at a time.

2 · Cancel Coda

1Only a workspace admin can do it: open the workspace home, click your name bottom left, choose Admin settings, then the Workspace plan tab under Billing.
2Click Compare plans, find the Free plan and click Downgrade; downgrading to Free is what cancelling means here.
3Read the warnings (some docs can turn read-only) and confirm with Downgrade anyway.
4You keep the paid plan until the end of the current billing period, and a pending downgrade can be undone from the same tab.

If the workspace came with a Superhuman bundle, you will be sent to the Superhuman Admin Hub: downgrading Docs then means changing the bundle.
Shared docs on Free hold 50 objects and 1,000 rows, so large shared docs can become read-only after a downgrade; export them first.
The export file for all docs covers docs you own, not everyone's in the workspace.
The help center says self-serve account deletion is paused, and a paid workspace must be downgraded before it can be deleted.
Pack subscriptions are billed separately; cancel those on their own.

Checked 2026-10-19 against Coda's docs: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

The escape hatch

Don't feel like building it? These are already free.

GristOpen sourceApache-2.0 spreadsheet-database with Python formulas and linked tables; grist-core runs from Docker, and some features exist only in the paid edition.★ 12k · active Oct 2026 · docker to self-host
Web, desktopVisit ↗AppFlowyOpen sourceAGPL-3.0 workspace with docs, databases and boards; native apps, and a self-hosting guide for the sync server.★ 78k · active Oct 2026 · docker to self-host
desktop, iOS, AndroidVisit ↗SiYuanOpen sourceAGPL-3.0 local-first block editor with databases, backlinks and a Docker image.★ 47k · active Oct 2026 · docker to self-host
Web, desktop, iOS, AndroidVisit ↗

All 4 free alternatives to Coda ›

The numbers

Coda pricing

Plan	Monthly	Annual, per month	What you get
Free	$0/workspace	$0/workspace	Unlimited objects in docs shared with nobody; shared docs: 50 objects, 1,000 rows, 1 GB attachments, 7-day history, 35 time-based and 100 event-based automations a month per doc, sync tables capped at 100 rows with manual refresh.
Pro	$15	$12	No object limits, 5 GB attachments per doc, 30-day history, 100 time-based and 500 event-based automations a month per doc, daily sync refresh with up to 10,000 rows, custom branding and domains, Docs AI in beta.
Business	$40	$33	Everything in Pro plus unlimited automations and version history, hourly sync refresh, databases (beta), private team folders, subfolders and page locking.
Enterprise	custom	—	SAML SSO, SCIM provisioning, audit events, AI admin controls, SOC 2 report and HIPAA compliance.

Free tier: Docs shared with anyone are held to 50 objects and 1,000 rows; automations, attachments and version history are also capped per doc.
Billing: Billed per Doc Maker, the role that builds docs, monthly or annually at a lower rate. Workspaces linked to a Superhuman bundle are billed and downgraded through the Superhuman Admin Hub. A removed Doc Maker or a downgrade earns a prorated credit, not a refund.
Hidden costs: Docs AI is in beta with usage limits. Some third-party Packs carry their own subscriptions, and buying a Pack needs Pro or above. Automations and sync-table refresh rates are per-doc caps that push busy docs to Business.
Source: superhuman.com

Also on the list

Notion$12/mo · Notes & knowledgeKINDA

Airtable$24/mo · DatabasesYES

Grist$10/mo · Docs & databasesKINDA

Questions

Coda, briefly

Not answered here? Tell us and we'll add it.

Ask a question ›

Free: personal docs have no object limit; shared docs are capped at 50 objects and 1,000 table rows, with 1 GB of attachments and 7 days of version history.

Kinda. The core is a weekend build with the prompt on this page, but real gaps remain: Packs that sync tables with other apps, Real-time editing, comments and sharing with permissions.

About $15 a month on the Pro plan per seat, $180 a year (checked 2026-10-19).

Packs that sync tables with other apps; Real-time editing, comments and sharing with permissions; Cross-doc tables and actions, and version history beyond what you build; Docs AI and the MCP connection to AI tools; Desktop and mobile apps, custom domains and public doc publishing. If any of those matter to you, keep paying.