Need help with managing huge data files in Google environment
My team is trying to move everything to Google Workspace but we keep running into issues with our massive Excel spreadsheets. We have files containing over 3000 rows of data and Google Sheets seems to struggle with them.
The performance gets really slow when we try to work with these large datasets. Sometimes the browser crashes or the file takes forever to load. We really want to stick with Google tools for our daily work but this is becoming a major roadblock.
Should we consider setting up a proper database with a web frontend instead? Or are there other ways to work around Google Sheets limitations? Maybe splitting the data somehow or using different Google tools?
What do other people do when they need to handle big data files in Google Workspace? Any suggestions would be really helpful.
I’ve hit this same wall migrating big datasets to Google Workspace. That 10 million cell limit in Sheets isn’t just about rows - complex formulas and heavy formatting make it way worse. Here’s what actually worked for us: dump the data in BigQuery and connect smaller chunks to Sheets for daily work. You get SQL power but keep the spreadsheet feel when you need it. Google Apps Script is clutch too. I use it for batch operations that would otherwise kill your browser performance. If you’re stuck keeping everything in Sheets, strip out formatting and formulas from old data. Only keep the calculations you actually need active.
breaking those files into smaller parts by month or category works great. i deal with 5k+ row files all the time - it really speeds things up! for heavy processing, try using Google colab and then export the results back to sheets for easier collaboration.
Don’t work with raw data directly - use Google Sheets with pivot tables and filters instead. I learned this after struggling with 4000+ row datasets that killed performance. Create summary sheets that only pull what you actually need for each task. Here’s what saved me tons of time: use Google Drive file stream to sync your original Excel files locally, then import just the relevant chunks into Sheets. Skip real-time collaboration on the full dataset - it’s a nightmare. Have one person handle the master file and send out smaller working copies. Pro tip: convert to CSV first before importing. Sheets handles CSVs way better than Excel files and you’ll see a big performance boost.