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How far can you push an Excel MVP before you need to migrate?

I’ve been building a full system in Excel with VBA — dozens of macros, 200+ formulas, dashboards, logging, QA checks, the works. It runs fine now, but I’m starting to think ahead: when does “Excel MVP” turn into “time for a real app”?

Here’s what I’ve mapped so far:

Excel limits

• 1M rows per sheet

• 16k columns

• 2 GB file size

• Real slowdowns hit earlier, usually at 50k rows or 20 MB

Why migrate

• Too many formulas cause lag

• Logs get huge and messy

• Multi-user is basically impossible

• Macro warnings make distribution a pain

Migration paths

• Next.js + Supabase + Vercel for a clean code path

• No-code UI (Framer, Glide) + Airtable for speed

• Agency/freelancers if you want fast delivery ($25k–$60k)

Timeline & cost

• Solo dev: 6–8 weeks

• Small freelance team: 3–5 weeks, $6k–$18k

• Agency: 3–6 weeks, $25k–$60k

When to stop pushing Excel

• Logs above 50k rows

• More than 10k formulas on one sheet

• File size above 20 MB

👉 Has anyone here actually sold or scaled a system while it was still in Excel?

👉 Or do most of you treat Excel as a private prototyping tool and move as soon as you validate?

posted to Icon for group Building in Public
Building in Public
on September 18, 2025
  1. 1

    What’s funny is Excel gives you total visibility — you can see every formula and trace every bug. Once you go to a web stack, you lose that transparency. Do you think the tradeoff is worth it?

  2. 1

    I wonder if it’s smarter to migrate piece by piece instead of all at once. For example, port logs first, then dashboards, then exports. Has anyone here done a staged migration like that?

  3. 1

    I’ve always thought Excel is underrated as a legit MVP container. You get formulas, persistence, and automation in one place. The big pain point for me was always multi-user - did anyone find a way around that before moving?

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