The best replacement for gridlayout is gridbaglayout.

The best alternatives to gridlayout are rated as following:
★★★★★  gridbaglayout
★★★★★  tablelayout
★★★★  gridview
★  formlayout

Your alternative for gridlayout is not listed? Suggest!
Speaking about gridlayout, one probably shouldn't forget about jpanel.

Other search terms related to gridlayout and their ratings are:
★★★★★ jpanel
★ borderlayout
You have in mind a companion for gridlayout and it is not yet here? Propose!



Google Trends

Scale is based on the average worldwide traffic of gridlayout in all years. Click on graph for more.
gridlayout
gridbaglayout
tablelayout