This allows for better performance compared to web-only options like Google Sheets. The ability to use a native app means that calculations take place on your local machine, rather than having to be sent to a server first. The interface has evolved over the years, too, with a customizable Quick Access toolbar for pinning useful functions you need to access often. If you're not looking for something that can handle VBA or macros-or you don't even know what those are-you probably don't need to invest in Excel. You can record your own macros or use Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) to vastly speed up your workflow with one-click scripts. In addition to an exhaustive list of functions, Excel pioneered features like conditional formatting and pivot tables. Manipulating data with pivot tables and adding charts is also straightforward. Functions like INDEX-MATCH let you isolate records from a large range, and powerful filters at the top of each column make it easy to display data how you want. If you're dealing with huge data sets, Excel will handle it better than the competition. It can handle more extensive spreadsheets, too, with a maximum cell count of 17,179,869,184-in case that ever comes up. It imported my test CSV file seamlessly and created a banded row table instantly.Įxcel offers more functions and features than any other spreadsheet software.
Excel sets the benchmark for other spreadsheets, and it's a dream to work with. Introduced in 1987, Excel has been a mainstay of the Microsoft Office suite since 1995. Microsoft Excel is the quintessential spreadsheet app. Need a Microsoft 365 subscription to collaborate in real-time Imports CSV files seamlessly and creates a banded row table instantly The gold standard for spreadsheet software The best spreadsheet software at a glance Whether you're looking for an Excel alternative or you just want to see what else is out there, you're in the right place. There's no expectation that free products will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with pricey subscription models.Īfter extensive testing, I whittled the list down to the eight best spreadsheet apps. Finally, I've chosen the software that demonstrates value, regardless of which price point it targets. After all, we've come a long way since 1979's VisiCalc. I considered user interface (UI) design and overall user experience (UX) while reviewing these apps. If you're going to be spending a lot of time in a spreadsheet, it should be easy to use and pleasant to look at. And some don't have any collaboration at all but work great for individual number crunching.Įase of use. Some spreadsheet software includes real-time collaboration, while others include version control and in-line commenting. Moving on to nice-to-have features, I looked at the amount of collaboration allowed by each app. This level of sophistication isn't required, but even some of the free solutions have powerful features like these.Ĭollaboration. I'm talking about everything from pivot tables for extracting information from large data sets, to conditional formatting for comparing data and spotting trends, to time-savers like recordable macros. All of the solutions featured here offer the ability to create charts and graphs, though the number of choices and formatting options varies.Īdvanced features. Similarly, once you have your data in a spreadsheet, you'll likely want to visualize it. Basic math operations like subtotaling a range or working out average values are present in all of the software featured here.ĭata filtering and visualization. You want a certain level of competency in terms of available functions and formulas. Here's what I was looking for as I tested:įormulas and functions.
To test all the top spreadsheet tools, I signed up for each one, imported a CSV file, and ran a series of tests-the standard (and sometimes not-so-standard) things you might do with a spreadsheet.