Microsoft Excel

Name: Microsoft Excel
Brand: Microsoft
Rating: 4.5 (16052 reviews)

Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet application that organizes and analyzes data, performs calculations and modeling, visualizes results with charts and pivot tables, and automates workflows across desktop, web, and mobile clients.

Est 1975|Valuation $2888.5B|Raised $72.9B

LinkedIn 29.0M|Website|Web traffic 1233.4M|FTEs 232,851|HQ Redmond, Washington, US

MarketsScenario Modeling & "What-if" Analysis Budgeting & Forecasting Productivity & Collaboration Suite

Platform CoversManagement Reporting

01Competitive Landscape

Narrative analysis

- **Excel vs Google Sheets:** - Many comparisons and reviews emphasize that Sheets is easier for collaborative workflows, while Excel frequently provides more advanced analysis and complex computation capabilities. - If a workflow is primarily online with many concurrent editors and quick sharing needs, Sheets is often preferred for simplicity. - If a workflow requires complex financial models, advanced features, or large/complex workbook logic, Excel is often selected for its capabilities. - **Excel vs LibreOffice Calc:** - Calc is attractive for cost and open-source requirements, and can open/save many Excel formats, but organizations frequently report feature gaps and compatibility friction in advanced Excel workbooks (macros/VBA, complex formatting, Power Query-like ETL, add-ins). - **Excel vs Apple Numbers:** - Numbers is often easier for many casual users, but less capable for advanced modeling; it is typically chosen for Apple-centric personal use rather than enterprise-standard spreadsheet modeling. - **Excel vs Smartsheet/Airtable (different category, but common “replacement” conversation):** - Smartsheet and Airtable are often chosen when teams need workflow/project tracking and lightweight app/database functionality—use cases where Excel can function initially but becomes hard to govern. - These tools can outperform Excel in permissions, workflow automation, forms, auditability, and structured collaboration; Excel performs strongly in analytical flexibility and widespread familiarity.

	Microsoft Excel	Google Sheets	LibreOffice Calc
Starting Price	Via Microsoft 365: published consumer and business per-user pricing available from the vendor	Often bundled in Google Workspace; consumer version available at no direct cost with a Google account	Free (open source)
Primary Use Case	Advanced modeling, finance workflows, heavy analysis, Microsoft ecosystem	Real-time collaboration, easy sharing, lightweight teams	Cost-sensitive orgs, offline/open-source preference
Key Strength	Depth of functions/features; ecosystem; advanced-user tooling	Collaboration/accessibility; low friction sharing	No license cost; open standards; privacy/control (self-managed)
Key Weakness	Governance, error risk, licensing complexity; can become shadow IT	Can slow with very large datasets; advanced modeling depth can lag Excel	Compatibility edge cases; fewer advanced Excel-specific features and add-ins

01Competitive Landscape

Narrative analysis

Excel vs Google Sheets:
- Many comparisons and reviews emphasize that Sheets is easier for collaborative workflows, while Excel frequently provides more advanced analysis and complex computation capabilities.
- If a workflow is primarily online with many concurrent editors and quick sharing needs, Sheets is often preferred for simplicity.
- If a workflow requires complex financial models, advanced features, or large/complex workbook logic, Excel is often selected for its capabilities.
Excel vs LibreOffice Calc:
- Calc is attractive for cost and open-source requirements, and can open/save many Excel formats, but organizations frequently report feature gaps and compatibility friction in advanced Excel workbooks (macros/VBA, complex formatting, Power Query-like ETL, add-ins).
Excel vs Apple Numbers:
- Numbers is often easier for many casual users, but less capable for advanced modeling; it is typically chosen for Apple-centric personal use rather than enterprise-standard spreadsheet modeling.
Excel vs Smartsheet/Airtable (different category, but common “replacement” conversation):
- Smartsheet and Airtable are often chosen when teams need workflow/project tracking and lightweight app/database functionality—use cases where Excel can function initially but becomes hard to govern.
- These tools can outperform Excel in permissions, workflow automation, forms, auditability, and structured collaboration; Excel performs strongly in analytical flexibility and widespread familiarity.

	Microsoft Excel	Google Sheets	LibreOffice Calc
Starting Price	Via Microsoft 365: published consumer and business per-user pricing available from the vendor	Often bundled in Google Workspace; consumer version available at no direct cost with a Google account	Free (open source)
Primary Use Case	Advanced modeling, finance workflows, heavy analysis, Microsoft ecosystem	Real-time collaboration, easy sharing, lightweight teams	Cost-sensitive orgs, offline/open-source preference
Key Strength	Depth of functions/features; ecosystem; advanced-user tooling	Collaboration/accessibility; low friction sharing	No license cost; open standards; privacy/control (self-managed)
Key Weakness	Governance, error risk, licensing complexity; can become shadow IT	Can slow with very large datasets; advanced modeling depth can lag Excel	Compatibility edge cases; fewer advanced Excel-specific features and add-ins