A practical comparison of Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets for home, study and work: cost, collaboration, formulas, data size limits, automation, offline use and compatibility, with recommendations for different users.
Excel and Google Sheets can both handle budgets, lists and most everyday analysis. The differences show up in collaboration, large datasets, advanced features and cost. Many people end up using both. Here's how to choose.
Cost and access
- Google Sheets is free with a Google account, runs in a browser and has mobile apps. Google Workspace business plans add admin controls and more storage.
- Excel has a free web version and mobile apps (with a Microsoft account). The full desktop app comes with a Microsoft 365 subscription or a one-off purchase of a standalone version. Many workplaces and universities provide it.
Collaboration
Sheets was built for real-time collaboration: several people can edit at once, comments and assignments are simple, and sharing is a link away. Excel now supports co-authoring for files stored in OneDrive or SharePoint, and works well within Microsoft 365 organisations, but some desktop features don't work while co-authoring. For a shared family budget or club sign-up sheet, Sheets is often easier.
Formulas
Most common functions work the same in both: SUM, IF, XLOOKUP, FILTER, SORT, UNIQUE, LET and LAMBDA. Each has extras:
- Sheets: QUERY (SQL-like queries), IMPORTRANGE, IMPORTHTML, GOOGLEFINANCE, GOOGLETRANSLATE.
- Excel: a deeper function library, dynamic arrays, and newer functions such as GROUPBY and PIVOTBY in Microsoft 365.
Data size and performance
An Excel worksheet holds up to 1,048,576 rows and 16,384 columns, and desktop Excel handles large workbooks well, especially with Power Pivot's data model for millions of rows. Google Sheets has a limit of 10 million cells per spreadsheet and can slow down with heavy formulas well before then. For very large data, Excel desktop (or a database) is usually better.
Data tools
- Excel: Power Query for importing and cleaning data, Power Pivot for data models, advanced pivot tables, What-If analysis and Solver.
- Sheets: pivot tables, import functions, connected sheets with BigQuery on business plans, and add-ons.
Automation
- Excel: VBA macros on desktop, Office Scripts in Excel for the web, and Power Automate.
- Sheets: Apps Script (JavaScript-based), macros, and integration with other Google services.
Offline use
Excel desktop works fully offline. Sheets can work offline in Chrome or Edge with offline mode enabled, but you need to set it up in advance.
Compatibility
Sheets can open and save Excel files, but complex features such as macros, Power Query, some charts and certain formatting may not convert. If you exchange files with Excel users, test important workbooks.
Charts and presentation
Excel offers more chart types and finer formatting control. Sheets' charts are simpler but easy to share and embed.
Which to choose?
| You are | Probably best |
|---|---|
| Managing a household budget or shared list | Google Sheets |
| A student | Whichever your course uses; learn the basics in both |
| Working in finance, accounting or analysis | Excel |
| A small team using Google Workspace | Google Sheets |
| Handling large datasets | Excel desktop |
| Job seeking | Excel skills are widely requested; Sheets is a plus |
Skills transfer
The core concepts, such as cell references, functions, tables and pivot tables, transfer between the two. Learning one makes the other easy to pick up.
Frequently asked questions
Is Excel for the web as good as desktop?
For everyday tasks, yes. Some advanced features, such as Power Pivot and VBA, are desktop-only.
Is my data safe in Google Sheets?
It's stored securely by Google. Protect your account with two-step verification and check sharing settings.
Sources and further reading
- Microsoft Support: Excel specifications and limits
- Google Drive Help: Files you can store in Google Drive
- Microsoft Support: Excel help and learning
- Google Docs Editors Help: Google Sheets
Facts checked on 20 October 2026. Spotted an error? Tell us and we will correct it.