The Quick Answer
The short version
Use Google Sheets if you need real-time collaboration, work from multiple devices, want something free, or your spreadsheets are moderate in size and complexity.
Use Excel if you work with very large datasets, need advanced features like Power Query, Power Pivot, or VBA macros, or you're in a finance/accounting environment where Excel is the industry standard.
Use both if you collaborate in Sheets day-to-day but need Excel's power tools for heavy-duty analysis. They're more complementary than competitive.
Pricing and Availability
Google Sheets
Free for anyone with a Google account. Google Workspace plans (for businesses) start at $7/user/month, which adds admin controls, more storage, custom email, and support. The spreadsheet features themselves are identical across free and paid tiers.
Google Sheets runs entirely in the browser — there's nothing to install. It works on any device with a web browser, and has dedicated mobile apps for iOS and Android. Offline editing is available through a Chrome extension.
Microsoft Excel
Excel comes bundled with Microsoft 365, which starts at $6.99/month for personal use or $12.50/user/month for business. There's also a one-time purchase option (Office 2024) for around $150, though it doesn't include cloud features or future updates.
There's a free web version of Excel at excel.cloud.microsoft.com with limited features. The desktop app (Windows and Mac) is where Excel's full power lives. Mobile apps are free for basic editing on phones and tablets.
Collaboration and Sharing
This is where Google Sheets has a clear edge. Real-time collaboration has been central to Sheets since day one — multiple people can edit the same spreadsheet simultaneously, see each other's cursors, and chat within the document. Sharing is as simple as sending a link with view, comment, or edit permissions.
Excel has added real-time co-authoring through OneDrive/SharePoint, and it works well, but it still feels like a feature that was added later rather than built in from the start. The web version handles collaboration smoothly, but the desktop app can occasionally struggle with sync conflicts when multiple people make rapid edits.
For version history, both tools track changes over time. Google Sheets shows a detailed revision history (File → Version history) with named versions. Excel's version history works through OneDrive/SharePoint. Google's implementation is slightly more intuitive for most users.
Features and Formulas
Where Excel wins
Excel's desktop application is significantly more powerful for advanced data work. Key advantages include Power Query (for importing and transforming data from databases, APIs, and files), Power Pivot (for building data models across multiple tables), PivotTables (more flexible and faster than Sheets' pivot tables), VBA macros (full programming environment for automation), and advanced charting options (waterfall charts, stock charts, 3D maps).
Excel also has a deeper formula library. While the gap has narrowed considerably, Excel still supports functions that Sheets doesn't, particularly in financial analysis (like STOCKHISTORY) and advanced statistics.
Where Google Sheets wins
Sheets has its own unique strengths. IMPORTDATA, IMPORTHTML, IMPORTXML, and IMPORTRANGE let you pull live data from the web and other spreadsheets — something Excel can't match without Power Query. Google Apps Script provides JavaScript-based automation that many find more accessible than VBA. Built-in integration with Google Forms makes Sheets the natural home for survey data. And the QUERY function gives you SQL-like filtering power in a single formula.
Formula compatibility
Most common formulas (VLOOKUP, INDEX/MATCH, IF, SUMIFS, COUNTIFS, etc.) work identically in both. Both now support dynamic array formulas (FILTER, SORT, UNIQUE, SEQUENCE). The day-to-day formula experience is very similar — you'd only notice differences with niche or platform-specific functions.
Performance and Limits
| Metric | Excel (desktop) | Google Sheets |
|---|---|---|
| Max rows per sheet | 1,048,576 | ~10 million cells total |
| Max columns | 16,384 | 18,278 |
| File size limit | Practical limit ~100–500MB | ~100MB import; performance degrades before that |
| Calculation speed | Very fast (local CPU) | Slower (server-side + network latency) |
| Offline access | Full offline capability | Limited (requires Chrome extension setup) |
For everyday spreadsheets (a few thousand rows, moderate formulas), both perform well and you won't notice a difference. The gap appears with large datasets: Excel on the desktop is noticeably faster when recalculating heavy workbooks because it runs locally on your CPU. Google Sheets sends calculations to Google's servers, which adds latency — especially noticeable with volatile functions or very large ranges.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Excel | Google Sheets |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $6.99+/mo or one-time $150 | Free (Workspace from $7/mo) |
| Real-time collaboration | ✓ Via OneDrive | ✓ Built-in, seamless |
| Offline editing | ✓ Full support | ✓ Limited (Chrome only) |
| Macros / automation | VBA (powerful, complex) | Apps Script (JavaScript, easier) |
| Data import (web) | Power Query | IMPORTDATA / IMPORTHTML |
| Pivot tables | Advanced + Power Pivot | Basic but improving |
| Charts | More types, more control | Simpler, good for basics |
| Mobile apps | ✓ iOS + Android | ✓ iOS + Android |
| Third-party add-ons | Extensive ecosystem | Growing marketplace |
| AI features | Copilot (paid add-on) | Gemini (included in Workspace) |
| Large datasets | ✓ Handles millions of rows | ✗ Slows above ~100K rows |
| Learning curve | Steeper for advanced features | Easier for beginners |
When to Use Which
Team budgets and planning
Multiple people need to update numbers, leave comments, and see changes in real time. Sheets' collaboration is unbeatable here.
Survey and form data
Google Forms feeds directly into Sheets. For collecting and analyzing survey responses, the integration is seamless.
Financial modeling
Complex models with millions of cells, scenario analysis, and custom VBA tools. Excel's calculation speed and Power Pivot are essential.
Data analysis on large datasets
Anything over 100K rows with complex formulas. Power Query for ETL, PivotTables for analysis, and local processing speed.
Quick calculations and lists
Need a spreadsheet fast? Open sheets.google.com and start typing. No installation, no file saving, auto-synced to the cloud.
Everyday business spreadsheets
Invoices, inventory lists, project trackers, grade books — both tools handle these equally well. Pick whichever your team already uses.
Switching Between Them
The good news: moving files between Excel and Google Sheets is straightforward. Google Sheets can open .xlsx files directly (upload to Drive → Open with Sheets), and Sheets can export as .xlsx (File → Download → Microsoft Excel). Most formatting, formulas, and data transfer cleanly.
The main pain points when switching are macros (VBA doesn't run in Sheets, and Apps Script doesn't run in Excel), advanced conditional formatting (some rules may not convert), Power Query/Power Pivot connections (Sheets has no equivalent), and custom chart formatting (may simplify during conversion).
Pro tip: For the cleanest transfer from Excel to Google Sheets, convert to CSV first. This strips out formatting that might cause issues and gives Sheets pure data to work with. Our free converter does this in seconds, right in your browser.
Need to move files between Excel and Sheets?
We have free, browser-based converters for both directions — no uploads, no accounts, totally private.
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