Excel Vs. Google Sheets: What You Need to Know?

Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets are the two best-known spreadsheet applications available today. They are pretty much the same when it comes to formulas and calculations. This implies that many of their features are the same. This article will take a closer look at two applications and the key differences between Excel vs Google Sheets.

Your Data Analytics Career is Around The Corner!

Data Analyst Master’s ProgramExplore Program
Your Data Analytics Career is Around The Corner!

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet application that has been developed and maintained by Microsoft. Using Excel, you can perform a multitude of functions such as run calculations, make lists, and charts. It also helps analyze and sort information, track financial data, and much more.

Pros and Cons of Microsoft Excel

Let’s look at some of the major pros and cons of Excel.

Pros

  • Excel has advanced functionalities
  • It has unlimited storage space
  • Execution speed is fast
  • It contains more options for data visualization

Cons

  • Excel is difficult to troubleshoot
  • Different versions of Excel make collaboration difficult
  • You cannot access the sheets from computers other than your own

Google Sheets

Google Sheet is a spreadsheet program offered by Google. Google Sheets can be in the form of web applications, desktop applications, or mobile applications. 

Your Data Analytics Career is Around The Corner!

Data Analyst Master’s ProgramExplore Program
Your Data Analytics Career is Around The Corner!

Pros and Cons of Google Sheets

Let’s look at some of the pros and cons of Google Sheets.

Pros

  • Google Sheets are free and easy to use
  • They are primarily built for collaboration
  • Google Sheets have a built-in revision history and a real-time chat window

Cons

  • The loading time of the document increases, and the data increases
  • It has limited data visualization options
  • It contains limited customization and formulas

Key Differences

Let’s look at the different aspects of Microsoft Excel vs. Google Sheets to understand the key differences between them.

Category

Microsoft Excel

Google Sheets

Developed by

Microsoft Corporation developed MS Excel.

Google LLC developed Google sheets.

Launched as a pack of

They launched MS Excel as a pack of MS Office.

They launched google sheets as a pack of G Suite.

Launching Year

1987

2006

Languages supported

Excel is available in 91 languages.

Google Sheets are available in 83 languages.

Performance

Great for a high volume of data.

Great for low volumes of data (less than 400,000) cells.

Collaboration

Compared to Google sheets, Excel is a not favorable application for collaboration.

Google sheets are the preferred application for collaboration.

Tools for statistical analysis and visualization

Excel is a superior product in the case of statistical analysis and visualization.

If you want to perform any analysis, you have to do it manually.

Online offline usability

We can use Excel in offline mode.

We can use Google Sheets in both online as well as offline mode.

Chatting facilities

Excel does not have this facility.

In Google Sheets, a chatting facility is available on the sidebars.

Macros

Yes

No

Scripting

VBA

Apps Script

Price

$8.25/users/month

Free for individuals.$5/user/month for business.

Cloud Drive

One Drive

Google Drive

Conclusion

In the case of Excel vs. Google Sheets, both the softwares are great in terms of its core features. If your business requires some serious calculations, then Excel is a better application for you. If you want to collaborate on your spreadsheet, then Google Sheets is your best option.

Boost your data analytics career with our powerful Data Analyst Master's Program. Learn analytics tools and techniques, how to work with SQL databases, R and Python, how to create data visualizations, and apply statistics and predictive analytics in a business environment.

Do you have any questions for us? Feel free to mention them in Excel vs. Google Sheets article’s comments section, and our experts will answer them for you at the earliest!

FAQs

1. Is Google Sheets better than Excel?

Both Google Sheets and Excel are good to use. They both have some unique features. If you want to collaborate on data, opt for Google Sheets. However, for calculations and analysis, Excel is a better application. 

2. Can you replace Excel with Google Sheets?

Yes, you can replace Excel with Google Sheets. You have to upload the Excel file to your google drive. Save it as a sheet file, you can change your drive settings to do that. Once the settings are adjusted, everytime you will upload an Excel file in your drive, it will be replaced with a Google Sheet. 

3. Should I use Google Sheets as a database?

As Google Sheet’s data is saved in cloud storage, you will never lose any data. However, if you are working in Excel and forgot to save the file, you can lose data. Hence, Google Sheets are a better choice for databases. 

4. What are Google Sheets' advantages over Excel?

Google Sheets are better than Excel spreadsheets in many ways, some of them are - 

  1. Collaboration 
  2. Working at Scale 
  3. Linking Between Applications 
  4. Version Control 
  5. File Management 
  6. Plugins 
  7. External Data Sources 

5. Google Sheets vs Excel: What is the difference? 

Both of them structure data in tabular format. In other words, the data is in the form of rows and columns. The major difference between Excel and Google Sheets is that you can share the link of Google Sheets with anyone and they can edit the file. This feature makes Google Sheets a perfect option for those who work in teams or shared projects. 

About the Author

Shruti MShruti M

Shruti is an engineer and a technophile. She works on several trending technologies. Her hobbies include reading, dancing and learning new languages. Currently, she is learning the Japanese language.

View More

Find Post Graduate Program in Business Analysis in these cities

Post Graduate Program in Business Analysis, Oxford
  • Disclaimer
  • PMP, PMI, PMBOK, CAPM, PgMP, PfMP, ACP, PBA, RMP, SP, OPM3 and the PMI ATP seal are the registered marks of the Project Management Institute, Inc.