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.

In this article, we will be discussing the following topics: 

• What is Microsoft Excel?
• Pros and Cons of Microsoft Excel
• What are Google Sheets?
• Pros and Cons of Google Sheets
• Key Differences

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. 

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

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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.

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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!