Beam vs Microsoft Excel
Beam and Microsoft Excel are both personal productivity tools. Beam is aimed at developers and creators, while Microsoft Excel is aimed at small businesses and enterprise. Microsoft Excel costs less, from $9.99/mo versus $12/mo for Beam. Both have a free plan.
Open individual windows from one Mac as native windows on another
The standard spreadsheet for analysis, modeling and reporting
| Pricing | Freemium · $12 | Freemium · $10 |
| Starting price | $12/mo | $9.99/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | 30 days |
| Built for | Developers, Creators, Freelancers, Small businesses | Small businesses, Enterprise, Freelancers |
| Platforms | macos | web, macos, windows, ios, android |
| Country | — | US · 1985 |
| Rating | — | — |
Choose Beam if
Developers and creators with two Apple silicon Macs who want a remote app to behave like a local window instead of a full screen share.
- Uses one remote app without taking over the whole desktop
- Window traffic goes directly between your Macs, not through Beam's servers
- Free plan has no card requirement and no limit on host Macs
Look elsewhere if: People who need to reach Windows or Intel machines or control a whole remote desktop across platforms (Jump Desktop, Parsec).
Choose Microsoft Excel if
Finance, accounting and analyst teams that need the deepest spreadsheet features and the industry standard file format.
- Industry standard skills and file format
- Unmatched depth for financial modeling and analysis
- Handles large datasets on the desktop
Look elsewhere if: Teams that mostly collaborate live in the browser on simple sheets (Google Sheets) or need a relational database with views (Airtable).
Beam vs Microsoft Excel pricing
Beam
- Free$0Host unlimited Macs, join share links, 20 minutes a day of use
- Monthly$12/moUnlimited use on every Mac you own, send share links
- Yearly$84/yrSame as Monthly; works out to $7/mo billed annually
- Lifetime$199One-time payment, all future updates, direct connections
- Team$12/seat/moOr $84/seat/yr; 20% off from 10 seats, one invoice
Microsoft Excel
- Excel for the web$0Free with a Microsoft account, reduced feature set
- Microsoft 365 Personal$9.99/mo$99.99/yr; 1 person, desktop apps, Copilot, 1 TB
- Microsoft 365 Family$12.99/mo$129.99/yr; up to 6 people, 1 TB each
- Microsoft 365 Premium$19.99/mo$199.99/yr; higher Copilot limits and advanced AI
- Office Home 2024$179.99/one-timePerpetual Excel, Word, PowerPoint for 1 PC or Mac
Beam · Key features
- Single windows from another Mac open as native windows with Dock and Command-Tab entries
- Beam several windows at once or share an entire display
- Direct typing, shortcuts, two-way resizing, app audio and clipboard sync
- Works with headless Mac minis and Mac Studios that have no display
- Encrypted Mac-to-Mac connection on local Wi-Fi or over Tailscale
- Guest share links open one window in any browser, view-only by default
Cons
- macOS only, with Apple silicon and Sonoma or later required on both Macs
- Free use is capped at 20 minutes a day
- Devices without the Mac app, such as phones, only get browser links
Microsoft Excel · Key features
- Dynamic array formulas including XLOOKUP, FILTER and LAMBDA
- PivotTables, PivotCharts and a wide range of chart types
- Power Query to import, clean and reshape data from many sources
- Power Pivot data models for large multi-table analysis
- Python in Excel for analysis and visualization in the grid
- Copilot to generate formulas, analyses and summaries from prompts
Cons
- Advanced features have a steep learning curve
- Web version lacks some desktop features
- Emailed copies lead to version chaos
Beam vs Microsoft Excel: FAQ
Which is cheaper, Beam or Microsoft Excel?
Microsoft Excel starts at $9.99/mo and Beam at $12/mo. Both prices are checked on the vendors' own pricing pages.
Do Beam and Microsoft Excel have a free plan?
Yes, both Beam and Microsoft Excel have a free plan; paid plans add more usage and features.