Google Sheets vs Microsoft Excel
Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel are both databases & spreadsheets tools. Google Sheets is aimed at small businesses and freelancers, while Microsoft Excel is aimed at small businesses and enterprise. Google Sheets costs less, from $8.40/mo versus $9.99/mo for Microsoft Excel. Both have a free plan.
Free cloud spreadsheet with real-time collaboration and Gemini AI
The standard spreadsheet for analysis, modeling and reporting
| Pricing | Freemium · $8 | Freemium · $10 |
| Starting price | $8.40/mo | $9.99/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | 14 days | 30 days |
| Built for | Small businesses, Freelancers, Enterprise | Small businesses, Enterprise, Freelancers |
| Platforms | web, ios, android | web, macos, windows, ios, android |
| Country | US · 2006 | US · 1985 |
| Rating | — | — |
Choose Google Sheets if
Teams and individuals who need shared spreadsheets with real-time collaboration at little or no cost.
- Free with any Google account
- Best-in-class real-time collaboration
- Large ecosystem of add-ons, templates and connectors
Look elsewhere if: Heavy financial modeling or relational data with workflows and record permissions (Microsoft Excel, Airtable, Smartsheet).
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).
Google Sheets vs Microsoft Excel pricing
Google Sheets
- Free$0Personal Google account; 15 GB storage shared across Google
- Business Starter$8.40/user/moFlexible plan; $7 with annual commitment; 30 GB pooled
- Business Standard$16.80/user/mo$14 annual; 2 TB pooled per user; Gemini in Sheets
- Business Plus$26.40/user/mo$22 annual; 5 TB pooled per user; Vault, advanced security
- EnterpriseCustomAdvanced security, compliance and data controls
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
Google Sheets · Key features
- Real-time co-editing with comments, assignments and version history
- Google-specific functions like QUERY, IMPORTRANGE and GOOGLEFINANCE
- Pivot tables, charts, conditional formatting and data validation
- Tables, dropdowns and smart chips for structured lightweight trackers
- Apps Script for custom functions, menus and scheduled automations
- Connected Sheets to analyze BigQuery data without writing SQL
Cons
- 10 million cell limit and slowdowns on heavy workbooks
- Fewer advanced modeling tools than Microsoft Excel
- Gemini features require paid plans
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
Google Sheets vs Microsoft Excel: FAQ
Which is cheaper, Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel?
Google Sheets starts at $8.40/mo and Microsoft Excel at $9.99/mo. Both prices are checked on the vendors' own pricing pages.
Do Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel have a free plan?
Yes, both Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel have a free plan; paid plans add more usage and features.