Microsoft 365 vs Microsoft Excel
Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Excel are both personal productivity tools aimed at small businesses and enterprise. Microsoft 365 costs less, from $1.99/mo versus $9.99/mo for Microsoft Excel. Both have a free plan.
Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams and OneDrive in one subscription
The standard spreadsheet for analysis, modeling and reporting
| Pricing | Freemium · $2 | Freemium · $10 |
| Starting price | $1.99/mo | $9.99/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | 30 days | 30 days |
| Built for | Small businesses, Enterprise, Freelancers | Small businesses, Enterprise, Freelancers |
| Platforms | web, windows, macos, ios, android | web, macos, windows, ios, android |
| Country | US · 2011 | US · 1985 |
| Rating | — | — |
Choose Microsoft 365 if
Businesses and households that depend on Word, Excel and Outlook and want email, storage, security and AI under one Microsoft account.
- Industry-standard file formats and the most capable spreadsheet in Excel
- Desktop apps remain more powerful than any browser-based rival
- Business Premium bundles security and device management at a fair price
Look elsewhere if: Browser-first teams that prefer lightweight docs and chat (Google Workspace, Notion or Slack fit better).
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).
Microsoft 365 vs Microsoft Excel pricing
Microsoft 365
- Microsoft 365 Basic$1.99/mo100 GB OneDrive and ad-free Outlook; no desktop apps or AI
- Personal$9.99/mo$99.99/year; 1 person, 1 TB, desktop apps with Copilot
- Family$12.99/mo$129.99/year; up to 6 people, 2 TB shared, Copilot for owner
- Premium$19.99/mo$199.99/year; Family plus extensive Copilot usage
- Business Basic$7/user/moAnnual commitment; web and mobile apps, Teams, 1 TB, email
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
Microsoft 365 · Key features
- Desktop, web and mobile versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook
- Copilot in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook on paid home plans
- OneDrive cloud storage from 100 GB up to 2 TB on home plans
- Teams chat, meetings and webinars on Business plans
- Exchange business email with custom domains and 50 GB mailboxes
- SharePoint intranet sites and document libraries for teams
Cons
- Plan and add-on licensing is confusing for small buyers
- July 2026 increase raised Business Basic and Standard prices
- Copilot usage limits and features vary by plan and region
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
Microsoft 365 vs Microsoft Excel: FAQ
Which is cheaper, Microsoft 365 or Microsoft Excel?
Microsoft 365 starts at $1.99/mo and Microsoft Excel at $9.99/mo. Both prices are checked on the vendors' own pricing pages.
Do Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Excel have a free plan?
Yes, both Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Excel have a free plan; paid plans add more usage and features.