Microsoft Excel vs Raycast
Microsoft Excel and Raycast are both personal productivity tools. Microsoft Excel is aimed at small businesses and enterprise, while Raycast is aimed at developers and freelancers. Microsoft Excel costs less, from $9.99/mo versus $10/mo for Raycast. Both have a free plan.
The standard spreadsheet for analysis, modeling and reporting
Extensible launcher for macOS and Windows
| Pricing | Freemium · $10 | Freemium · $10 |
| Starting price | $9.99/mo | $10/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | 30 days | — |
| Built for | Small businesses, Enterprise, Freelancers | Developers, Freelancers |
| Platforms | web, macos, windows, ios, android | macos, windows, ios |
| Country | US · 1985 | GB · 2020 |
| Rating | — | — |
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).
Choose Raycast if
Mac power users and developers who live on the keyboard.
- Replaces several utilities in one hotkey
- Huge extension ecosystem
- Free tier covers most features
Look elsewhere if: Users content with Spotlight or who rarely use shortcuts.
Microsoft Excel vs Raycast pricing
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
Raycast
- Free$0Launcher, extensions, clipboard history, snippets; no AI
- Pro$10/mo$96/yr; 500 AI credits/mo; team seat $15/user/mo
- Pro+$20/mo$192/yr; 3,000 AI credits/mo, advanced models
- Max$50/mo$480/yr; 7,500 AI credits/mo, advanced models
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
Raycast · Key features
- Launcher with fuzzy search and aliases
- Clipboard history, snippets and quicklinks
- Window management and system commands
- Extension store with 2,000+ integrations
- Raycast AI chat, commands and model selection
- Notes, focus sessions and cloud sync (Pro)
Cons
- Mac-first; Windows still maturing
- AI features require Pro
- Some extensions depend on third-party APIs
Microsoft Excel vs Raycast: FAQ
Which is cheaper, Microsoft Excel or Raycast?
Microsoft Excel starts at $9.99/mo and Raycast at $10/mo. Both prices are checked on the vendors' own pricing pages.
Do Microsoft Excel and Raycast have a free plan?
Yes, both Microsoft Excel and Raycast have a free plan; paid plans add more usage and features.
Which is better for small businesses, Microsoft Excel or Raycast?
Microsoft Excel lists small businesses as a core audience, while Raycast is aimed more at developers and freelancers.