Microsoft Excel vs Zoho Sheet
Microsoft Excel and Zoho Sheet are both databases & spreadsheets tools. Microsoft Excel is aimed at small businesses and enterprise, while Zoho Sheet is aimed at small businesses and freelancers. Both have a free plan.
The standard spreadsheet for analysis, modeling and reporting
Free collaborative spreadsheet with Zia AI and built-in data cleaning
| Pricing | Freemium · $10 | Free |
| Starting price | $9.99/mo | Not published |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | 30 days | — |
| Built for | Small businesses, Enterprise, Freelancers | Small businesses, Freelancers, Enterprise |
| Platforms | web, macos, windows, ios, android | web, windows, macos, ios, android |
| Country | US · 1985 | IN |
| 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 Zoho Sheet if
Small businesses and Zoho customers that want a free, collaborative spreadsheet with AI help and live links to their Zoho data.
- Genuinely free editor with AI assistance and data cleaning included
- Imports Excel files and keeps most formatting intact
- Desktop apps for Windows and macOS with offline editing
Look elsewhere if: Teams that live in Google Workspace or Excel power users who need advanced data modelling (Google Sheets, Microsoft Excel, Airtable).
Microsoft Excel vs Zoho Sheet 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
Zoho Sheet
- Free$0Full editor, Zia AI, data cleaning and real-time collaboration
- Zoho WorkplaceCustomSheet is bundled with Mail, WorkDrive and Writer in paid suites
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
Zoho Sheet · Key features
- Zia AI answers data questions and suggests charts, pivots and formulas
- Data cleaning tool that finds duplicates, missing values and inconsistencies
- More than 350 built-in functions plus Deluge-based custom functions
- Pivot tables and close to 40 chart types including Pareto and histograms
- Cell and range locks per user, audit trail and version history
- Macro recording and VBA code support for automation
Cons
- Much smaller add-on and template ecosystem than Google Sheets
- Advanced Excel features like Power Query and Power Pivot are missing
- Few outside collaborators already have Zoho accounts
Microsoft Excel vs Zoho Sheet: FAQ
Do Microsoft Excel and Zoho Sheet have a free plan?
Yes, both Microsoft Excel and Zoho Sheet have a free plan; paid plans add more usage and features.