Welcome to the definitive source for selecting the best alternatives to Microsoft Excel. We’ve performed comprehensive research to identify all possible 37 alternatives and looked at 43 features for each. Our research analysts have collected more than 500 data points, over 1500 feature points, which adds up to over 2100 total points researched.
In our research, we’ve included Excel alternatives that are able to do most common computational, database and reporting, and basic automation functions that are regularly being utilized for home, office, and semi-enterprise institutions/companies. For example, a spreadsheet program specifically designed for accounting or investment banking (and not easily adaptable to other general use cases) would not be included.
Spreadsheets are used by many businesses and individuals today. Some are finding problems with Excel such as: conversion issues, errors with large strings, numerical precision issues and other quirks. Perhaps you don't need all the functions that Excel provides. (There's less that can go wrong with a simpler spreadsheet.) Whatever your reason for looking elsewhere, our comprehensive research can help.
Frequently, with spreadsheets, there is a need to graphically represent various data. If this interests you, check out: Data Visualization Tools.
We reached out to a cohort of industry experts to get some initial feedback on what features are most important in a spreadsheet tool. We’ve ranked the top ten tools in our research according to their responses. This top ten list is continually updated as we get more feedback. But we highly suggest you participate in our custom Excel alternatives survey so you can layer in your own importance prioritization for each feature:
Top Ten
Excel Alternative Platform
as of April 2021
Note: If we mark a specific solution as not having a particular feature, that only means we did not see that feature advertised in their public marketing content. We focus almost exclusively on publicly verifiable facts in our research.
Spreadsheet Feature Strength is a number that was calculated by looking at how many features each tool had, and the relative, subjective importance of each feature. You’ll definitely want to take our survey to layer in your own feature importance scoring before deciding on a solution.
Likewise, Spreadsheet Business Strength is a number that was derived from certain business-related qualities of each company, and our own (subjective) scoring of the importance of those qualities. There too, you’ll want to give your own importance rating to derive your own, custom scatter plot:
Of special importance is the field titled, Top Five Other Excel Alternatives with Most Similar Features, in Order. For each tool, we looked at the feature sets of competitors to come up with their top closest competitors from a data-driven, feature-focused perspective.
You can also click here to jump straight to the list of features that we’ve uncovered for each spreadsheet.
We built a custom framework around this data, so it is almost trivial for us to add, remove, or update the data as spreadsheet tools change over time. If you see anything that is missing or incorrect, please let us know in the comments below.
Click on each of these to expand the ordered list:
| Tool | Age |
| Corel Quattro Pro 2020 | 24.5 Years |
| WPS Office Spreadsheets | 24.3 Years |
| SoftMaker PlanMaker 2021 | 24.0 Years |
| Quip Spreadsheet | 24.0 Years |
| Smartsheet | 22.3 Years |
| Ashampoo PlanMaker Free | 21.4 Years |
| Ashampoo Office 8 | 21.4 Years |
| Siag | 21.1 Years |
| Airtable | 21.0 Years |
| Apache OpenOffice Calc 4 | 20.7 Years |
| Gnumeric 1.12 | 20.5 Years |
| GrapeCity Spread | 19.3 Years |
| OfficeSuite Sheet | 18.4 Years |
| Polaris Sheet 2015 | 17.0 Years |
| Zoho Sheet | 15.2 Years |
| Spread32 | 15.1 Years |
| Numbers for Mac | 12.8 Years |
| Sheetster | 12.6 Years |
| LibreOffice Calc 7 | 10.6 Years |
| Bime Analytics | 10.3 Years |
| Google Spreadsheet | 10.0 Years |
| Calligra Sheets 2.9 | 9.8 Years |
| EtherCalc | 8.7 Years |
| Samepage | 8.2 Years |
| Excel for the Web | 7.1 Years |
| Azquo | 7.1 Years |
| Odoo 14 Spreadsheet | 6.9 Years |
| OnlyOffice Spreadsheet | 6.8 Years |
| Grist Labs | 6.5 Years |
| TreeGrid SpreadSheet | 5.0 Years |
| Sheetgo | 4.5 Years |
| SSuite Axcel Professional 2.4 | 3.5 Years |
| FreeOffice PlanMaker | 2.9 Years |
| Stackby | 2.7 Years |
| Scoro | 2.4 Years |
| pyspread | 1.3 Years |
| Hancom Cell | 1.1 Years |
| Tool | Score |
| Numbers for Mac | 15.88 |
| Excel for the Web | 15.68 |
| Sheetster | 15.68 |
| Zoho Sheet | 15.64 |
| Apache OpenOffice Calc 4 | 15.6 |
| Smartsheet | 15.6 |
| Odoo 14 Spreadsheet | 15.6 |
| LibreOffice Calc 7 | 15.48 |
| Ashampoo PlanMaker Free | 15.08 |
| OnlyOffice Spreadsheet | 15 |
| GrapeCity Spread | 14.96 |
| Gnumeric 1.12 | 14.88 |
| Calligra Sheets 2.9 | 14.68 |
| SoftMaker PlanMaker 2021 | 14.64 |
| Corel Quattro Pro 2020 | 14.6 |
| Google Spreadsheet | 13.92 |
| Airtable | 13.56 |
| Quip Spreadsheet | 13.12 |
| Ashampoo Office 8 | 13.08 |
| WPS Office Spreadsheets | 13.04 |
| Polaris Sheet 2015 | 12.8 |
| Samepage | 12.64 |
| FreeOffice PlanMaker | 12.55 |
| Spread32 | 12.4 |
| EtherCalc | 12.16 |
| Hancom Cell | 12.08 |
| Siag | 12.04 |
| OfficeSuite Sheet | 12.04 |
| Sheetgo | 10.86 |
| pyspread | 10.72 |
| Scoro | 10.47 |
| Azquo | 10.4 |
| Grist Labs | 10.24 |
| Stackby | 9.35 |
| SSuite Axcel Professional 2.4 | 9.34 |
| Bime Analytics | 8.56 |
| TreeGrid SpreadSheet | 6.94 |
We hope this publication will save you dozens of hours of research in your quest for the alternative spreadsheet that serves you best. Bookmark this page, and be sure to share it with your colleagues. What other tools or features have we missed? Please engage with us in the comments below. We love your feedback!
You can click on the images below to see an introduction video for the tool, if one is available.
Excel alternative software/tools are in no particular order.
LibreOffice Calc 7
LibreOffice Calc 7 Comparison Details
Free trial: Fully Free
Pricing: Free
Feature summary: Increase your productivity with this free, efficient office suite. It provides a straightforward interface and many features.
Age of Software/Company: 10.6 Years
Distinctive features:
- Play and Insert videos
- Portability / No Install
- Sparklines / One-Cell Graphs
- Data Cleaning
- Single Sign On
Industry thought leadership blog: Click to visit blog.
Google Spreadsheet
Google Spreadsheet Comparison Details
Free trial: Limited
Pricing: $4.20 / Month
Feature summary: Greatly aids in creating, and editing, wherever you are. Collaborate for free.
Age of Software/Company: 10.0 Years
Distinctive features:
- XLOOKUP Search Function
- Portability / No Install
- Sparklines / One-Cell Graphs
- Data Cleaning
- Single Sign On
Industry thought leadership blog: Click to visit blog.
Apache OpenOffice Calc 4
Apache OpenOffice Calc 4 Comparison Details
Free trial: Fully Free
Pricing: Free
Feature summary: Has the tools you need to analyze, and effectively present your data in reports or excellent graphics.
Age of Software/Company: 20.7 Years
Distinctive features:
Industry thought leadership blog: Click to visit blog.
Excel for the Web
Excel for the Web Comparison Details
Free trial: 30 Days
Pricing: $23.31 / Month
Feature summary: Organize your data and save it automatically. Gain insights by creating visuals from numbers. Collaborate efficiently.
Age of Software/Company: 7.1 Years
Distinctive features:
Industry thought leadership blog: Click to visit blog.
Sheetgo
Sheetgo Comparison Details
Free trial: Limited
Pricing: $12.00 / Month
Feature summary: No need to understand coding. Teams will enjoy creating workflows to manage and share data.
Age of Software/Company: 4.5 Years
Industry thought leadership blog: Click to visit blog.
Smartsheet
Smartsheet Comparison Details
Free trial: 30 Days
Pricing: $14.00 / Month
Feature summary: Free but also offers a comprehensive paid plan that includes great Business Plan features.
Age of Software/Company: 22.3 Years
Distinctive features:
Industry thought leadership blog: Click to visit blog.
Zoho Sheet
Zoho Sheet Comparison Details
Free trial: Fully Free
Pricing: Free
Feature summary: Teams will enjoy collaborating and managing data with this efficient spreadsheet.
Age of Software/Company: 15.2 Years
Distinctive features:
Industry thought leadership blog: Click to visit blog.
TreeGrid SpreadSheet
TreeGrid SpreadSheet Comparison Details
Free trial: Limited
Pricing: $200
Feature summary: Fast with robust features. Written with JavaScript, users can edit and view data in various ways: table, grid, tree view, or tree grid.
Age of Software/Company: 5.0 Years
Industry thought leadership blog: Click to visit blog.
Bime Analytics
Bime Analytics Comparison Details
Free trial: Not Available
Pricing: Unknown
Feature summary: Provides a user-friendly and efficient platform. Provides easy management of data.
Age of Software/Company: 10.3 Years
Distinctive features:
Polaris Sheet 2015
Polaris Sheet 2015 Comparison Details
Free trial: 15 Days
Pricing: $79
Feature summary: Convenient and innovative features. Users enjoy improved document quality.
Age of Software/Company: 17.0 Years
Distinctive features:
Industry thought leadership blog: Click to visit blog.
SSuite Axcel Professional 2.4
SSuite Axcel Professional 2.4 Comparison Details
Free trial: Fully Free
Pricing: Free
Feature summary: Free, user-friendly, simple, quality software.
Age of Software/Company: 3.5 Years
Distinctive features:
Industry thought leadership blog: Click to visit blog.
SoftMaker PlanMaker 2021
SoftMaker PlanMaker 2021 Comparison Details
Free trial: 30 Days
Pricing: $89.95
Feature summary: Free customer support. Enjoy the flexible, convenient features, wherever you are.
Age of Software/Company: 24.0 Years
Distinctive features:
Industry thought leadership blog: Click to visit blog.
Samepage
Samepage Comparison Details
Free trial: Limited
Pricing: $7.50 / Month
Feature summary: Organize, chat, track, work more effectively.
Age of Software/Company: 8.2 Years
Distinctive features:
Industry thought leadership blog: Click to visit blog.
Quip Spreadsheet
Quip Spreadsheet Comparison Details
Free trial: Limited
Pricing: $10 / Month
Feature summary: Provides mobility. Users gain insights by turning numbers into actionable tasks.
Age of Software/Company: 24.0 Years
Distinctive features:
Industry thought leadership blog: Click to visit blog.
Airtable
Airtable Comparison Details
Free trial: Limited
Pricing: $10 / Month
Feature summary: Straightforward, user-friendly spreadsheet that provides database power.
Age of Software/Company: 21.0 Years
Distinctive features:
Industry thought leadership blog: Click to visit blog.
Stackby
Stackby Comparison Details
Free trial: Limited
Pricing: $5 / Month
Feature summary: Create organized spreadsheets and easy databases.
Age of Software/Company: 2.7 Years
Industry thought leadership blog: Click to visit blog.
Calligra Sheets 2.9
Calligra Sheets 2.9 Comparison Details
Free trial: Fully Free
Pricing: Free
Feature summary: Provides robust features, a calculation tool and an effective spreadsheet.
Age of Software/Company: 9.8 Years
Industry thought leadership blog: Click to visit blog.
- Gnumeric 1.12
- Ashampoo PlanMaker Free
- WPS Office Spreadsheets
- SSuite Axcel Professional 2.4
- SoftMaker PlanMaker 2021
Numbers for Mac
Numbers for Mac Comparison Details
Free trial: Fully Free
Pricing: Free
Feature summary: Numbers will do the work, allowing you to productively visualize data.
Age of Software/Company: 12.8 Years
Distinctive features:
Industry thought leadership blog: Click to visit blog.
Ashampoo PlanMaker Free
Ashampoo PlanMaker Free Comparison Details
Free trial: Fully Free
Pricing: Free
Feature summary: Free, user-friendly, comprehensive and very compatible.
Age of Software/Company: 21.4 Years
Industry thought leadership blog: Click to visit blog.
- FreeOffice PlanMaker
- Corel Quattro Pro 2020
- SoftMaker PlanMaker 2021
- Gnumeric 1.12
- Ashampoo Office 8
Siag
Siag Comparison Details
Free trial: Fully Free
Pricing: Free
Feature summary: Free, visually attractive, Linux spreadsheet with some unique features.
Age of Software/Company: 21.1 Years
Azquo
Azquo Comparison Details
Free trial: Limited
Pricing: Unknown
Feature summary: Simple, fast, and accessible. Enjoy a data management system that is cost effective.
Age of Software/Company: 7.1 Years
Industry thought leadership blog: Click to visit blog.
WPS Office Spreadsheets
WPS Office Spreadsheets Comparison Details
Free trial: Limited
Pricing: $3.99 / Month
Feature summary: Flexible, complete office suite that provides automatic synchronization across your devices.
Age of Software/Company: 24.3 Years
Industry thought leadership blog: Click to visit blog.
GrapeCity Spread
GrapeCity Spread Comparison Details
Free trial: 30 Days
Pricing: $1,499 / Developer
Feature summary: For .NET and JavaScript, users enjoy this full-featured spreadsheet.
Age of Software/Company: 19.3 Years
Distinctive features:
Industry thought leadership blog: Click to visit blog.
EtherCalc
EtherCalc Comparison Details
Free trial: Fully Free
Pricing: Free
Feature summary: Allows saving data on the web, and document-editing collaboration.
Age of Software/Company: 8.7 Years
Scoro
Scoro Comparison Details
Free trial: 15 Days
Pricing: $26 / month
Feature summary: Make informed decisions based on KPIs and metrics. Keep your business healthy, in real time
Age of Software/Company: 2.4 Years
Industry thought leadership blog: Click to visit blog.
Sheetster
Sheetster Comparison Details
Free trial: Fully Free
Pricing: Free
Feature summary: Allows developers to integrate spreadsheets into web applications. An embeddable spreadsheet editor.
Age of Software/Company: 12.6 Years
Industry thought leadership blog: Click to visit blog.
Gnumeric 1.12
Gnumeric 1.12 Comparison Details
Free trial: Fully Free
Pricing: Free
Age of Software/Company: 20.5 Years
Distinctive features:
Industry thought leadership blog: Click to visit blog.
- FreeOffice PlanMaker
- Ashampoo PlanMaker Free
- Calligra Sheets 2.9
- Corel Quattro Pro 2020
- WPS Office Spreadsheets
Grist Labs
Grist Labs Comparison Details
Free trial: Limited
Pricing: $8 / Month
Feature summary: Robust software with flexible and effective organization of your data.
Age of Software/Company: 6.5 Years
Industry thought leadership blog: Click to visit blog.
Spread32
Spread32 Comparison Details
Free trial: Limited
Pricing: $20
Feature summary: Award winner for the best Windows CE Application. Compatible with Excel.
Age of Software/Company: 15.1 Years
Distinctive features:
Industry thought leadership blog: Click to visit blog.
- Corel Quattro Pro 2020
- SoftMaker PlanMaker 2021
- FreeOffice PlanMaker
- Ashampoo PlanMaker Free
- Gnumeric 1.12
Hancom Cell
Hancom Cell Comparison Details
Free trial: 30 Days
Pricing: $59.99 / Month
Feature summary: Easily present your data in a compelling way with the robust set of built-in charts and graphs.
Age of Software/Company: 1.1 Years
Distinctive features:
Industry thought leadership blog: Click to visit blog.
- OnlyOffice Spreadsheet
- Zoho Sheet
- WPS Office Spreadsheets
- LibreOffice Calc 7
- Apache OpenOffice Calc 4
pyspread
pyspread Comparison Details
Free trial: Fully Free
Pricing: Free
Feature summary: Free, uses Python language, and provides stability to your data.
Age of Software/Company: 1.3 Years
Industry thought leadership blog: Click to visit blog.
FreeOffice PlanMaker
FreeOffice PlanMaker Comparison Details
Free trial: Fully Free
Pricing: Free
Feature summary: Free, compatible, robust features, and user-friendly.
Age of Software/Company: 2.9 Years
Distinctive features:
Industry thought leadership blog: Click to visit blog.
OfficeSuite Sheet
OfficeSuite Sheet Comparison Details
Free trial: Limited
Pricing: $2.49 / Month
Feature summary: Gain useful business insights with the professional spreadsheet that will also meet your personal needs.
Age of Software/Company: 18.4 Years
Industry thought leadership blog: Click to visit blog.
Ashampoo Office 8
Ashampoo Office 8 Comparison Details
Free trial: Limited
Pricing: $19.99 / 5 Devices
Feature summary: Easily create spreadsheets, documents and presentations. Users enjoy the compatibility.
Age of Software/Company: 21.4 Years
Distinctive features:
Industry thought leadership blog: Click to visit blog.
OnlyOffice Spreadsheet
OnlyOffice Spreadsheet Comparison Details
Free trial: 30 Days
Pricing: $149
Feature summary: Edit and organize data. Get quick, accurate results.
Age of Software/Company: 6.8 Years
Distinctive features:
Industry thought leadership blog: Click to visit blog.
Odoo 14 Spreadsheet
Odoo 14 Spreadsheet Comparison Details
Free trial: Fully Free
Pricing: Free
Feature summary: Excellent data analysis, enjoy real-time data with one click.
Age of Software/Company: 6.9 Years
Distinctive features:
Industry thought leadership blog: Click to visit blog.
- OfficeSuite Sheet
- Ashampoo Office 8
- WPS Office Spreadsheets
- SSuite Axcel Professional 2.4
- Hancom Cell
Corel Quattro Pro 2020
Corel Quattro Pro 2020 Comparison Details
Free trial: 30 Days
Pricing: $174.99
Feature summary: Use Quattro Pro to build organized spreadsheets for budgets, receipts, and invoices. Open, edit, create and share files.
Age of Software/Company: 24.5 Years
Industry thought leadership blog: Click to visit blog.
FEATURE DESCRIPTIONS | |
|---|---|
Create and Edit ChartsCreate various charts such as pie-charts, bar graphs, line graphs, etc. to help easily compare, analyze, and process data. Number of Excel Alternatives that have this feature: 36 |  |
Create Formula / Employ FunctionsAbility to create mathematical, analytical, and/or text manipulation operations using defined and predefined formulas or functions. Number of Excel Alternatives that have this feature: 36 |  |
Import / Export / Save as: Excel fileWorks or edits or reads or extracts or saves .xls or .xlsx files. Number of Excel Alternatives that have this feature: 34 |  |
Refer Cell ValuesAbility to refer the value of a cell or cell range onto a different worksheet cell or cell range (within or across the spreadsheets). Number of Excel Alternatives that have this feature: 34 |  |
Data Filtering / SortingAbility to sort and show or hide selected data sets in rows, columns, or tables. Number of Excel Alternatives that have this feature: 34 |  |
TemplatesPre-formatted document that can be revised as a startup point to create a new file. Number of Excel Alternatives that have this feature: 33 |  |
Formatting / Styling OptionLets you apply a style to a combination of formatting attributes and are worksheet specific. Number of Excel Alternatives that have this feature: 33 |  |
Password Protection / Document RestrictionProtects/restricts the spreadsheet from unauthorized access. Number of Excel Alternatives that have this feature: 32 |  |
Print OptimizationAdhering to document printing standards and best practices using efficient methods and/or devices. Number of Excel Alternatives that have this feature: 32 |  |
Date / Calendar FunctionAble to perform date and time functions. Number of Excel Alternatives that have this feature: 30 |  |
Insert ImageAbility to insert an image for better reporting. Number of Excel Alternatives that have this feature: 29 |  |
Insert Notes / CommentAllows users to add comments attached to a given cell in the spreadsheet that doesn't change the contents, formulas, formatting, or data of the cell. Essentially another layer on top of the spreadsheet used for abstract comments. Number of Excel Alternatives that have this feature: 29 |  |
Cloud ServicesAbility to save, access, and store files in the cloud (servers). Number of Excel Alternatives that have this feature: 28 |  |
Conditional FormattingConditional Formatting allows color, font, or other formatting to be applied based on the contents of the cell or other nearby comparative data. Number of Excel Alternatives that have this feature: 28 |  |
Statistical AnalysisProcess and execute statistical functions and provide analytical results. Number of Excel Alternatives that have this feature: 27 |  |
Publish to Web / HTMLAbility to publish in a webpage. Number of Excel Alternatives that have this feature: 27 |  |
Multi-Language SupportProvides support for more than one language, beyond just English. Number of Excel Alternatives that have this feature: 27 |  |
Export to PDF FileAllows exporting / converting data to a Portable Document Format (PDF), a file format used to save a file that cannot be easily modified but can be shared or printed. Number of Excel Alternatives that have this feature: 27 |  |
Pivot Table (to Reorganise Data)Table of statistics that summarizes the data into a more understandable and simpler representation of a more extensive table. Number of Excel Alternatives that have this feature: 26 |  |
Android CompatibleCompatible with Android Operating System Number of Excel Alternatives that have this feature: 24 |  |
Browser PlatformRuns on internet browsers. Number of Excel Alternatives that have this feature: 24 |  |
SharingShare the document, with applicable permission, to other users and viewers. Number of Excel Alternatives that have this feature: 24 |  |
Create and Edit FormsAbility to create and modify forms for specific purposes. Number of Excel Alternatives that have this feature: 24 |  |
Remote and Data Application Programming InterfacesAn Application Programming Interface (API) is a computing interface which defines interactions between multiple software intermediaries. It defines the kinds of calls or requests that can be made, how to make them, the data formats that should be used, the conventions to follow, etc. Number of Excel Alternatives that have this feature: 24 |  |
Real-time Collaborative EditSimultaneously editing and working on the document in real-time. Number of Excel Alternatives that have this feature: 23 |  |
Data Security Standards ComplianceMeets General Data Protection Regulation and International Organization for Standardization standards. This certifies the company's data protection. Number of Excel Alternatives that have this feature: 23 |  |
Windows CompatibleCompatible with Windows Operating System Number of Excel Alternatives that have this feature: 22 |  |
iOS CompatibleCompatible with iPhone/iPad Operating System Number of Excel Alternatives that have this feature: 21 |  |
Email FunctionSend the file directly to email. Number of Excel Alternatives that have this feature: 21 |  |
Custom FunctionsCreate user-defined new functions or formulas that can be used and reused across the spreadsheet. Number of Excel Alternatives that have this feature: 19 |  |
Macros or ScriptsAllows users to create more complex computer code to do special functions not normally supported by the spreadsheet tool. Number of Excel Alternatives that have this feature: 19 |  |
Mac OS CompatibleCompatible with Mac Operating System Number of Excel Alternatives that have this feature: 17 |  |
Automatically Saves Version HistoryEverytime the application opens for file writing, the system automatically creates a new instance of the file with a version number. Number of Excel Alternatives that have this feature: 16 |  |
View Edit HistoryAbility to view a document's revision or edit history (track changes). Number of Excel Alternatives that have this feature: 16 |  |
Open Source CodeSource code available for open development. Number of Excel Alternatives that have this feature: 16 |  |
Linux CompatibleCompatible with Linux Operating System Number of Excel Alternatives that have this feature: 15 |  |
TrainingProvide training, guidance and assistance for proper software deployment or operation. Number of Excel Alternatives that have this feature: 14 |  |
Single Sign OnAn authentication process that grants users access without providing their passwords directly. A unique password, instead, is generated for each application without revealing the user’s main password; eliminating the need for employees to maintain multiple passwords. Number of Excel Alternatives that have this feature: 11 |  |
Data CleaningAutomatically detect, correct, and/or remove data anomalies from the record set, table, or database. Number of Excel Alternatives that have this feature: 11 |  |
Sparklines / One-Cell GraphsA very small chart in a worksheet cell that shows a condensed representation of the data. Number of Excel Alternatives that have this feature: 11 |  |
Portability / No InstallA software tool that can run or operate without the need for an installation process. Number of Excel Alternatives that have this feature: 9 |  |
XLOOKUP Search FunctionXLOOKUP supports exact matching and approximate matching, uses wildcards (* ?) for a partial match, and is able to do lookups in horizontal or vertical ranges. Number of Excel Alternatives that have this feature: 4 |  |
Play and Insert videosAbility to play inserted videos in the spreadsheet. Number of Excel Alternatives that have this feature: 2 |  |