When it comes to choosing a spreadsheet application, you’re likely to consider Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel. These two tools are among the most popular and widely used in the market.
However, you may wonder which one is better and what sets them apart. Is it their features, accessibility, cost, collaboration capabilities, or something else entirely? To make an informed decision, we’ll compare Google Sheets and Excel based on these categories.
Basic Overview: Google Sheets Vs. Excel
It’s important to acknowledge that Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel are both outstanding spreadsheet applications. Therefore, if you have the chance to test them both, you might develop a clear preference early on. However, if you’re conducting research beforehand, rest assured that you can’t make a bad choice with either of them.
Both applications offer user-friendly interfaces that share many similarities. The top menu offers various actions, followed by a toolbar or ribbon with tools, and then the spreadsheet grid filled with cells waiting for data.
The capabilities of manipulating cells and the data they contain are what could potentially have the most impact on your decision. While both Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel provide standard features like functions, formulas, conditional formatting, and data validation, there are notable differences that set them apart. Let’s delve into these differences.
Comparison Based on Data Analysis Capabilities
Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel both offer built-in tools to assist with data analysis by prompting users with questions. In Google Sheets, this is done with the Explore feature, while Excel has its own Analyze Data feature. Furthermore, both applications provide sorting and filtering tools, with advanced filters or filter views available.
Tools for Charts and Graphs
For many users, visualization options such as charts and graphs are crucial aspects of a spreadsheet application. These tools provide excellent visual aids for analyzing data without the need to go through the entire spreadsheet.
Fortunately, both Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel offer charts and graphs, but the level of functionality varies between them. Google Sheets features a diverse range of charts that are simple to insert.
Moreover, the application allows you to add a chart automatically through the Explore feature. You can personalize your chart and save it as an image outside of your sheet.
In comparison, Microsoft Excel offers a wider range of charts than Google Sheets. Additionally, Excel provides more extensive customization options and the ability to generate a chart template for consistent reuse. Similar to Google Sheets, you can also save charts outside of your spreadsheet in Excel.
Other Important Differences
There are a few other distinctions to bear in mind when comparing Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel. Excel’s desktop version performs smoothly and loads rapidly, regardless of the workbook or data size. As you add more cells and sheets to a workbook in Google Sheets, it may feel sluggish and take longer to load.
The storage capacity of Google Sheets is restricted by the amount of storage space available in Google Drive. In contrast, Excel installed on your desktop can utilize as much storage space as you allocate to it.
According to Workspace Tips, Google Sheets can handle around 10 million cells with 200 sheets per workbook. However, Excel can accommodate billions of cells and 255 sheets per workbook.
Final Words
If cost is a concern, collaboration is important, and you need the flexibility to access your workbooks from any computer, then Google Sheets is the best choice.
On the other hand, if you require comprehensive data analysis and visualization tools, want to work offline without an internet connection, and are seeking advanced functionality overall, then Microsoft Excel would be the preferable option for you.
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