The first version of Microsoft Excel was released 31 years ago. Today, Excel is one of the most used programs especially by business professionals. Thousands of businesses rely on Microsoft Excel and use it for different purposes. But in the wake of online tools and cloud systems, an alternative solution came up threatening to take its throne.

Differences between Google sheets and Excel

1 hour ago  Google Sheets is Google’s answer to Microsoft Excel and Apple Numbers. And it’s used by many people today for working with spreadsheets online. While most of us are already aware that Microsoft Excel is the most widely used spreadsheet application out there, Google Sheets has recently become a popular alternative considering it is not only. Access Google Sheets with a free Google account (for personal use) or Google Workspace account (for business use).

As a part of Google Drive suite, Google sheets online program was released 12 years ago. It emerged unexpectedly and introduced a totally different way of data and document management.

In spite of the growing popularity of Google sheets, Microsoft Excel has preserved its image and users. There are individuals who use both tools, whereas other strictly choose a desktop or online solution. If you are not sure what spreadsheet program would be the best for your needs, let’s see what are the main differences:

• Google sheets is totally free, so if you run on a tight budget, this is the right choice for you
• Microsoft Excel is not free but it has a lot of professional features that you cannot find in Google Sheets or they are not good enough
• If you prefer desktop, offline solutions, and no internet required, Excel is for you
• For those who like to work on the go, Google sheets are accessible everywhere
• However, Excel also has an online solution and a mobile app, but it is not completely free
• Excel can handle more data than Google sheets so it is the right choice for those who deal with big data sets
• You can find more data visualisation features in Excel than on Google sheets
• Formulas are simply better in Excel
• Collaboration is easier in Google sheets because it can be a real time, multiple people can work in the same sheet at the same time

Can Google sheets do everything Excel can?

As you can see from the list above, Google sheets cover most of the basic Excel spreadsheet features. You can use Google sheets to store data, to make data visualisations, charts, to make formulas but all these mentioned features are limited, compared to Excel.

If you need to handle bigger amount of data, create complex formulas and better looking charts, that the answer is no- Google sheet cannot do everything Excel can.

Advantages and disadvantages of Google sheets

On the other hand, Google sheets has other advantages and some people may find it as a better solution to Excel.

Advantages of Google sheets (when to use it)

• Real time collaboration: if you work with a team on the same matter, you can use Google sheets to add data at the same time, wherever you are
• It has very simple interface, so individuals with beginner computer skills would feel more comfortable working in Google sheets
• Everything is saved automatically, no need to worry whether your computer will crash. If you have a slow or old computer, Google sheets is a safer option
• When you store data and documents online, your computer doesn’t lose memory
• It is free to use

Disadvantages of Google sheets (when to use Excel)

Excel Spreadsheet To Google Sheets

• If you deal with big data, Google sheet may work slower than Excel
• Google sheets don’t have a wide range of data visualisation options unlike Excel
• For complex accounting and bookkeeping, formulas in Google sheets are not good enough
• Google sheets documents are on the cloud, so if someone hacks your business email, your data may leak. If you worry about data safety, Excel is better for preserving important and confidential documents

Switching from Excel to Google sheets

If you decide to use Google sheets, and you have Excel files in your computer, you can upload all those files in Google Drive and open them in Google sheets. Here’s how to switch from Excel to Google sheets in just a few steps.

1. Sign in to your gmail account and open Google Drive.
2. Click on “New” and then on “File Upload” to upload one Excel file at the time. To upload multiple files at once, you can create a folder first and then upload the whole folder.
3. When the file is uploaded, you will see the check mark in the right bottom of the screen. Then open a document with a double click and if you want to get a Google sheet version of that document, choose the option “Open with Google Sheets”.

Convert Excel formula to Google spreadsheet

Unfortunately, Google sheets doesn’t support all formulas you create in Excel, especially the complex ones. Here you can find the list of all formulas and functions supported by Google sheets. And here you can find the list of incompatible formulas between Excel and Google sheets. If you are having troubles with converting Excel formulas that are not on the list, you should write a message in Google Drive forum and someone will give you a correct answer.

Primary Difference

Work is needed to be done efficiently in a work environment and the companies who need this work to be completed, provide different tools to their employees to help them finish the task in as less a time as possible. There is various software which helps in performing these activities but sometimes it becomes difficult to choose which one is the best choice for a certain activity. Entering data has long been a vital task given to the workers and since this data is of relative importance the choice of best possible application is necessary. Two of such software which are used for data entry and creating spreadsheets are known as Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets. Both end up performing the same task but there are differences between them which make their uses different from each other. Some of those differences will be explained in this article. The main variation between the two is that Excel is a child of Microsoft while Google sheets obviously belong to Google Inc. Another thing that gives one edge over the other is that Excel has been the older of the two and has been used for a long time. On the other hand, Google sheets is a new entry and has been creating competition for Excel. One advantage that Excel has over the sheets is that they are available in the offline mode and people can download the application on their laptops of computers and use at a convenient time. But in the case of Google Sheets, the work has to be done with the availability of internet and currently there are no desktop apps available. Another difference between the two competitors is that Google sheets cost relatively less than the Microsoft Excel. On average you have to pay $60 to use all the google applications which include the docs, space, sheets and much more while to get a copy of just excel, from Microsoft Word you have to pay around $120 at one time which is way more than the sheets. Another difference between the two is that Excel work as a single entity, you have to enter the data, create a spreadsheet and then send it to others through email. With Google sheets, the user can work on the sheet and share it with others at the same time. Data from other Google related applications can also be imported and exported according to the requirement which helps is the completion of work in a quicker way.

Comparison Table

Definition of Microsoft Excel

It is the oldest application when it comes to creating spreadsheets and has been used over the years because of its simplicity. It is still the most use app in the world and provides many options for the user to enter data and arranging it properly. It is available in the market along with the Microsoft Office suite which has other applications as well, if someone is willing to buy a separate version of Excel it costs around $130, which is relatively costly as compared to other similar applications. They are also helpful when the data has to be entered in bulks, unlike other software it does not slow down when abundant information is being entered. It also offers in-app options of viewing the data entered in the proper way, this can be done with the help of bar charts, graphs, and other services. Mathematical equations and physics formulas are also programmed in it for giving other options. There is also the option of automating the task, if same data is to be entered again and again, instead of typing, it can be customized. There are many advanced features as well, which make Excel the most reliable and versatile application in its field.

Definition of Google Sheets

It is the new entry in the market and is giving a competition to Excel though it still lags behind. There are many features in this app which make it modern and versatile. People can share the work they are doing with a group of other people which make it easier for the workers in the company to collaborate. The data can be stored in one place while the older versions are automatically saved, people can use the app with other tools and it costs around $60 per year. Since it is integrated with Google people can make use of the other services though it currently, does not work well when an abundance of data is to be entered.

Differences in a Nutshell

Google Sheets Vs Microsoft Excel

1. If someone needs to access to access the older version of files, in Excel the user has to save each file with a new name while in Google sheets the user can do so by the revision history option.
2. Microsoft Excel is an older software which has been used over the years by many people while Google sheets is a new application which is trying to compete with Excel.
3. In Microsoft, Excel people can work on their desktops without worrying about the availability of the internet while Google sheets only work online.
4. There are no desktop apps for Google sheets while Excel is available in Microsoft Office on desktops.
5. A new version of Microsoft Excel costs around $130 while a new version of Google sheets costs around $60 per year.
6. Google sheets can be integrated with other Google apps and data can be imported easily while Excel works on its own.
7. There is no option of sharing work with others in Excel and it has to be sent through email while in Google sheets work can be shared with a group of people.

Conclusion

Google Sheets Vs Microsoft Excel Online

There are many instances when someone asks you to create a document, there are always two ways of doing that, you can create it with the software ad there are many which have similar properties, this and the differences mentioned above should be enough to give a clear idea of what the two terms mean and how they are different from each other.

Microsoft Excel Vs Google Sheets

Comparison Video