6 greatest free alternate options to Microsoft Excel in 2023

Google Sheets: Finest for offline modifying and collaboration

Google Sheets is Google’s cloud-based reply to Microsoft Excel, and it’s able to doing the overwhelming majority of what the common Excel consumer wants. It’s additionally hosted within the cloud and runs in an internet browser, so it’s platform impartial and might be run on Home windows, macOS and Linux programs.

You by no means have to fret about dropping a single calculation, both — Google Sheets saves all the things in Google Drive, making a crashed laptop of no concern to your essential knowledge. As with Google’s different workplace instruments, Sheets options real-time collaboration that enables a number of customers to edit a doc on the identical time (Determine A). Customers can see the cursor place of different folks within the doc, see what they’re doing as they’re doing it and chat proper within the doc window.

Determine A

Superior options that some Excel customers want are lacking, although, so should you’re an Excel energy consumer, it’s a good suggestion to seek out out if the options you want can be found earlier than migrating. There have additionally been reported problems with formulation in Excel spreadsheets breaking once they’re uploaded to Google Sheets, so remember that you can run into points transferring .xls or .xlsx information out of your laptop to Sheets. On the plus facet, scripting continues to be obtainable in Google Sheets, although it’s JavaScript based mostly and never Visible Primary for Functions.

Key options

• Offline modifying functionality.
• Help of file codecs, together with .xlsx, .xls, .xlsm, .xlt, .xltx, .xltxm, .ods, .csv and .tsv.
• Knowledge evaluation and visualization.
• Sharing and collaboration.
• Model historical past characteristic, which helps you to see all of the modifications you and others have made to the spreadsheet or revert to earlier variations.
• Template gallery.

Professionals

• Capacity for customers to obtain their information in numerous codecs, together with .pdf, .html, .ods, .xlsx and .tsv.
• Customizability — customers can add hyperlinks, feedback, charts, filters or capabilities.
• Capacity for customers to automate repetitive duties with macros.
• Actual-time collaboration.

Cons

• Lags when engaged on massive knowledge.
• Troublesome to pinpoint who edited the spreadsheet.

Zoho Sheet: Finest for automation

Zoho Sheet is a spreadsheet software program that features collaboration, knowledge visualization and automation options that assist groups get work achieved sooner. Zoho Sheet is a free, cloud-based spreadsheet software that helps a number of file sorts, together with Excel (.xls), .csv, .ods and .tsv codecs to maneuver your current sheets into Zoho Sheet simply.

Collaboration in Zoho Sheet is simple, with real-time updates on the sheet stage for any customers within the doc (Determine B). You should utilize macros and even VBA code to automate updates and pace up work.

Determine B

Collaborators can use Knowledge cleansing to catch errors rapidly or roll again to a earlier iteration with Model Historical past. And Zoho Sheet can simply be used through the cell app or printed to the online with granular controls over embedded knowledge manipulation.

Zoho Sheet is a part of the bigger Zoho household of apps, which signifies that extensions and integrations are straightforward and quick. Use Zoho Kinds to rapidly consolidate data in a single Sheet, and Zoho’s AI, Zia, will assist groups visualize knowledge with pivot tables, charts or graphs.

Key options

• Multi-language assist, together with Polish, Bulgarian, Dutch, Chinese language (Simplified), German, English, Spanish, French, Croatian, Turkish, Japanese, Hungarian, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Swedish and Italian.
• Help for over 350 predefined capabilities.
• Capacity for customers to export .html and .pdf codecs.
• Customized and user-defined capabilities.
• Picture-to-sheet characteristic, which permits customers to scan books, receipts and invoices and robotically convert them to spreadsheets.

Professionals

• Straightforward to study and use.
• AI-powered insights.
• Knowledge cleansing — duplicates, inconsistencies and lacking worth elimination.
• Integration with different Zoho apps.

Cons

• Lacks knowledge connections, evaluation and modeling functionality.
• Lacks offline assist.
• Takes a very long time to load spreadsheets.

Microsoft Workplace Excel On-line: Finest for customers preferring Excel’s interface

To not be outdone by Google, Microsoft has created its personal on-line model of Workplace, which features a stripped-down model of Excel that’s nearer to Google Sheets than to the desktop model of Microsoft Workplace’s Excel (Determine C). It’s to not say that Excel On-line is unusable or not value your time — it’s positively extra like Excel than Google Sheets, so should you want a well-known interface, you could go for Excel On-line as a substitute of going the Google route.

Determine C

Recommending Excel On-line to the common Excel consumer is okay; it does all of the fundamentals of the desktop model whereas including automated cloud saving in OneDrive, and it has real-time collaboration instruments that Workplace 365 and Workplace 2019 lack.

Excel energy customers could wish to keep away from Excel On-line. Most of the options Excel energy customers depend on are gone, restricted or read-only — there’s no VBA scripting, no creating exterior knowledge connections, no discover and substitute, and no superior charting options. All of these capabilities exist in Excel On-line, however they’re read-only.

Key options

• Energy BI integration.
• Help of many file codecs, together with .docm, .docx, .pptm, .pptx, .xlsm and .xlsx.
• Copilot in Excel, which works with you to investigate and discover your knowledge.
• Capacity for customers to visualise knowledge in charts and graphs.

Professionals

• Collaboration functionality.
• Macros to automate common duties.
• In depth vary of capabilities and formulation, which allow customers to carry out advanced calculations and knowledge evaluation simply.
• Consumer-friendly interface.

Cons

• Will get gradual when working with massive knowledge units.
• Requires web connectivity.

Apache OpenOffice Calc: Finest for personalization

After I speak to Home windows customers who hate the look of Microsoft Workplace’s post-2007 interface, I all the time suggest Apache OpenOffice. Calc, OpenOffice’s Excel different, seems to be and appears like Workplace 2003, which is nice should you’d want a time earlier than the Workplace ribbon (Determine D). Previous to the arrival of the cloud and the dominance of Google’s on-line workplace instruments, OpenOffice reigned supreme amongst these searching for a free Microsoft Workplace different.

Determine D

Apache OpenOffice’s Calc serves varied userbases together with freelancers, massive enterprises, midsize companies, non-profits, public administrations and small companies.

Key options

• Pure language formulation, which permit customers to create formulation utilizing phrases.
• Prepared-made templates repository.
• Situation supervisor with assist for “what if” evaluation.
• Capacity for customers to export paperwork in varied codecs, together with ​​.pdf, .odt, .doc and .html.

Professionals

• Massive consumer group.
• Accessible as open supply.
• Customized backgrounds to allow customers to create spreadsheets in line with particular person preferences.

Cons

• Lacks real-time on-line collaboration.
• Must be up to date extra ceaselessly.

LibreOffice Calc: Finest Excel different for options

Like OpenOffice, LibreOffice is a free workplace suite that features its personal Excel different, additionally known as Calc. It has the identical restrictions as OpenOffice in that LibreOffice’s Calc lacks cloud assist and real-time collaboration. What LibreOffice does have is a surprisingly strong record of options, lots of which aren’t current in Excel (Determine E).

Determine E

LibreOffice has extra capabilities than Excel, can evaluate two separate spreadsheet information, has extra cell formatting choices and may even deal with imports of legacy spreadsheets from retired purposes (Microsoft Works, Lotus 1-2-3, BeagleWorks, Claris Resolve, and so forth.) previously obtainable on Home windows and macOS.

Key options

• Situation supervisor that enables “what if …” evaluation.
• Capacity for customers to export to .pdf.
• Desktop apps for Home windows, macOS and Linux.

Professionals

• Open supply.
• Characteristic wealthy.
• Capacity to learn .xlsx information created with Microsoft Workplace for Home windows and macOS.

Cons

• Has restricted macro recording talents.
• Lacks the power to show many superior kinds of charts.
• Lacks real-time on-line collaboration options.

WPS Workplace Spreadsheets: Finest Excel different for ease of use

In relation to strong options which might be a real competitors for Excel, WPS Workplace Spreadsheets can’t be crushed, and with good motive: It’s the one freemium product on this record. WPS Workplace is a paid product, however it comes with a fully-featured free model with one catch — it’s ad-supported (Determine F).

Determine F

Don’t let that flip you off from giving WPS Spreadsheets a attempt; the adverts are fast, usually lasting about 10 seconds, and solely pop up if you attempt to print, save to PDF or use a few of its different extra particular instruments. When you watch an advert, that characteristic is unlocked for half-hour. In the event you determine you wish to eliminate the adverts in WPS Workplace, you want to pay $9.99 for 3 months or $29.99 a yr.

Key options

• Knowledge evaluation and visualization.
• Templates to handle charts, monitor budgets and analyze private or enterprise funds.
• Compatibility with widespread file codecs resembling .xls, .xlsx, .xlsm, .xlt and .csv.
• Capacity for customers to edit Excel information on cell units, computer systems or internet pages.

Professionals

• Compatibility with workplace suites resembling Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, LibreOffice Calc and OpenOffice Calc.
• Intuitive consumer interface.
• Ease of use.
• Help for 13 languages on PC and 46 languages on cell.

Cons

• Free model has adverts.
• Occasionally freezes.