Since it launched back in 1985, Microsoft Excel has been tried and trusted by companies of all shapes and sizes to handle various streams and models of business-critical data.
But as we sit here in 2024, the world has changed a lot — and so have our expectations around the data management capabilities we expect from our tech. This is thanks in no small part to the sheer number of Microsoft Excel alternatives available, which can be overwhelming if you’re considering switching to a new solution altogether.
So, in this blog, we’ve carefully handpicked a few simple and some more advanced options for you to take a quick look at, diving into the pros and cons of the following:
Using Microsoft Excel for data management
Given its decades-long legacy of usage, Excel is arguably the ‘Godfather’ of data input, storage and analysis, albeit at the most simple level.
Most people will have had some form of exposure to Excel during their career, although many might not be completely familiar with its full capabilities as well as some of its main flaws.
The key plus point of using Excel in relation to data is its simplicity. It enables users to easily perform the following tasks:
- Identify compelling data trends quickly and efficiently
- Sort data into meaningful categories and present it in an easy-to-visualise manner, with simple chart creation functionality
- Perform complex calculations (provided the right formulas are inputted)
- Integrate easily with other Microsoft database software, like Access
- Emphasise notable data points with conditional formatting to make it easier to scan and interrogate
Why look for Microsoft Excel alternatives?
While the simple benefits listed above are still important, Excel should most probably not be used as the main tool for the storage and processing of data in this day and age.
Essentially, the program was primarily built to store financial data only. And, while many organisations have still used it to store all types of business-critical data, it hasn’t been without high-profile errors and problems due to its limitations.
The main pitfalls of Excel include:
- Technical boundaries and a limited amount of data storage
- Co-authoring and collaboration
- Due to its so-called ‘flat’ data structure across rows and columns, you can’t build relationships between data in the same way you would using other programs
- It’s limited to a text-only data type (i.e. you can’t add an image to an Excel row, for example)
- There's a risk of data duplication and loss in collaborative environments due to human error
- Large file size performance issues
- Absence of automation
- Limited integrations with other platforms (besides SharePoint and OneDrive)
Plus, these are only noted through the lens of Excel’s simplicity, without considering the increased functionality other platforms can offer — such as task management and planning, customisation, live collaboration, and so much more.
Similar alternatives to Microsoft Excel
When it comes to alternative solutions for data management, the scale of what’s on offer varies widely. Unsurprisingly, this is dictated by cost as well as the level of performance functionality.
So, it’s best to look at the basics first. Start with the options most similar in terms of pricing as well as look and feel, especially if you’re already familiar with Excel and are only confident using much more closely comparable programs.
Google Sheets
This is Excel’s directly equivalent platform within the Google Suite set-up. Google Sheets essentially does the same thing as Excel, although there are a few key differences.
Pros:
- A more seamless, cloud-based, live collaboration system with built-in version control
- You can analyse and manage much larger sets of data thanks to its alignment with BigQuery, which is Google Cloud’s data warehouse and analytics engine
- It’s also integrated with Google Workspace, which, as of 2024, has three billion users worldwide
Cons:
- Even though you can manage larger sets of data than you can in Excel, you’re still limited, especially if you’re a business looking to scale up
- Limited functionality for data visualisation and charts compared to other more sophisticated platforms
- Like Excel, the mobile experience and functionality is very limited
- No spell check for data entry can cause human error and data inconsistencies
- It has the same flat data structure as Excel, which means you can’t build relationships between different data sets
Calligra Sheets
Again, like Excel, Calligra Sheets is a fully-featured calculation and spreadsheet tool. It works in the same basic way but has one particularly notable benefit.
Pros:
- Calligra is completely free to use
- It has all of the same and simple access to the formulas you’d find in Excel
Cons:
- It supports a limited number of platforms in comparison to Excel (only Windows, macOS and Linux, with no mobile functionality whatsoever)
- Slow development with glitches
- Limited customisation and features as a whole
- You can’t build relationships between different data sets, as it’s structurally flat across columns and rows (as with Excel and Google Sheets)
WPS Office
Another robust spreadsheet program, WPS brings a selection of functions for data manipulation, analysis, and visualisation. It even has a free version with limited functionality if you ever want to test the waters.
Pros:
- Unlike some of its counterparts, WPS arguably has a better data protection feature at various levels, including a password hint, for instance
- As mentioned above, it has a free version, but it’s also cheaper than Excel
Cons:
- More limited overall data visualisation and chart functionality than Excel
- Often has more problematic loading speeds than Excel
- The free version includes pop-up ads, which can be disruptive if you decide to play around with it before committing to payment
- It has the same flat spreadsheet format as Excel, Google Sheets, and Calligra
LibreOffice Calc
With a wide range of high-quality data processing tools, Calc is an open-source program compatible with various file formats, including Excel (.xls and .xlsx.).
Pros:
- It’s free to use
- As it’s open-source, it has a highly active community that continually contributes to its improvement, ensuring it stays up-to-date with modern data management needs
- It uses advanced DataPilot technology to pull in raw data from corporate databases
- It’s good for beginners and people ingrained into ways of working and managing data in Excel
Cons:
- Low levels of customisation and automation (macro recording has very limited support)
- It lacks collaborative functionality compared to other platforms like Excel
Smartsheet
Of all the alternatives most similar to Excel, Smartsheet is by far the most advanced.
Pros:
- Even though it’s designed in a familiar spreadsheet format, it has increased functionality and flexible views to display data, including grid, card (you may also know this as ‘Kanban’), Gantt and calendar
- This variation in structure is a key benefit since Excel is limited to a grid view, which makes it difficult to plan, track, and report on key workflows
Cons:
- As you’ll notice with some of the more advanced alternatives included below, with increased functionality comes a steeper learning curve for new users. Investment in employee training will likely be required when onboarding onto this type of software
- It’s more expensive than some of the similar alternatives listed above
More advanced alternatives to Microsoft Excel
If your business needs a data solution that goes beyond Microsoft Excel and its similar counterparts, there are plenty of options to consider.
The main thing to consider is that these options will always come at more of a cost and will suit some businesses more than others.
Nevertheless, we’ve also broken down some of the advantages and drawbacks of the more advanced data management platforms. Given the scale of possibilities these platforms provide, we still recommend researching them separately to ensure they can answer the needs of your business and your data set.
Quip
This won’t apply to all businesses, but Quip is aligned with Salesforce and, therefore, integrates seamlessly with the Salesforce CRM.
Pros:
- As well as Salesforce it’s also integrated with Slack — a plus point if your business already uses Slack to communicate
- Quip also has a native group chat functionality, which makes collaboration much easier while using the platform
- It also has a relatively affordable entry-level plan in comparison to some of the other options we’ll discuss below
Cons:
- In comparison to some of the other more advanced alternatives, Quip has slightly fewer customisable features
- Plus, there’s no free plan available if you ever want to give the platform a short test run to try things out over a short period
ClickUp
Now, we start to take things up a notch. ClickUp has even more in its arsenal when it comes to data management, specifically for team and project planning.
Pros:
- ClickUp utilises your data for a wide range of productivity-related items, which brings many unique benefits for large teams especially, but one of the main benefits is its helpful set-up with a wide variety of documentation and video guides
- It’s also extremely powerful and can manage extremely large sets of data, which in some ways, makes it completely incomparable to software like Excel
Cons:
- As you might expect, the learning curve required to bring teams up to speed with this type of software is steep, so it’s important to factor in time as well as potential human error around data in the early stages of onboarding
- ClickUp also has a complex pricing structure, which may make it a difficult sell for certain teams and businesses
Airtable
This is a cloud-based solution that integrates databases and spreadsheets. Airtable is highly workflow and output-focused, which means it uses data to create things (mainly apps) from end to end.
Pros:
- Due to its focus on productivity, Airtable somewhat expectedly has powerful automation capabilities for its users
- It still has a very simplistic and easy-to-use interface despite its powerful features
- It’s also useful in the sense it places ownership on individuals with an extensive tracking system for extensive data, enabling you to track changes in individual tables and records, identifying who made each edit and following their progress
Cons:
- Limited functionality on mobile
- Also, there’s limited functionality on the free version and is generally expensive for teams who invest in paid features
- A very sharp learning curve for beginners, so training and time costs are to be carefully considered
Teamwork
Much like some of the alternatives above, Teamwork harnesses your data mainly for project management.
Pros:
- Advanced reporting and data visualisation
- Highly customisable features with custom templates
- Strong role assignment and collaboration, with strong transparency over ownership of data and tasks (much like Airtable)
Cons:
- The focus on individual ownership of tasks can be detrimental to holistic team oversight across data and projects
- It does come with some slight security risks, in comparison to some of the other alternatives. There’s also no way for site administrators to enforce all users to turn on two-factor authentication (2FA)
Starhive
Starhive is an emerging platform that focuses on advanced technology and user-centric design to improve decision-making and overall business performance.
This makes Starhive the unified data management solution of the future.
Pros:
- It offers a more visual representation of your data, not just rows and columns like most of the solutions above
- It can build relationships between data to get a better understanding (i.e. linking customers to orders, or employees to project management tasks)
- Despite the range of high-performance features, it still has a highly intuitive user interface which makes it easy for both end-users and support staff to navigate and interact with the system
- Highly flexible and customisable dashboards enable you to create personalised views of key performance metrics which can help to drive better decision-making
- Competitive pricing in comparison to other alternatives makes it an attractive option for startups and growing businesses looking for a robust, affordable solution
- Starhive is known for its exceptional customer support with accessible and timely assistance from its reliable and knowledgeable team of support staff
Cons:
- Given that Starhive is a new entrant into the market, the ever-evolving feature set of the platform may take some keeping up with and adjusting to over time
- Currently, Starhive also has fewer integrations in comparison to some of the other alternatives we’ve listed in this blog — but the list continues to grow
Ready to take the next step on your digital transformation journey?
Whether you’re already utilising platforms like Microsoft Excel or not, we understand change can be a daunting prospect as you continue to scale up your business.
While it may seem like there are an overwhelming number of options, there’s also plenty of support to guide you before you make any big decisions or adjustments to your data processes.
Alongside this blog as a starting point, our comparison page is also a useful resource to kickstart your thinking around the best options for you and your business.
