Excel vs Google Sheets:
choose around the workbook.
Compare browser collaboration, desktop Excel, automation dependencies and offline preparation. Use a four-task workbook brief to check the handover that matters to your team.
Start with the workbook.
Then choose the application.
Shortlist Google Sheets for a shared browser tracker when the team can use an agreed Google account and file format. Shortlist licensed desktop Excel when an existing workbook depends on Excel VBA or another required desktop capability. Free Excel for the web also offers browser collaboration, but it cannot run VBA macros. Compare the real workbook, required actions and receiving application before moving a working model.
Seven differences that change the shortlist
| Buying question | Microsoft Excel | Google Sheets |
|---|---|---|
| Free starting point | Excel for the web with a Microsoft account | Spreadsheet creation with a Google Account |
| Desktop entitlement | Installed Excel requires an appropriate licence | Browser-based editor; assess managed Workspace separately |
| VBA dependency | Desktop Excel route; VBA cannot run in the web app | Recreate the required workflow using Apps Script rather than assume VBA transfer |
| Shared editing | Online collaboration with file and permission requirements | Live co-editing, comments and sharing controls |
| Computer offline work | Identify the installed application and local working copy | Prepare Chrome or Edge, offline extension and required files while connected |
| XLSX handover | Use the required Excel application for acceptance | Choose direct Office editing or conversion; inspect the returned workbook |
| AI and service costs | Check the selected app and AI entitlements | Check Workspace edition and required AI capabilities |
Four worked buying briefs
These are hypothetical scenarios with explicit assumptions. They do not establish equal capabilities, measured usability or a negotiated price.
| Task | Estimated hours | Actual hours | Expected actual minus estimated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Research | 8 | 10 | 2 |
| Build | 20 | 23 | 3 |
| Review | 12 | 11 | -1 |
| Handover | 10 | 12 | 2 |
A team maintains a weekly tracker
Can several people update one agreed master?
Microsoft Excel: Evaluate shared online Excel with the intended file location and roles.
Google Sheets: Evaluate a shared Sheet with named owners and editing permissions.
Use fictional project tasks. Record who can update inputs and who approves the reporting copy.
An operational workbook contains VBA
Which required actions depend on the existing code?
Microsoft Excel: Inventory the licensed desktop application, macro owner and dependencies.
Google Sheets: Scope a replacement in Apps Script as a separate implementation task.
Do not enable unfamiliar macros. This is a dependency review; no code execution is needed to identify the requirement.
A colleague needs to edit away from a connection
Is the actual file ready on the intended computer?
Microsoft Excel: Confirm the installed Excel entitlement and a local working copy.
Google Sheets: Prepare supported-browser offline access while online and inspect file readiness.
Record the app or browser, account and reconnection result during an authorised evaluation.
A customer requires an XLSX deliverable
Do the returned values and required features remain usable?
Microsoft Excel: Reopen the handover in the customer’s required Excel application.
Google Sheets: Export or retain the agreed Office-format copy and validate it in that receiving editor.
Opening a file is only the first check. Recalculate totals and inspect charts, validation and any unsupported dependencies.
A small workbook can reveal the handover requirements
The fictional sample above contains four tasks. Estimated hours total 50, actual hours total 56 and the difference is 6 hours. These are independently calculated expectations for the sample data, not measured Excel or Sheets results. The downloadable checklist leaves observations blank for the person evaluating each application.
Build the sample in a non-sensitive workbook with a calculated difference for each task, a total and one chart. Have a second person update an actual-hours input, then check the revised total. Save the master, produce the required XLSX copy and have the intended recipient reopen it. Record differences, the version used and the person accepting the output.
Add the features your real workbook requires: validation, named ranges, external connections or specific functions. A simple hours table cannot establish compatibility for a complex operational model. Keep the original while evaluating a migration, and agree whether the shared master remains an Office file or becomes a Google Sheet.
Separate automation migration from ordinary spreadsheet editing
Microsoft states that Excel for the web retains existing VBA in a workbook but cannot create, run or edit it. A browser-only comparison therefore cannot stand in for a decision about a VBA-dependent desktop model. List the actions, maintainers and required desktop application before evaluating a change.
Google’s migration guidance describes recreating Excel macros with Google Apps Script. Treat that as work to specify, build and validate, rather than a promise that imported VBA will execute. Inventory dependencies without enabling unfamiliar code, and include maintenance responsibility in any proposed replacement.
For computer offline work, Google requires preparation in Chrome or Edge, a normal browser profile, its offline extension and files ready on the device. Test reconnection and any conflicting edits during your own evaluation. Do not assume a file opened online will be editable during travel.
Microsoft: VBA in Excel for the web ↗ · Google: recreate Excel macros using Apps Script ↗ · Google: prepare computer offline access ↗
Compare the retained licence and working arrangement
Both products have free browser starting points. That does not make every desktop, managed business or AI capability free. Check the rights already assigned to each person and buy only the application and service scope the workflow needs.
For a company, keep account administration, storage, training, workbook rework and automation maintenance with the decision. A change that removes a software purchase fee may still require implementation effort. Use the same acceptance brief for both applications rather than inventing a universal winner.
Microsoft: free web apps versus subscription rights ↗ · Google Sheets: product and plan scope ↗
Questions before you choose
Is Google Sheets better than free Excel?
Compare Sheets with Excel for the web for browser work, and separately with licensed desktop Excel for desktop requirements. Choose around the workbook, collaborators, automation and final file.
Can Google Sheets run Excel VBA macros?
Google documents recreating Excel macros with Google Apps Script. Do not assume an imported VBA workflow will execute unchanged in Sheets.
Can free Excel for the web run VBA macros?
No. Microsoft says Excel for the web cannot create, run or edit VBA macros, although it can retain them in a workbook.
Can Google Sheets work offline on a computer?
Yes, after advance setup in Chrome or Edge with a normal browser profile and the Google Docs Offline extension. Check readiness for the required files while online.
Can Google Sheets edit XLSX without converting it?
Yes. Google documents direct Office-file editing that saves changes in the original format. Conversion creates a separate Google copy. Validate the returned workbook.
Will switching from Excel to Sheets preserve every formula and workflow?
Do not assume complete compatibility. Recalculate representative workbooks and separately assess required functions, automation, connections, charts and recipient requirements.
Your practical evaluation pack
Download the workbook evaluation checklist (CSV)
Four acceptance checks with the fictional hours sample, expected totals and blank fields for each application’s observed result and reviewer.
Turn the comparison into your own evaluation
Use the same criteria and priorities for both products, keep unknowns unassessed and record the plan and evidence behind your ratings.
Build a Microsoft Excel vs Google Sheets scorecard →Keep the assumptions with the figures
Use the date, billing cycle, units and limits with each example. Check current account terms before purchasing. Unverified prices and model costs stay unpriced.
Download the buying examples as JSON ↓Share the comparison
Use these examples when discussing the shortlist with your team.