Google Sheets vs Excel for business: which should your team use?
Google Sheets vs Excel: Sheets wins for shared work, Excel for big files and analysis. Compare prices, limits, AI and offline use, and pick for your team.
Google Sheets is better for teams that share files and edit together in a browser, and it’s free with a Google account. Excel is better for big files and heavy analysis, such as financial models, and desktop Excel works offline. On business plans with email and video meetings, both start at $7 per user a month on a one-year plan.
This Google Sheets vs Excel guide is for owners, office managers and ops leads deciding where a team’s spreadsheets should live. It compares the two on what a small business actually decides on: cost, working together, size limits, analysis, automation, AI, and apps and offline use. Then it says which to pick for each kind of team. It ends with what to do when a spreadsheet has turned into a shared record of orders, jobs or stock.
How we researched this: in October 2026 we checked every price, limit and feature on Google’s and Microsoft’s own pricing and help pages, linked where each appears. Prices are US list prices, and both change often.
Google Sheets vs Excel at a glance
Business plan prices are per user a month on a one-year plan. Microsoft’s are paid yearly, and Google’s need a one-year commitment, paid monthly or yearly. Microsoft’s prices are for its plans with Teams.
What is the difference between Google Sheets and Excel?
Both are spreadsheets with the same core: a grid of cells, formulas, charts, filters and pivot tables. The difference is where they live. Google Sheets runs in a web browser, and each file sits in Google Drive, where sharing a link is all it takes to work on it together. Excel runs in a browser too, but its heaviest tools live in the desktop app: VBA macros on Windows and Mac, and Power Pivot on Windows only.
Sheets is usually the easier one to start with. It has fewer menus, there’s nothing to install, and anyone with a Google account can open it. Excel’s ribbon holds many more tools, so it takes longer to learn, and those tools are what keep bookkeepers and analysts in Excel.
The gap has narrowed from both sides. Excel for the web now edits a shared file with others at the same time, and Sheets doubled its limit to 20 million cells in September 2026.
You can also use both. Sheets can convert an Excel file or edit it in its original format straight from Google Drive, and you can download any Google Sheet as an .xlsx file. Some things don’t make the trip: macros and links to other workbooks aren’t supported in Sheets, and locked or hidden cells in a protected workbook become viewable and editable.
How much do Google Sheets and Excel cost for a business?
Start with the free versions. Anyone with a Google account can use Sheets, and Excel for the web is free with a Microsoft account, in a browser or on iPhone and Android. Both run on a personal account, and free Excel has no desktop app.
On business plans with email and video meetings, the prices match step for step. Google Workspace Business Starter and Microsoft 365 Business Basic are both $7 per user a month on a one-year plan. Business Standard is $14 on both, and Business Plus and Business Premium are both $22. Month to month, each costs 20% more: $8.40, $16.80 and $26.40 on Google’s Flexible Plan and Microsoft’s monthly subscriptions. Microsoft’s prices are for plans with Teams, its chat and meeting app. In the US it also sells each plan without Teams for less, from $5.40 for Business Basic, paid yearly.
So the question isn’t price but what each step buys:
- Both $7 plans include business email. If you already pay for one suite for email, its spreadsheet comes with it. Paying for the other suite just for its spreadsheet rarely makes sense.
- Desktop Excel starts at $10. Business Basic has Excel for the web and phones only. If you only need the desktop apps, Microsoft 365 Apps for business has them for $10 per user a month paid yearly, or $12 month to month. Business Standard, $14, adds them to everything in Business Basic.
- AI costs less on Google. Gemini in Sheets comes with Business Standard, $14. Copilot in Excel needs Business Standard with Copilot, $23.50, or the Copilot Business add-on on an eligible plan, $21 per user a month paid yearly (Microsoft’s pricing page).
- Excel can be bought once. Office Home & Business 2024 is $249.99 for one PC or Mac, for use at home or work. But Microsoft’s co-authoring page says editing a workbook together needs a Microsoft 365 subscription.
Which is better for working together, Google Sheets or Excel?
Google Sheets is simpler. You share a link or an invite as a viewer, commenter or editor, and a file can be edited on up to 100 open tabs or devices at once. Version history is built in: editors can restore an earlier version, name up to 15 versions, and right-click a cell to see its edit history.
Excel does the same with conditions. Co-authoring works in Excel for the web and in desktop Excel for Microsoft 365 on Windows and Mac, but only when the workbook is saved in OneDrive or SharePoint. If one person opens it in a version that doesn’t support co-authoring, everyone else gets a “locked” error. Version history also needs the file in OneDrive or SharePoint, and a personal Microsoft account keeps the last 25 versions.
In both, you share the whole file, not part of it. Google says protecting a range shouldn’t be used as a security measure, and Microsoft says worksheet protection isn’t intended as a security feature. A crew member who should see only their jobs, or a client who should see only their orders, ends up with a copy made by hand.
How much data can Google Sheets and Excel hold?
Excel holds more. A Google spreadsheet, whether made in Sheets or converted from Excel, stops at 20 million cells or 100 MB. Each Excel worksheet holds 1,048,576 rows by 16,384 columns, and a workbook can have as many worksheets as your computer’s memory allows.
For scale, an orders list with 20 columns reaches Sheets’ limit at 1 million orders, about the size of one Excel worksheet. A tracker with a few thousand records is nowhere near either limit. Google’s own advice is to stay in Excel if your data is larger than 20 million cells. It suggests converting to Sheets when you need your team editing at the same time.
Can Google Sheets do everything Excel can?
For everyday work, yes: Google Sheets is as good as Excel at formulas, charts, filters, dropdowns and pivot tables. The gap is in Excel’s heavier tools:
- Power Query connects to other files and data sources, reshapes the data without changing the source, and refreshes it later. It’s in Excel for Windows, Mac and the web.
- Power Pivot is an add-in that builds data models and analyzes large volumes of data from several sources. It’s in Excel for Windows (Excel for Microsoft 365 and Excel 2016 to 2024), and it isn’t available in Excel for Mac or Excel for the web.
- What-if tools such as Goal Seek work back from the result you want, like the price that hits a target margin. Microsoft documents Goal Seek for desktop Excel on Windows and Mac; in Sheets it’s a separate add-on.
- Charts. Both make the everyday ones: bar, line, pie, combo and waterfall. Excel also has funnel and sunburst charts, which aren’t on Sheets’ chart list. Google keeps adding types, though: Sheets’ new stock charts now survive the trip from Excel instead of being dropped.
Most formulas carry over: SUM, IF and XLOOKUP work the same way in both. Each also has functions of its own.
In Sheets, IMPORTRANGE pulls a range from another spreadsheet and checks for updates every hour while the file is open, which suits a summary sheet fed by each location’s file. Excel does the same job with workbook links.
For a budget, job costing or a monthly sales report, either will do: Sheets when several people fill it in, Excel when one person builds it with what-if tools. If it’s a forecast built from several data sources, or reports across hundreds of thousands of records, Excel is the safer choice.
How do you automate Google Sheets and Excel?
Both record macros, and both turn the recording into code you can edit later.
- Google Sheets: recording a macro creates an Apps Script, Google’s coding tool for Sheets and other Google apps. Anything a recording can’t capture, such as emailing a reminder when a due date passes, means writing Apps Script yourself. On a Workspace business plan, you can instead describe the job in plain words to Workspace Studio, which builds an AI agent to do it.
- Excel: desktop Excel records VBA macros on Windows and Mac, but macros don’t run in Excel for the web. Office Scripts record your steps with the Action Recorder in Excel for the web, Windows and Mac, if your Microsoft 365 license includes them. Business plans also include Power Automate, Microsoft’s tool for automating steps between apps.
Macros don’t cross over. VBA macros in an Excel file aren’t supported in Google Sheets, and Google suggests rebuilding them in Apps Script. For a team without someone who writes code, the no-code options are Workspace Studio on Google’s business plans and Power Automate on Microsoft’s.
Gemini in Sheets vs Copilot in Excel: which plans include AI?
Both spreadsheets now have an AI assistant you ask in plain words.
- Gemini in Sheets creates tables, formulas, charts and analysis. It needs an eligible Google Workspace or Google AI plan. On Workspace business plans, it starts at Business Standard, $14 per user a month, and isn’t in Business Starter. To use features such as Fill with Gemini on an Excel file, you convert it to Sheets format first.
- Copilot in Excel edits sheets, writes formulas and shows insights as charts, PivotTables and summaries, in Excel on Windows, Mac, the web, iPad, iPhone and Android. Microsoft 365 business plans include Copilot Chat, a general AI chat, at no extra cost. Copilot inside Excel needs a plan with Copilot, such as Business Standard with Copilot at $23.50 or Business Premium with Copilot at $32, or the Copilot Business add-on.
For AI inside the spreadsheet, Google’s route costs $9.50 less per user a month: $14 against $23.50.
Do Google Sheets and Excel work offline, on a Mac and on a phone?
- Google Sheets runs in a web browser on any computer, Mac included, and works on phones and tablets. Offline use works on a computer in Chrome or Edge: install the Google Docs Offline extension and turn on offline use in Drive’s settings before you lose the connection. It doesn’t work in private browsing. In the phone and tablet apps, you can make files available offline too.
- Excel has desktop apps for Windows and Mac with Apps for business, Business Standard and Business Premium. Business Standard and Premium allow up to 5 PCs or Macs, 5 tablets and 5 phones per user (Microsoft). Business Basic and the free version get Excel for the web and phones only. Desktop Excel works without internet, but Microsoft 365 apps must connect at least once every 30 days. Otherwise they switch to a mode where you can view and print but not edit.
If people work where the signal drops, desktop Excel on a laptop is the sturdier choice.
Google Sheets or Excel: which is better for a small business?
Start with the suite your email already runs on, then check these.
Choose Google Sheets if
- several people update the same file every day, from the office or the road
- your team already works in Gmail and Google Drive
- you want a free start, or AI in the spreadsheet for $14 a user
- your files are far from 20 million cells
Choose Excel if
- the work is bookkeeping, pricing models, forecasts or reports built with PivotTables, Power Query or Power Pivot
- you rely on VBA macros, or your data is bigger than Sheets allows
- your team already works in Outlook and OneDrive
- people often need to work offline
By type of team, that usually works out like this:
- Trades and field service: Sheets for the job list crews and the office both update; Excel for the estimating and job-costing workbook.
- Shops and dealers: Sheets for a shared stock and order list; Excel for pricing and margin analysis.
- Bookkeeping and tax firms: Excel for client work and reports; Sheets for checklists you share with clients.
- Nonprofits and schools: Sheets for volunteer, donor and sign-up lists that many people edit; Excel for the budget.
Plenty of teams use both, and since Sheets opens Excel files, mixing them costs little.
What if your spreadsheet has become a shared record of orders, jobs or stock?
Then neither tool is the real fix. The signs are familiar: one customer spelled three ways, lookups that break after a rename, a formula someone typed over, and a filtered copy for each crew or client. Those are database problems, which our guide to database vs spreadsheet explains.
There are a few ways forward, and our guide to Excel alternatives covers more:
- Tidy the sheet. If it’s one list that a few people keep, tables and dropdowns go a long way. Our guide on how to use Excel as a database shows the setup, and when to stop.
- Move to a desktop database. Microsoft’s own database is Access; our Microsoft Access vs Excel guide compares the two.
- Try a spreadsheet-style database. Airtable is one: it keeps a grid but links records between tables.
- Put an app on top. Each suite has an app builder: AppSheet comes with Google Workspace business plans, and Power Apps for Microsoft 365 with Microsoft 365 business plans. AppSheet can draft an app’s tables from a description with Gemini, then opens it in its editor for someone on your team to finish. GoodTaco builds the whole working app for you from a description, and you change it by chatting.
Turn your Google Sheet or Excel file into an app with GoodTaco
GoodTaco is an AI app builder for business teams. Describe what you need or upload a spreadsheet, and it builds a working web app with screens, forms, search and dashboards, in minutes. You change it by chatting, and every version is saved, with one-click rollback.
- On Google Sheets: with the Google Sheets app builder, your app reads and writes the sheet, so the sheet stays the source of truth and anyone who prefers the grid can keep using it.
- On Excel: spreadsheet to app takes .xlsx and .xlsm workbooks and CSV or TSV files, with no account needed to try it. GoodTaco imports the records into a built-in database, rebuilds the formulas it can reproduce exactly, and turns columns of repeated choices into dropdowns. Macros, charts and pivot tables stay in your workbook.
Share an app with a link, or make it private. Private apps ask people to sign in with Google or an emailed link before they see any data, and only the users or roles you choose get in. Apps open in any browser, including a phone’s. GoodTaco has a free plan with no credit card, and paid plans start at $9 a month, priced per workspace rather than per app user.
Keep the spreadsheet for the numbers and give your team an app for the records. Start free, no credit card needed.
Frequently asked questions
Can Google Sheets do everything Excel can?
For everyday work, mostly yes: both have formulas, charts, filters, dropdowns and pivot tables. Sheets has no Power Query, Power Pivot or VBA macros, Excel macros don't run in it, and a spreadsheet stops at 20 million cells. Google itself suggests staying in Excel for data larger than that.
What can Google Sheets do that Excel can't?
Mostly, it makes sharing simpler: send a link, and the file can be edited on up to 100 open tabs or devices at once, with no need to save it to OneDrive or SharePoint first. Sheets also has functions of its own, such as IMPORTRANGE, which pulls a range from another spreadsheet, though Excel can link workbooks too. Excel for the web co-edits as well, so the gap is smaller than it was.
What is the disadvantage of Google Sheets?
It's weaker for heavy analysis: there's no Power Query, Power Pivot or VBA, and each spreadsheet stops at 20 million cells. Excel macros don't carry over, offline use on a computer needs Chrome or Edge and some setup in advance, and Gemini in Sheets needs a paid plan, Business Standard or higher on Google Workspace.
Is Google Sheets or Excel better for a small business?
For most small teams that share trackers and lists, Google Sheets: it's free with a Google account and simple to share. Excel is better for bookkeeping, pricing models, forecasts and big files, especially if you already pay for Microsoft 365. Business plans with email and video meetings cost the same on both, from $7 per user a month on a one-year plan, and Microsoft also sells plans without Teams for less.
Is Google Sheets free, and is Excel free?
Both have free versions. Anyone with a Google account can use Google Sheets, and Excel for the web is free with a Microsoft account. Free Excel has no desktop app: that comes with Microsoft 365 Apps for business at $10 per user a month paid yearly, Business Standard at $14, or Office Home & Business 2024 for a one-time $249.99.
Can I use Google Sheets to open and edit Excel files?
Yes. Google Sheets can convert an Excel file into a Google Sheet or edit it in its original format from Google Drive, and you can download any Google Sheet as an .xlsx file. Macros and links to other workbooks aren't supported in Sheets, and locked or hidden cells in a protected workbook become viewable and editable.
Why does everyone use Excel instead of Google Sheets?
Mostly for depth. Bookkeeping, forecasting and reporting often rely on Power Query, Power Pivot and VBA macros, which Sheets doesn't have, and desktop Excel works offline. Teams that mostly share lists and trackers often find Sheets is enough.
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