Comparing Excel for Web and Google Sheets
If you’re doing office work, do you ever use an online spreadsheet, like Excel for Web and Google Sheets? Or, do you only work with desktop software, like Excel for Windows, or Excel for Mac?
Desktop vs Online
For my business projects, I use a desktop version of Excel 365 for about 99% of my spreadsheet work. For the other 1%, I occasionally share a Google Sheets file with someone, so we can easily keep track of simple task lists, or project planning.
Based on my chats with friends and family members, I know that Google Sheets is popular with students, and people doing simple projects at home, because it’s free to use, easy to access from different devices, and simple to use.
Fortunately, the online spreadsheets are much better now, compared to the early days. However, I still find them clunky and annoying, compared to the desktop version of Excel.
Feature Comparison: Excel for Web vs Google Sheets
In the section below, there’s a quick list of key spreadsheet features, comparing Excel for Web and Google Sheets.
- Which features are most important to you?
- Is there one feature that would make you choose between the two programs?
For example, when I use Google Sheets, I absolutely miss having named tables, because tables make it so easy to sort, filter and select the data.
named tables in Excel with table style options
Feature Comparison Table
Here’s the online spreadsheet comparison table. What ranking order would you put the features in?
Can you think of other features, that I forgot to include?
|
Feature |
Excel for Web |
Google Sheets |
| Interface & Familiarity | Resembles Desktop Excel | Web-centric, user-friendly |
| Collaboration | Real-time co-authoring | Simultaneous editing |
| Offline Access | Limited offline functionality | Full offline access |
| Integration with Office | Seamless integration | Native integration with Google |
| Formulas & Functions | Extensive formula support | Robust, similar to Excel |
| Data Analysis | Power Query and Pivot Tables | Pivot Tables and Explore |
| Charting & Visualization | Advanced chart options | Varied charts, less advanced |
| Add-ons & Extensions | Excel Add-ins supported | Google Workspace Marketplace |
| Security | Enterprise-level security | Google Workspace Security |
| Storage & File Types | OneDrive integration | Google Drive integration |
| Table Objects | Excel Tables with structured referencing | Basic tables, less structured |
| Automation | Power Automate integration | Google Apps Script |
| Formatting | Rich formatting options | Intuitive formatting tools |
| Conditional Formatting | Extensive options | Robust, but fewer options |
| Version History | Detailed versioning history | Basic version history |
| Ease of Learning | Familiar to Excel users | User-friendly, shorter learning curve |
| Mobile Experience | Responsive design, good mobile experience | Native mobile app, optimized |
Choose Between Excel for Web and Google Sheets
For online spreadsheets, I usually choose Google Sheets, because so many friends, family members and acquaintances use it.
That makes it the best option for sharing spreadsheet lists with part-time assistants, in my business projects.
I have used Excel for Web for a few business projects, but it’s a bit trickier to share with other people, who are outside of your organization. Or maybe I’m just doing it incorrectly!
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Video: Create Named Table in Excel
To see the easy steps in creating an Excel Table, you can watch this short video.
There are written steps on the Excel Named Tables page on my Contextures site.
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Comparing Excel for Web and Google Sheets
Comparing Excel for Web and Google Sheets
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