Now Google Sheets is capable of accomplishing most of what Excel can and even has features that Excel doesn’t have. Thus, arises the question that is it time to abandon Excel in favor of Google Sheets? Though most spreadsheet veterans see such a question as outright blasphemy, here are five reasons why you should dump Excel and start using Google Sheets.
1. Price
Of course, one of the main determining factors of whether an app is worth using is the price. You can get Excel included in your Microsoft 365 subscription for 7 USD per month. You could also purchase a lifelong copy of Excel separately for 159.99 USD.
Google Sheets, on the other hand, is entirely free. All you need to do is to start up your browser and go to the web app. There’s also a Google Workspace business plan that adds business features to Google Sheets, among many other Google services, for 12 USD per month.
This plan comes with many perks, including expanded Google Drive storage. If you’re curious about Google Workspace, read our article on what Google Workspace is and how to use it. So then, when it comes to the base versions of the two apps, Sheets is completely free. However, you need a Microsoft 365 subscription, or a purchased copy of Excel in order to use Excel.
2. Collaboration
With the rapid expansion of cloud-based technologies, followed by an increase in remote working, online collaboration has become a sharp advantage. Due to its intrinsic web-based nature, Google Sheets has a head start when it comes to online collaborations.
Google Sheets comes packed with collaboration features. You and your teammates can work on a specific spreadsheet together, and see the changes and comments in real-time. Google Sheets also has a built-in chat, so you don’t need to switch windows to talk with your teammates. Ultimately, since your spreadsheet is already on the web, sharing it is just a click away with zero hassles.
Sure enough, Excel has also implemented collaboration features in recent versions. However, it is not as seamless as Google Sheets. If you’re working on spreadsheets as a team, then Google Sheets is the better choice.
3. Smart Charts and Graphs
One of the main uses of spreadsheet apps is creating charts. Charts help you better comprehend and present the data in your spreadsheet.
Though creating charts is straightforward in most cases, sometimes it can get really frustrating, especially in Excel. Having to manually enter the edit the data sets and series in the chart settings so that the chart shows the data properly isn’t a rare occurrence in Excel.
Google Sheets, however, does a great job at taking this burden off your shoulders. Thanks to its AI, Google Sheets takes a guess at the nature of the data you’re trying to demonstrate with a chart, and knowingly chooses and positions the series and categories.
What’s more is that when you select the data and ask Google Sheets to create a chart for it, it automatically guesses what chart type would represent the data in the best way.
Sure, if you’re already an Excel guru, then you probably wouldn’t mind manually setting up your charts. But considering the fact that spreadsheets are created to help with productivity, switching to Google Sheets would help you save some precious time when it comes to graphs and charts.
4. User-Friendly Interface
Though Google Sheets has a similar interface to Microsoft Excel, once you use it you can tell that Google Sheets is much friendlier when compared to Excel. Google Sheets has a rather minimalist interface, without the iconic ribbon of Excel.
Most tasks are easier done in Google Sheets than in Excel. A good example of this is conditional formatting. Creating a new formatting rule in Excel can be daunting for totally new users, and would intimidate them into looking up guides online. On the contrary, Google Sheets offers a simpler interface, that only gets complex when you want it to.
Additionally, Google Sheets does a good job at making writing formulas easier. For instance, if you want to sum a column in Google Sheets, typing SUM in the formula bar will prompt an autofill suggestion to sum the cells in that column. From there, all you need to do is accept the suggestion by pressing Tab on your keyboard.
Though looks are a matter of preference, some might prefer the looks of Excel while some prefer Google Sheets. But once you start using Google Sheets, you’ll notice that it has taken great measures to make using spreadsheets simple for everyone.
5. Exclusive Google Functions
A massive chunk of the functions in Excel and Google Sheets are identical. They have the same syntax and same use. Surprisingly though, Google Sheets has some functions that Excel doesn’t. Most of these are functions that utilize other Google services.
Examples of these functions are GOOGLETRANSLATE and GOOGLEFINANCE. These functions translate text using Google Translate and fetch information from Google Finance, respectively.
Though some people might see these functions as trivial and useless, for some others, these functions are a Godsend. You can see a list of all Google Sheets functions and their usage on Google’s support page.
The Apprentice Becomes the Master
Google Sheets was initially treated as a web-based and rather limited version of Microsoft Excel, but those days are long gone. For some time now, Google Sheets has become a thing of its own. Google Sheets does most of what Excel does, and even has some features that Excel doesn’t have at all.
With a friendlier interface, seamless collaboration features, smart charts, and exclusive functions, Google Sheets has become the choice of many users when it comes to spreadsheet apps. By the way, did we mention that Google Sheets is entirely free? Perhaps it’s time you left Excel and tried Google Sheets for a change with all these pros.
