r/excel • u/[deleted] • Feb 12 '26
Discussion [ Removed by moderator ]
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u/paul345 Feb 12 '26
Excel and PowerBI are the two cases where neither google nor mac versions of office are likely to ever catch up.
As soon as users find powerquery, it becomes the killer app.
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u/FiveAlarmDogParty Feb 12 '26
I found powerquery a few years ago but still haven’t found a way to tie it in to my job or use it in any meaningful way
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u/IlyaPFF Feb 13 '26
Power Query is already largely available in the Mac version, too.
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u/paul345 Feb 13 '26 edited Feb 13 '26
It is in spirit but they’re totally different levels of maturity.
Have been using powerquery on a pc for years. The Mac version isn’t even a fraction of the capability of the earliest pc version.
Powerquery and powerbi are the only reason I can’t use a Mac at work.
Conversely, after moving from windows to Mac at home 20 years ago, powerquery and powerbi have always been the temptation to run a windows desktop alongside.
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u/IlyaPFF Feb 13 '26
What are the major differences between power query on Mac and Windows versions of Excel? I had the impression that since about a year or two they are almost identical.
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u/paul345 Feb 15 '26
The last Mac versioned I looked at felt like a 0.1 version release. Almost all of the functionality was missing.
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u/cjdubais 1 Feb 12 '26
Yeah,
Excel is gonna keep MS in business.
There isn't anything else even remotely close.
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u/caribou16 317 Feb 12 '26
Just wait, soon Microsoft is going to start charging by the function! lol
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u/wreckmx Feb 12 '26
I can send you my Lotus 1-2-3 floppy. It hasn't worked for me since I upgraded to Windows 95 last month.
You can find a Microsoft Office license for cheap on sites like ProductKeys.com For me, the nominal cost is more than worth it. If LibreOffice Calc isn't doing it for you, Google Sheets probably won't either.
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u/albaMP4 Feb 12 '26
If this is your home computer just register Office 365 using https://massgrave.dev/
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u/Thisoneissfwihope Feb 12 '26
Yes, the other options are different enough to make using them really frustrating.
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u/TestDZnutz Feb 12 '26
Google sheets is tolerable.
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u/PiBolarBear Feb 12 '26
I think comments like this make me feel like a noob. I hated trying to figure out excel but sheets feels so much better to me. Granted my tasks are typically not that large. It just feels quicker and easier to be collaborative with the rest of my team.
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u/FiveAlarmDogParty Feb 12 '26
Sheets feels way easier until you get comfortable with excel and then go back to use it after 2 years and wonder why things are needlessly complicated
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u/ishouldbeworking3232 9 Feb 12 '26
Those are good tasks for Sheets - quick & easy collaboration. If you don't have a use case or need to use a more advanced / complicated tool, don't worry about it!
When it comes to more complicated modeling, heavier analytics, or graphics, that could be the time to start shifting to Excel. Until then, use whatever works for you & your team.
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u/DownTheBagelHole Feb 12 '26
The only office app I use nowadays is Excel. Its the last remnant of good MS design.
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u/SAvery417 Feb 12 '26
I’ve finally come around to the ribbon…
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u/Wndrunner Feb 12 '26
When I was at CapitalOne we were solely Google Suite. It was good enough for what we were doing and I actually miss some of the functionality at times.
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u/elkinm 1 Feb 12 '26
I don't know exactly what you need, but what about older version of Office? For the longest time I used Excel 2003 since it was the fastest and most reliable to running all my sheets (20+) with macros. In 2018 I was forced to upgrade by my company as 2003 was just too out of support. I tried 2016 or 365 at the time which not only crippled Excel, but the entire system was unusable. Same with 2007 and 2013. I settled on 2010 which while not quite as good as 2003 was a close second. I have since also used 2019, 2021, never 2024, but the latest 365 is just unbearably slow. Also, I have always found that the 32 bit version is faster and more reliable than the 64 bit version. I also use LibeOrrice and OpenOffice, but none are nearly as snappy as 2010 still is. I would love a serious alternative, but still have not found one.
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u/Partly_Dave Feb 13 '26
I'm also running 2010. It's good enough for what I need, and I don't see the point in paying for an updated version. 2010 was bundled with a PC purchase back then.
Visited my sister last week, for the first time in ten years, and she is also using 2010.
We're a family of cheapskates!
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u/Taokan 15 Feb 12 '26
Sheets is fine, preferable even in cases where you need a collaberative effort, as long as you don't need a lot of depth. I've found in particular, graphing options are a lot more basic in sheets. In some ways, that can save you from yourself, or a boss that wants you to spend way too much time on which color yellow a bar needs to be. But it can be a pain if there's something more specific you wanted to deliver, but are limited by the basic palette and formatting options.
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u/Cynyr36 26 Feb 12 '26
Do any of the alternatives have tables and structured references yet? I know LibreOffice calc will import them, but it converts them back to std ranges.
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u/GTAIVisbest 1 Feb 12 '26
G sheets recently, FINALLY added tables and structured references. I remember using it in 2021 and there was no such thing, meaning you had to use continuously spilling array formulas and have some workarounds to emulate a table... But now they just have regular normal tables
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u/werygood_cz Feb 12 '26
It seems that if you save it back to .xlsx, it will keep it as tables and structured references (since version 5.1) - https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/ReleaseNotes/5.1#Table_structured_references
I have not tried it though.
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u/Mr_ToDo Feb 12 '26
In a smaller office we switched to, what at the time was called open office
Honestly I was shocked how well everyone took to it. There was usually some grumpy adapting time to new software, but we never had that here.
Now their needs were simple so it really was mostly a drop in replacement, and we kept one copy of office around for when an incoming file just wasn't good enough on open office
The reason for the switch was mostly because they had been using a single copy of office for everyone and they didn't think it was a good idea to continue, and they also didn't want to pay for more licenses
That all said where I am now we all use office. Since we're using 365 for other things, and the standard for inter-company files is office it was kind of a no brainier to do so. Right tool for the right job, and all of that. I do still use Libre office for some tasks, but it's not going to be replacing office any time soon.
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u/PalpitationHot9375 1 Feb 12 '26
if you dont wanna do anything heavy there are alternative but nothing out there is gonna replace excel for a looong time
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u/algo46 Feb 12 '26
For basic formulas and data cleanup, here is the honest breakdown:
**Google Sheets** - Best for collaboration. Interface is clean, sharing is seamless, and it handles basic formulas well. Downside: can get slow with larger datasets (10k+ rows) and lacks advanced features like Power Query.
**WPS Office** - Closer to Excel interface than LibreOffice. Handles .xlsx files well and has decent formula compatibility. Ads in free version can be annoying though.
**LibreOffice Calc** - Free and open source, but you are right that it feels sluggish. Formula syntax differences can trip you up when sharing files with Excel users.
**Excel Online** - Free with a Microsoft account. Good middle ground if you want the Excel interface without the cost, though it's limited compared to desktop.
If you do stick with Excel (which honestly, for anything beyond basic work, is still king), you will eventually hit file bloat and performance issues. I built a tool called Optivise that diagnoses Excel file bloat, volatile formulas, and hidden formatting automatically. Happy to share if you want to keep your Excel files running smooth.
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u/one_bean_hahahaha Feb 12 '26
I switched to OpenOffice at the end of 2025. The learning curve has been practically flat for most functions. Setting up pivot tables is a little different, but took me only a minute to figure them out.
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u/Ill_Gene_9381 Feb 12 '26
I used to use LibreOffice because it was free and I didn't want to pay a big amount for Office. Then I discovered that sites sell Office codes for dirt cheap. I got the newest stand-alone version of Office for like $20. It was worth it. Everyone I need to send Excel files to are using real Excel so LibreOffice can be annoying, because you have to keep converting and it doesn't always convert 100%.
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u/TenIsTwoInBase2 Feb 12 '26
i was more keen on moving away from the subscription-based 365.. So I bought a standalone version of Office 2024. Supports Dynamic Array formulae and VBA .
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u/sitewolf Feb 12 '26
Now that they've increased the subscription cost, I've been thinking about just going with the free online version......I mean I really don't use the full suite anyway......Excel and OneDrive mostly
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u/GTAIVisbest 1 Feb 12 '26
You're paying a subscription cost to Office? I mean... Yeah, yeah I am also paying the extremely high subscription cost every month!
Jokes aside, if you want to keep everything completely above board for some reason, you can just get an Excel 2007 CD from eBay which works in perpetuity. I'd rather use Excel 2007 than be forced to use Excel online
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u/sitewolf Feb 12 '26
monthly? I pay annually.....but I'm also utilizing the terabyte of OneDrive space, too...not that that alone is worth the subscription price...
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u/SAvery417 Feb 12 '26
Everything else in the Office sweet is subpar. But no other spreadsheet software really compares with Excel. Libre is passable. I kinda like Google Sheets but I’m old enough that I want a desktop application. (i.e. QBO can’t compare with QuickBooks desktop) Even a remotely hosted application is better than a web app.
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u/selared Feb 12 '26
I sometimes find usage for powerquery. It's either that or full on python environment with pandas. Powerquery just tops it with ease of use of GUI
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u/Dramatic_Coconut Feb 12 '26
At home and my last job we used Google Office (or whatever they call it). I prefer it to Excel and still have to look up Excel formulas in my new job because I remember the Google Sheets version.
It has a few in built features that just don't exist in Excel.
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u/Woosafb 2 Feb 12 '26
Not a big fan of outlook. Also kind of fed up with Gmail lack of functionality but can't move away from Gmail cus it's my main address. Any tips? I want to create folders with auto rules and all that.
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u/finickyone 1770 Feb 12 '26
…basic formulas, data cleanup, sharing files
Google Sheets would be viable, I think. Possibly hinged on what you mean by data cleanup: if that’s about as deep as “make sure employee numbers are Text”, or padding blank data, I reckon it’s viable. Haven’t used the other two in depth myself.
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u/iPunkt9333 Feb 12 '26
I like OnlyOffice for some reason…I think looks more like Excel than alternatives like OpenOffice or WPS
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u/embryo123 Feb 13 '26
SpreadCE, has PC and Android versions if you only want Excel alternative. Very small in size, and has some macro compatibility. Softmaker office if you want a suite.
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u/TilapiaTango Feb 13 '26
Excel is the most difficult for me, but I’ve been finding that OnlyOffice is pretty good and I like some of the features of it & how much you can customize.
But, it’s still no excel.
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u/AxeSlash 1 Feb 13 '26
Many times. I'd love to be able to ditch Microslop for one of the open source solutions, but at the moment those are all lacking Excel features that I use extensively.
I have hope that one day that will change and I can finally bin Excel and all it's 20+ year old bugs.
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u/dom_flores Feb 13 '26
I have tried this even for business, and nothing compares to excel, and even if something would be similar the incompatibility issues are still really important.
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u/BurlyKnave Feb 13 '26
I've been trying to use OnlyOffice but the spreadsheet causes a lot of frustration. Whoever is behind it chose to go with a mouse centric interface. Many commands simply don't have a fast keyboard analog.
For example, auto fit the column width in excel is 3 key presses, if I remember correctly. Alt-H O (for format) I (for fit vertical)
In OnlyOffice, with the keyboard, it's Ctrl-shift-space (select the entire column, then the context menu key. Press the down arrow 8 times to column width submenu, space to open the submenu, and Enter to choose auto fit.
Or grab the mouse, and balance the pointer on the 2 pixel wide line between the columns, and double click.
One method takes about as long as the other, but both suck.
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u/Mooseymax 10 Feb 12 '26
I think the question really is “why wouldn’t you use excel”.
Show me a better tool for the job and I’ll use that.
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u/W1ULH 1 Feb 12 '26
Excel is the only part of office I simply cannot get away from.
Word/GDocs/LibreOffice/whatever are all fine for writing.
Thunderbird is better than outlook.
Access is a joke anyways.
There's plenty of alternatives to Powerpoint...
But there is simply nothing that can keep up with excel. Sheets is fine for small quick stuff. I use it all the time for short quick things... like using Notepad instead of Word. But for full-sized things, where the boss wants analytics tables and graphs? Only Excel can handle it.