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Free alternatives to Microsoft Excel

Top pick: LibreOffice Calc. Switching saves about $100 USD a year.

Microsoft Excel, Microsoft 365 Personal, annual plan

$99.99 USDa year

$115 CAD

Every pick below has a free version.

Runs on
  • Windows
  • macOS
  • Web
  • iOS
  • Android
Key file formats
.xlsx.xls.csv.ods

Filter alternatives

4 alternatives

Top pick

1 tool

The editor’s first choice for most people switching.

  1. Rank 1: LibreOffice Calc

    Best for a full offline spreadsheet on any desktop

    License: Open source
    • Windows
    • macOS
    • Linux
    Status: Active
    • XLSX: opens and saves, partial fidelity. Some charts, conditional formats and slicers differ
    • XLS: opens and saves, partial fidelity. Legacy XLS opens and saves; macros and some formatting can differ
    • CSV: opens and saves, full fidelity
    • ODS: opens and saves, full fidelity. Native format

    Opens and saves XLSX and ODS. Power Query and Power Pivot have no equivalent, and VBA macros may need rewriting in Basic or Python.

Strong

2 tools

Covers most of the same work, with trade-offs noted on each card.

  1. Rank 2: ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors

    Best for XLSX files with the layout kept intact

    License: Open source
    • Windows
    • macOS
    • Linux
    Status: Slow
    • DOCX: opens and saves, full fidelity. Native format
    • DOC: opens only, partial fidelity. Opens DOC through a conversion and saves as DOCX
    • RTF: opens and saves, partial fidelity. Editing can lose some formatting
    • ODT: opens and saves, partial fidelity. Editing can lose some formatting
    • PDF: opens and saves, partial fidelity. The PDF editor handles forms, comments and basic edits
    • +7 more

    Free desktop app on Windows, macOS and Linux that uses OOXML natively. VBA macros do not run.

  2. Rank 3: Google Sheets

    Best for sharing and co-editing spreadsheets online

    License: Free tier
    • Web
    • iOS
    • Android
    Status: Verified
    • XLSX: opens and saves, partial fidelity. Some formatting, charts and macros do not carry over
    • XLS: opens only, partial fidelity. Opens XLS files; downloads are offered as XLSX, ODS, CSV and PDF
    • CSV: opens and saves, full fidelity
    • ODS: opens and saves, partial fidelity. Basic formatting carries over

    Needs a Google account and a browser or the mobile app. Large workbooks, VBA macros and Power Query queries do not carry over. Free version: Free with a personal Google account and 15 GB of shared storage. Google Workspace plans add admin controls and more storage.

Situational

1 tool

Right for specific needs, or not yet mature enough to recommend widely.

  1. Rank 4: Grist

    Best for relational data that outgrew a spreadsheet

    License: Open source
    • Windows
    • macOS
    • Linux
    • Web
    • Self-hosted
    Status: Active
    • XLSX: opens and saves, partial fidelity. Imports data and exports XLSX; formulas and formatting are not kept
    • CSV: opens and saves, full fidelity

    A relational spreadsheet, not an Excel clone. The free hosted plan allows 5,000 records per document; the open-source edition can be self-hosted. Free version: Hosted Free plan has unlimited documents with 5,000 records each and 10 team members. The open-source edition is free to host.

Sponsor this page: $149 for 30 days. Sponsors appear above the ranking, labeled; the ranking itself is not for sale.

Feature parity

How each alternative covers what people use Microsoft Excel for. Numbers link to editor notes.

Feature parity with Microsoft Excel
FeatureLibreOffice CalcONLYOFFICE Desktop EditorsGoogle SheetsGrist
Compatibility
XLSX fidelity for formulas, formatting and chartsPartialNote 1PartialNote 2PartialNote 3PartialNote 4
Analysis
Formulas, pivot tables and chartsYesNote 5YesNote 6YesNote 7PartialNote 8
Dynamic arrays and LET or LAMBDAPartialNote 9PartialNote 10YesNote 11NoNote 12
Data
Power Query and Power PivotNoNote 13NoNote 14NoNote 15NoNote 16
Automation
VBA macrosPartialNote 17NoNote 18NoNote 19NoNote 20
Collaboration
Real-time co-authoringNoNote 21PartialNote 22YesNote 23YesNote 24
AI
Built-in AI data analysisNoNote 25PartialNote 26NoNote 27PartialNote 28
Parity score36%43%50%36%
  1. LibreOffice Calc, XLSX fidelity for formulas, formatting and charts: Opens and saves XLSX; some charts, conditional formats and slicers differ
  2. ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors, XLSX fidelity for formulas, formatting and charts: Native XLSX; advanced Excel features can be missing
  3. Google Sheets, XLSX fidelity for formulas, formatting and charts: Imports and exports XLSX; some formatting, charts and macros do not carry over
  4. Grist, XLSX fidelity for formulas, formatting and charts: Imports data from Excel files and exports XLSX; formulas and formatting are not kept
  5. LibreOffice Calc, Formulas, pivot tables and charts: Functions, pivot tables, charts and conditional formatting
  6. ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors, Formulas, pivot tables and charts: Functions, pivot tables and charts
  7. Google Sheets, Formulas, pivot tables and charts: Functions, pivot tables and charts
  8. Grist, Formulas, pivot tables and charts: Python formulas, summary tables and charts instead of Excel functions and pivot tables
  9. LibreOffice Calc, Dynamic arrays and LET or LAMBDA: FILTER, SORT, UNIQUE, XLOOKUP and LET are built in; LAMBDA is not documented
  10. ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors, Dynamic arrays and LET or LAMBDA: XLOOKUP, FILTER, SORT and UNIQUE are documented; LET and LAMBDA are not
  11. Google Sheets, Dynamic arrays and LET or LAMBDA: Array formulas, FILTER, SORT, UNIQUE, LET and LAMBDA
  12. Grist, Dynamic arrays and LET or LAMBDA: Formulas are Python expressions per column
  13. LibreOffice Calc, Power Query and Power Pivot: No Power Query or Power Pivot; the Data menu covers simpler imports
  14. ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors, Power Query and Power Pivot: No Power Query or Power Pivot
  15. Google Sheets, Power Query and Power Pivot: No Power Query; import functions cover simple cases
  16. Grist, Power Query and Power Pivot: No Power Query; import tools cover files and URLs
  17. LibreOffice Calc, VBA macros: Runs some VBA macros; Basic and Python are the native options
  18. ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors, VBA macros: Macros are written in JavaScript; VBA code does not run
  19. Google Sheets, VBA macros: Uses Apps Script instead of VBA
  20. Grist, VBA macros: Formulas are Python; there is no macro language
  21. LibreOffice Calc, Real-time co-authoring: The desktop app has no real-time co-authoring
  22. ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors, Real-time co-authoring: Real-time co-editing needs a connected ONLYOFFICE or Nextcloud server
  23. Google Sheets, Real-time co-authoring: Live editing for many people at once
  24. Grist, Real-time co-authoring: Real-time collaboration on shared documents
  25. LibreOffice Calc, Built-in AI data analysis: No built-in AI by design as of 26.8
  26. ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors, Built-in AI data analysis: AI plug-in works with your own provider and API key
  27. Google Sheets, Built-in AI data analysis: Gemini in Sheets needs a paid Google AI or Workspace plan
  28. Grist, Built-in AI data analysis: The legacy formula assistant works with your own API key when self-hosted

Not covered by any free alternative yet: XLSX fidelity for formulas, formatting and charts, Power Query and Power Pivot, VBA macros, Built-in AI data analysis. See all feature gaps

File formats

Can each alternative open and save Microsoft Excel files?

Opening and saving Microsoft Excel files
FormatLibreOffice CalcONLYOFFICE Desktop EditorsGoogle SheetsGrist
.xlsxOpens and savesNote 1Partial fidelityOpens and savesNote 2Full fidelityOpens and savesNote 3Partial fidelityOpens and savesNote 4Partial fidelity
.xlsOpens and savesNote 5Partial fidelityOpens and savesNote 6Partial fidelityOpens onlyNote 7Partial fidelityNoNote 8
.csvOpens and savesFull fidelityOpens and savesFull fidelityOpens and savesFull fidelityOpens and savesFull fidelity
.odsOpens and savesNote 9Full fidelityOpens and savesNote 10Partial fidelityOpens and savesNote 11Partial fidelityNoNote 12
  1. LibreOffice Calc, .xlsx: Some charts, conditional formats and slicers differ
  2. ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors, .xlsx: Native format
  3. Google Sheets, .xlsx: Some formatting, charts and macros do not carry over
  4. Grist, .xlsx: Imports data and exports XLSX; formulas and formatting are not kept
  5. LibreOffice Calc, .xls: Legacy XLS opens and saves; macros and some formatting can differ
  6. ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors, .xls: Editing can lose some formatting
  7. Google Sheets, .xls: Opens XLS files; downloads are offered as XLSX, ODS, CSV and PDF
  8. Grist, .xls: Import docs list Excel files without naming XLS; export XLSX instead
  9. LibreOffice Calc, .ods: Native format
  10. ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors, .ods: Editing can lose some formatting
  11. Google Sheets, .ods: Basic formatting carries over
  12. Grist, .ods: ODS is not in Grist's import list

What switching saves

Switching saves about $100 USD / $115 CAD a year. Prices checked .

Based on Microsoft 365 Personal, annual plan. Price source.

About this page

Last verified . Ranking: tier first, then the published score.

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Microsoft Excel is a product of Microsoft, named here for comparison only. Platforms listed for Microsoft Excel: Windows, macOS, Web, iOS, Android.