Quick Verdict
Choose Google Sheets if:
- You work in a team and need real-time collaboration
- Your data has under 50,000 rows
- You don't need VBA or Power Query
- Cost is a concern
Choose Excel if:
- Your files have 50,000+ rows or complex models
- You need VBA macros or Power Query
- You work in finance, accounting, or data analysis
- You need advanced pivot tables or Solver
Full Comparison Table
| Feature | Google Sheets | Excel |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free (web) / £6+/mo (desktop) |
| Collaboration | Real-time, seamless | Good in 365, limited in desktop-only |
| Row limit | 10 million cells total | 1,048,576 rows per sheet |
| Performance on large files | Slow above ~50k rows | Handles 500k+ rows well |
| Formulas | Most Excel formulas + QUERY | All formulas + DAX, LAMBDA |
| XLOOKUP | Yes (since 2022) | Yes (365/2021+) |
| VBA Macros | No (uses Apps Script) | Yes |
| Power Query | No | Yes |
| Pivot tables | Basic | Full-featured |
| Works offline | Limited (Chrome extension) | Yes (desktop) |
| File format | .gsheet / exports .xlsx | .xlsx, .xlsb, .xlsm |
| Audit tools | Limited | Formula auditing, Watch Window |
Where Google Sheets Wins
Real-Time Collaboration
This is Sheets' clearest advantage. Multiple users can edit simultaneously and see each other's changes in real time with no file-locking, no "read-only" conflicts, and no emailing versions back and forth. Excel 365 offers co-authoring, but it requires OneDrive and is less seamless — file conflicts still occur when the connection drops.
Cost
Google Sheets is free for personal use, and included with Google Workspace for businesses (from about £5/user/month). Desktop Excel requires a Microsoft 365 subscription or a one-time purchase of Excel 2021 (around £120). Excel for the web is free but lacks Power Query, VBA, and some advanced features.
QUERY Function
Google Sheets has a unique QUERY() function that lets you run SQL-like queries on your data directly in a cell — no pivot table needed:
=QUERY(A1:D500, "SELECT A, SUM(C) WHERE B = 'North' GROUP BY A ORDER BY SUM(C) DESC", 1)This is one of the few features where Sheets genuinely does something Excel cannot without Power Query.
Web Integration and APIs
Sheets integrates natively with Google Apps Script (JavaScript-based automation), Google Forms, Google Data Studio, and external APIs through IMPORTDATA(), IMPORTFEED(), and IMPORTHTML() functions. Pulling live data from a public URL takes one formula in Sheets; in Excel it requires Power Query.
Where Excel Wins
Performance on Large Data
Google Sheets starts to lag noticeably above 50,000–100,000 rows. It has a hard cap of 10 million cells per spreadsheet. Excel handles 1,048,576 rows per sheet with far better performance, especially with Power Pivot which can handle tens of millions of rows using an in-memory column store.
Power Query
Power Query (Data → Get Data) is Excel's most powerful feature for data professionals. It connects to databases, APIs, files, and folders; cleans and transforms data with a visual interface; and refreshes automatically on demand. Google Sheets has no equivalent built-in. This alone is the reason most data analysts and finance teams stay on Excel.
VBA Macros and Automation
Excel's VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) lets you automate almost anything in a workbook — generate reports, run complex workflows, interact with other Office applications, and build custom functions. Google Sheets uses Apps Script (JavaScript), which is more modern but less deeply integrated with the spreadsheet than VBA.
Pivot Table Power
Excel pivot tables support calculated fields, custom groupings, drill-through, slicer synchronization across multiple pivot tables, Power Pivot connections, and OLAP cube connections. Sheets pivot tables cover the basics but lack the depth needed for complex reporting.
Advanced Formulas
Excel 365 added LAMBDA (create custom functions without VBA), LET (assign variables inside formulas), and the complete array function family (FILTER, SORT, UNIQUE, SEQUENCE). Google Sheets has some of these but Excel's implementation is more complete and better documented.
Compatibility: Can They Open Each Other's Files?
Google Sheets opens .xlsx files and can export back to .xlsx. Most everyday content — data, basic formulas, formatting — survives the round-trip. What may break:
- VBA macros — stripped completely when opened in Sheets
- Power Query connections — not transferred; data becomes static
- Some pivot table configurations — may simplify or fail to open
- Complex conditional formatting — partial support in Sheets
- Advanced charts — simplified or removed
For files that will be shared between Sheets and Excel users, stick to core features: standard formulas, basic formatting, simple pivot tables. Avoid VBA and Power Query if compatibility matters.
Converting Between Excel and Sheets
To convert an Excel file to Google Sheets: upload the .xlsx to Google Drive → right-click → "Open with Google Sheets" → File → "Save as Google Sheets".
To convert Sheets to Excel: File → Download → Microsoft Excel (.xlsx).
The ExcelErrorFinder merge tool and audit tool work with .xlsx files exported from either platform.
The Bottom Line
The decision usually comes down to one question: does your work involve data volumes, automation, or analysis complexity that Sheets can't handle?
If you're building a shared team budget, a project tracker, or a simple report — use Sheets. If you're running financial models, cleaning large datasets, building automated reports, or working in an industry where Excel is the standard (finance, accounting, consulting) — use Excel.
Most power users end up using both: Sheets for collaborative input collection and lightweight reporting, Excel for the heavy analysis and model-building on top of that data.