Microsoft has added a few features for co-authoring, but they’re not as streamlined as competitors like Google Sheets, which have online collaboration (opens in new tab) baked into their DNA. If you prefer, the ribbon menu at the top of the interface can be hidden so Excel looks a bit more like a web application. To combat this, Microsoft has added an interactive Getting Started tour that takes you through creating your first formula, PivotTable, and chart. So many features have been added over the years that it's hard to know where to start. You can easily create graphical representations of your data in Microsoft Excel (Image credit: Microsoft ) Microsoft Excel: Interface and in useĮxcel’s user interface can be somewhat daunting for new users.

With charts, conditional formatting, pivot tables, pictures, shapes, icons, maps, sparklines, and SmartArt, you can create compelling representations of your data that accurately summarizes your calculations. Online spreadsheet software lacks this power and versatility.Įxcel has great data visualization tools (opens in new tab) too. With macros, you can extend this functionality almost indefinitely by writing your own VBA code. There are over 450 functions for manipulating and displaying data. As Excel makes better use of your computer’s processing power, it’s fast even when you are working with large sets of data and performing complex calculations.Īnother draw of Excel is its long list of built-in functions.

Whereas Sheets can only handle around 5 million cells, in Excel, you can feasibly work with 17 billion cells. But Excel allows you to process more data at a time than competitors like Google Sheets (opens in new tab). With Microsoft Excel, you enter and manage data in the form of numbers, text, and graphics in a grid format, as you would with any spreadsheet.

Limited online-only versions of the Microsoft Office apps are available at (Image credit: Microsoft) Microsoft Excel: Features

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