5 reasons you should give up Excel and start using Google Sheets

Google Sheets was inspired by Microsoft Excel, but the days when it was an imitation of Excel are long gone.

Now, Google Sheets is capable of accomplishing most of what Excel can and even has features that Excel doesn't have. So the question arises, is it time to give up Excel and switch to using Google Sheets? Here are 5 reasons why you should give up Excel and start using Google Sheets.

1. Price

Of course, one of the factors that determines whether an app is worth using is price. You can include Excel in your Microsoft 365 subscription for $7/month. You can also purchase a lifetime version of Excel separately for $159.99.

On the other hand, Google Sheets is completely free. All you need to do is start your browser and go to the web application. There's also a Google Workspace business plan that adds features to Google Sheets, among other Google services, for $12/month.

This plan comes with many perks, including extended Google Drive storage. If you are curious about Google Workspace, read TipsMake.com's article about what Google Workspace is and how to use it. So when it comes to the basic version of the two apps, Sheets has the upper hand because it's completely free, while you need a Microsoft 365 subscription or purchased copy of Excel to use Excel.

2. Ability to cooperate

With the rapid expansion of cloud-based technologies, followed by the rise of the ability to work remotely, online collaboration has become a definite advantage. Due to its intrinsic web-based nature, Google Sheets dominates when it comes to online collaboration.

Google Sheets comes with collaboration features. You and your colleagues can work together on a specific spreadsheet, and see changes and comments in real time. Google Sheets also has chat built in, so you don't have to switch windows to talk to your teammates. Finally, since your spreadsheet is already on the web, it's easy to share it with a single click.

Excel has also implemented collaboration features in recent versions. However, it's not as seamless as Google Sheets. If you are working on spreadsheets as a team, then Google Sheets is a better choice.

3. Smart charts and graphs

One of the main uses of a spreadsheet application is creating charts. Charts help you better understand and present the data in your spreadsheets.

While creating a chart is simple in most cases, it can get really frustrating at times, especially in Excel. Having to manually enter dataset and series edits in the settings for the chart to display the data properly is not uncommon in Excel.

However, Google Sheets does a great job of taking this burden off your shoulders. Thanks to AI, Google Sheets guesses the nature of the data you're trying to chart, and intentionally selects and locates series and categories.

Furthermore, when you select data and ask Google Sheets to create a chart for it, the tool automatically guesses what type of chart will best represent the data.

Sure, if you're already an Excel expert, then you probably don't mind setting up your charts manually. But given the fact that spreadsheets are made to help boost productivity, switching to Google Sheets will save you some precious time creating graphs and charts.

4. User-friendly interface

Although Google Sheets has a similar interface to Microsoft Excel, when using it, you will find that Google Sheets is much more user-friendly when compared to Excel. Google Sheets has a fairly minimalist interface, without Excel's iconic ribbon.

Most tasks done in Google Sheets are easier than in Excel. A good example of this is conditional formatting. Creating a new formatting rule in Excel can be daunting for completely new users and will scare them off looking up tutorials online. In contrast, Google Sheets offers a simpler interface.

Also, Google Sheets does a great job of simplifying formula writing. For example, if you want to sum a column in Google Sheets, typing SUM in the formula bar will give an autocomplete 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.

While appearance is a matter of priority (some people may prefer the look and feel of Excel, while others prefer Google Sheets), when you start using Google Sheets, you'll notice that it has taken great measures to make using spreadsheets simple for everyone.

5. Google Exclusive Functions

The vast majority of functions in Excel and Google Sheets are identical. They have the same syntax and same usage. Surprisingly, however, Google Sheets has some functions that Excel doesn't. Most of these are functions that use other Google services, such as GOOGLETRANSLATE and GOOGLEFINANCE. These functions translate text using Google Translate and fetch information from Google Finance.

Although some people may find these functions trivial and useless, for others they are extremely useful. You can see a list of all Google Sheets functions and how to use them on the Google support page.

Originally, Google Sheets was seen as a web-based and rather limited version of Microsoft Excel, but those days are long gone. Google Sheets has long since taken its place, doing most of what Excel does and even having some features that Excel doesn't.

With a more user-friendly interface, seamless collaboration features, smart charts, and exclusive functions, Google Sheets has become the choice of many users when it comes to spreadsheet applications. Maybe it's time for you to move away from Excel and give Google Sheets a try so you can take advantage of all these advantages.

Isabella Humphrey

Update 06 April 2022