Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Apple Numbers
Score 7.6 out of 10
N/A
Numbers is a spreadsheet application developed by Apple Inc. as part of the iWork productivity suite. It is available for Mac and iOS, or for Windows in a browser via its cloud edition.N/A
FunctionFox
Score 8.0 out of 10
Small Businesses (1-50 employees)
FunctionFox provides TimeFox which is a timesheet and project management solution for small creative companies. The vendor says TimeFox is currently used by over 100,000 creative professionals in Canada, the US, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
$5
per user
Microsoft Excel
Score 8.9 out of 10
N/A
Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet application available as part of Microsoft 365 (Office 365), or standalone, in cloud-based and on-premise editions.
$6.99
per month
Pricing
Apple NumbersFunctionFoxMicrosoft Excel
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
FunctionFox Classic
$5
per user
FunctionFox Premier
$10
per user
FunctionFox In-House
$20
per user
Excel with Microsoft 365
$6.99
per month
Excel for 1 PC or Mac
$139.99
perpetual license
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Apple NumbersFunctionFoxMicrosoft Excel
Free Trial
NoYesYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoYesYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsNo hidden fees. All customer support, and regular upgrades are included free of charge.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Apple NumbersFunctionFoxMicrosoft Excel
Considered Multiple Products
Apple Numbers
Chose Apple Numbers
has a more refined interface, allows for making good looking spreadsheets with little effort. though these other softwares each have their own positives and negatives. But Excel and Odoo are top in features and managing large amounts of data. Apple Numbers is good until you …
Chose Apple Numbers
Apple Numbers lags behind Google Sheets when it comes to real-time collaboration and editing between multiple users (especially when you consider that Numbers is iOS based and anyone can use Google Sheets, regardless of the kind of device and operating system they have). …
Chose Apple Numbers
Sheets is better for collaborative sharing, and Excel is better for complex formulas and functions.
Chose Apple Numbers
I would say excel is top tier, but you are going to pay a premium price for it. A small step down is a price savings and two tools that are really similar: Google Sheets and Apple Numbers. If I had to pick one I would pick sheets as it is easier to collaborate with. For …
Chose Apple Numbers
If you're an Apple user, Apple Numbers is for you. If you primarily operate on PC and Android, you will find more compatibility with Excel. Both platforms perform similar functions -- you can create charts, graphs, and figures. Excel was the pioneer spreadsheet software but …
Chose Apple Numbers
Numbers is every bit as good and functional as Excel.
Chose Apple Numbers
We all work with Apple devices in this organization. So we mostly use this software. It is very well synced in Apple ecosystem and provide very attractive data representation by its graphics and charts. In few scenarios we use MS Excel also but we always try to stick on Apple …
FunctionFox
Chose FunctionFox
FunctionFox is simple, fast and there is no need for using task and timesheet management separately
Microsoft Excel
Chose Microsoft Excel
Microsoft is more user friendly in my opinion. More applications and systems are compatible with excel versus Apple Numbers. More companies we do business with use Excel for invoicing and warehouse management which makes Excel stand out from other software like it. It is …
Chose Microsoft Excel
I've used a few of the mobile spreadsheet programs that you can find on the app store and found them to be inferior to Excel, even the mobile version. Access is better than Excel for certain situations but it is largely overkill much of the time and requires a time investment …
Chose Microsoft Excel
Excel will always be selected because it's part of the Office Suite. We started to use Smartsheet, but the onboarding and training process took too long when compounded with licensing setup & costs. Apple Numbers works well, but without the maturity of Excel. Since Apple …
Chose Microsoft Excel
Excel stands out from Google Sheets and Apple Numbers with its extensive range of advanced functions, including financial, statistical, and data analysis tools, surpassing the capabilities of its competitors. As the universally recognized industry standard, Excel offers better …
Chose Microsoft Excel
PowerPoint is excellent for displaying information in a far more visually engaging, relatable manner. However, where it is lacking is the ability to get to that point in analyzing competing deal information, building formulas around it, things of that nature.

Apple has its own …
Chose Microsoft Excel
Excel is a far superior product compared to Numbers as far as it's usability, simplicity, and functions. I do like the ease of sharing that Google Sheets offers and that's an advantage, but otherwise, very similar. Often I use Excel over Google because of how user friendly it …
Best Alternatives
Apple NumbersFunctionFoxMicrosoft Excel
Small Businesses
Stackby
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Score 8.9 out of 10
Traqq
Traqq
Score 9.1 out of 10
Stackby
Stackby
Score 8.9 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Excel
Score 8.9 out of 10
TimeClock Plus
TimeClock Plus
Score 9.5 out of 10
Airtable
Airtable
Score 8.6 out of 10
Enterprises
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Excel
Score 8.9 out of 10
Zoho People
Zoho People
Score 8.9 out of 10
Airtable
Airtable
Score 8.6 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Apple NumbersFunctionFoxMicrosoft Excel
Likelihood to Recommend
7.9
(6 ratings)
8.0
(14 ratings)
9.3
(76 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(1 ratings)
3.0
(4 ratings)
9.9
(7 ratings)
Usability
8.3
(6 ratings)
4.0
(1 ratings)
8.4
(22 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Support Rating
10.0
(1 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Implementation Rating
10.0
(1 ratings)
5.0
(1 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
User Testimonials
Apple NumbersFunctionFoxMicrosoft Excel
Likelihood to Recommend
Apple
Apple Numbers is the PERFECT tool if you are looking to plan a conference at your church. Furthermore, if you are a youth pastor, Apple Numbers is incredibly useful in keeping track of how much each of your high school students has accumulated funds towards their summer camp bill. Lastly, Apple Numbers is perfect if you are trying to keep track of all your upcoming preaching opportunities.
Read full review
FunctionFox
If you are trying to track time across teams or functions, that is really what FunctionFox is designed for. I think this would work better for individual, smaller teams with similar tasks and activities, instead of for larger companies with more complex organizational operations. If you are just getting started with time tracking, this could be a good place to start.
Read full review
Microsoft
I don't really know another program as powerful as Excel. I've used Google Doc programs but do not feel they come close. So far, anytime I've needed a table of some sort for data, whether it's budget oriented or information off a survey, the best system has been Excel. We do web audits on occasion and we create an Excel worksheet featuring every URL of the pages we're auditing, notes, data about the content, information about files attached to the page and other information to help us determine what pages need updating, deleting or otherwise. We also use Excel primarily to export our Google Analytics to in order for us to create reports for clients that need to see specific information about their traffic.
Read full review
Pros
Apple
  • Data security provided by Apple on its all the software.
  • Very well integration within the Apple ecosystem.
  • It is very well compatible with MS Excel also.
  • It is available on iOS also. We can use it on our Apple mobile phones and on our iPads also.
Read full review
FunctionFox
  • With only a couple clicks I can still easily pull reports by employee on a weekly basis which provide the information I need to run payroll.
  • I pull reports by client each month for our monthly client billings, which we have broken down by project so I can easily see how our time was spent on their account.
  • We set a budget for the approved number of hours we can apply to any one project for the month, and the system provides the project manager with a warning as the limit comes near. That function has been fantastic!
  • FunctionFox's Help Desk personnel are wonderful, providing an exceptionally personalized experience. They take their time, and will even schedule a call to go into greater depth, such as an entire account review just to ensure you're able to use all the product features to your company's best advantage. Our entire team jumped on a half hour call a couple months ago, and she answered ALL of our questions, including providing us with info on some features we hadn't realized even existed.
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Microsoft
  • It is very good at embedded formulas and tying cells to one another
  • It allows me to compare deals terms on a side-by-side basis and talk my clients through it easily.
  • It is very helpful as well in terms of allowing me to filter/sort results in many different ways depending on what specific information I am most interested in prioritizing.
Read full review
Cons
Apple
  • Doesn’t have all the bells and whistles as excel.
  • Sometimes you have to save it in a different format for others to view
  • Could include more options on the menu bar rather than clicking on some of the drop downs.
Read full review
FunctionFox
  • The function of the site is not as user-friendly as others, it's sometimes hard to find certain projects and organize data in order to track effectively. I would often need to download/export reports.
  • Sometimes a project would accidentally be created twice and hours billed to two separate projects for the same thing. Which made tracking and billing increasingly difficult.
  • Little to no organization of projects for billing and finance purposes, which makes it hard when we conduct billing as there is not a clear way to know if a project is complete, ongoing, rejected etc.
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Microsoft
  • Excel offers collaboration features that allow multiple users to work on the same spreadsheet, but managing changes made by different users can be challenging. Excel could improve its features by offering more granular control, better tracking of changes, and more robust conflict resolution tools.
  • Itcan be a barrier to productivity when importing and exporting data from other applications or file formats. To improve its features, it should offer better support for standard file formats and more robust error handling and reporting tools.
  • Excel can be challenging for finance students and working professionals, but it can be improved by offering more robust tutorials, better documentation, and more user communities and support forums.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Apple
I just really like it
Read full review
FunctionFox
All of my employees are used to it and introducing a new software to them requires them to get trained again increasing the costs. TimeFox is an easy to use and understand software. Another advantage of TimeFox is that is an online software and I can access it whenever I want to.
Read full review
Microsoft
Excel remains the industry standard for spreadsheets and has maintained simple and straight-forward formula writing methods. Although there is a learning curve to do more complex calculations, there are countless help sites and videos on the Internet for almost any need.
Read full review
Usability
Apple
The interface once familiar allows for quick work, and easy to use. very intuitive. Its easy to create beautiful spreadsheets, ones that capture interest and can communicate data in a easy to understand with Apple Numbers ability to organize, and make good looking with styles. Collaboration is great for our teams to all contribute the to document at the same time.
Read full review
FunctionFox
It's a good tool for tracking hours and overall budget. It does not give you insight into why there are those hours, or what part of the project has over burned. The tool is also tough to export reports and find the correct information throughout. Not only this, but I also have a hard time changing project details - there's no real easy way to and there's a larger room for error
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Microsoft
I'm giving it a 7 because it is my go to. But the fact other prefer Google Sheets when working with a team does get irritating. I've used the online version of Microsoft Excel that other teams can get into and it still seems behind Google Sheets. It's a little clanky and slow? If that's even a term.
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
Apple
No answers on this topic
FunctionFox
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
I have rarely, if ever, had issues with its availability.
Read full review
Performance
Apple
No answers on this topic
FunctionFox
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
Excel load and performs calculations immediately. It integrate well with all Microsoft Office applications and does not slow them down.
Read full review
Support Rating
Apple
It is visually appealing and easy to use
Read full review
FunctionFox
I haven't used FunctionFox for a lot of support requests. On the times that i've been having issues I've had the issue resolved within a day, most questions I have had i've been able to source answers online or from a colleague. From what I have experienced the support team seems great.
Read full review
Microsoft
I have not had to use it often, but it is good.
Read full review
Implementation Rating
Apple
Implementing Numbers effectively, whether for personal use or within an organization, requires understanding its strengths and limitations to maximize productivity
Read full review
FunctionFox
Unsure on implementation of FunctionFox - was before my time at the company. Everyone at the company had a good understanding of the product and how to use it by the time I joined. My understanding is we implemented ourselves with a few training sessions for the creative team and adding hours as well as training for the account team to add projects
Read full review
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Apple
Apple Numbers lags behind Google Sheets when it comes to real-time collaboration and editing between multiple users (especially when you consider that Numbers is iOS based and anyone can use Google Sheets, regardless of the kind of device and operating system they have). However, Numbers is easier to navigate, which can be a benefit for some users.
Read full review
FunctionFox
When we were looking for software we tested several, and FunctionFox was hands down the best value. While there are other options, and each company is different, nothing could come close to filling our needs the way FunctionFox has. The money we spend has been returned several times over.
Read full review
Microsoft
Out of Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Power BI, IBM SPSS, and Google Sheets, Microsoft Excel is by far the most common tool used for anything data-related across organizations. Accordingly, our organization has also implemented Microsoft Excel as a first-step tool. We recently adopted Microsoft Power BI (the free version), and use it occasionally (mostly for creating dashboards), but it is less commonly understood by stakeholders across our organization and by our clients. Accordingly, Microsoft Excel is more user-friendly and because of its popularity, we can easily look up how to do things in the program online. Google Sheets is a comparable alternative to Microsoft Excel, but because it's cloud-based and we have sensitive data that needs to be protected, we chose against using this software. Finally, a few users (including myself) have access to and utilize IBM's SPSS. For my role, it's a helpful tool to do more rigorous analyses. However, because of its cost and limited functionality as a simple spreadsheet, we only use it for more complex analyses.
Read full review
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
Apple
No answers on this topic
FunctionFox
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
N/A I was not involved in this process.
Read full review
Scalability
Apple
No answers on this topic
FunctionFox
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
Each user can use it to whatever level of expertise they have. It remains the same so users can contribute to another's work regardless of whether they have more or less expertise
Read full review
Return on Investment
Apple
  • Apple Numbers is a free software ...huge ROI!
  • Apple Numbers is upgraded frequently and automatically without charge
  • Enormous time saver when integrating Apple Numbers spreadsheet into word processor and presentation software
  • easily exporter in pdf format. Ideal to share information
  • On the negative side , it misses some advances macro and programmable functions features present in Excel
  • Exportation as an Excel document sometimes defective
  • Importation from Excel sometimes missions some features
Read full review
FunctionFox
  • FunctionFox pays for itself just about every month in terms of how much more I am able to bill than before I started using the software, and how much less time I need to spend on non-billable admin tasks. I used to create invoices based mostly on what sounded fair, rather than on accurate time & cost records. I'm sure my clients loved it, but it wasn't healthy for my business. Now I base invoices on actual time and expense records, and end up with more money in my pocket.
  • It's not tangible, but FunctionFox has improved my ability to communicate with clients, and with freelance partners when I'm involved in a collaborative project. I can anticipate and discuss potential budget or delivery deadline overruns before they occur. The goodwill this builds has had a tremendously positive impact on client and partnership relations.
  • I fell into freelancing without a lot of experience running a business. FunctionFox has been a great teacher, helping me think through many issues that I wouldn't have even recognized as important. It is simple to use, with a UI that is neither intimidating nor overwhelming, and it has been super flexible in terms of molding it to suit the way I work.
Read full review
Microsoft
  • Excel has positively impacted the business as it has increased our efficiency.
  • It also saves us the time that we would have spent on making the calculations that it does for us.
  • Since it works on all devices and is compatible with both Windows and Mac, we do not have to invest in any other alternative.
Read full review
ScreenShots

FunctionFox Screenshots

Screenshot of Easily navigate throughout FunctionFox from the customizable Home dashboard.Screenshot of CEO Desktop enables users to visualize budgets and deadlines for specific projects.Screenshot of The Project Status page provides the users with  an overview of the projects and the different stages they are at. With the filters users can drill down to see specific clients or projects.Screenshot of The Calendar provides a great weekly or monthly view of project start and due dates, along with deliverables, milestones, and meetings.