Clear Analytics vs. Microsoft Excel

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Clear Analytics
Score 8.8 out of 10
Enterprise companies (1,001+ employees)
Clear Analytics is a business intelligence solution that enables non technical end users to perform analytics by leveraging existing knowledge of Excel coupled with a built in query builder. Some key features include: Dynamic Data Refresh, Data Share and In-Excel Collaboration.
$29
Per Seat per Month
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
Clear AnalyticsMicrosoft Excel
Editions & Modules
Personal
$29
Per Seat per Month
Team
$165
upto 10 Seat per Month
Department
$265
upto 25 Seat per month
Organization
$565
Upto 100 per seat per month
Excel with Microsoft 365
$6.99
per month
Excel for 1 PC or Mac
$139.99
perpetual license
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Clear AnalyticsMicrosoft Excel
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesNo
Entry-level Setup Fee$800 Initial OnBoardingNo setup fee
Additional DetailsCertain Enterprise level features can be made available to Small Business edition at additional cost. Such services include Scheduler and OLAP connectivity. Custom adapters can also be created to connect to SaaS services.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Clear AnalyticsMicrosoft Excel
Considered Both Products
Clear Analytics
Chose Clear Analytics
We didn’t choose this software because we found it didn’t adjust to what we really needed to do as a small business.
Microsoft Excel

No answer on this topic

Features
Clear AnalyticsMicrosoft Excel
BI Standard Reporting
Comparison of BI Standard Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Clear Analytics
9.0
8 Ratings
9% above category average
Microsoft Excel
-
Ratings
Pixel Perfect reports9.08 Ratings00 Ratings
Customizable dashboards9.18 Ratings00 Ratings
Report Formatting Templates8.78 Ratings00 Ratings
Ad-hoc Reporting
Comparison of Ad-hoc Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Clear Analytics
8.9
8 Ratings
10% above category average
Microsoft Excel
-
Ratings
Drill-down analysis9.28 Ratings00 Ratings
Formatting capabilities8.78 Ratings00 Ratings
Report sharing and collaboration8.98 Ratings00 Ratings
Report Output and Scheduling
Comparison of Report Output and Scheduling features of Product A and Product B
Clear Analytics
9.0
8 Ratings
9% above category average
Microsoft Excel
-
Ratings
Publish to Web9.08 Ratings00 Ratings
Publish to PDF9.17 Ratings00 Ratings
Report Versioning8.98 Ratings00 Ratings
Report Delivery Scheduling8.87 Ratings00 Ratings
Data Discovery and Visualization
Comparison of Data Discovery and Visualization features of Product A and Product B
Clear Analytics
9.0
8 Ratings
12% above category average
Microsoft Excel
-
Ratings
Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)8.98 Ratings00 Ratings
Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization9.18 Ratings00 Ratings
Access Control and Security
Comparison of Access Control and Security features of Product A and Product B
Clear Analytics
9.3
8 Ratings
9% above category average
Microsoft Excel
-
Ratings
Multi-User Support (named login)9.48 Ratings00 Ratings
Role-Based Security Model9.08 Ratings00 Ratings
Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)9.48 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile Capabilities
Comparison of Mobile Capabilities features of Product A and Product B
Clear Analytics
8.6
6 Ratings
10% above category average
Microsoft Excel
-
Ratings
Mobile Application8.54 Ratings00 Ratings
Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile8.76 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Clear AnalyticsMicrosoft Excel
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Score 8.9 out of 10
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Reveal
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Score 8.6 out of 10
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User Ratings
Clear AnalyticsMicrosoft Excel
Likelihood to Recommend
9.0
(8 ratings)
9.3
(76 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
9.9
(7 ratings)
Usability
9.1
(8 ratings)
8.4
(22 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Support Rating
9.5
(8 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
User Testimonials
Clear AnalyticsMicrosoft Excel
Likelihood to Recommend
Clear Analytics
Clear Analytics has almost all the features which are mostly required by the organizations for their data analytics and transformation activities. Clear Analytics is built on the support of a parallel query engine which makes it handle large volume requests and also provides optimized results. However, every solution has some limitations, Clear Analytics lacks advanced features such as Predictive Analytics which is a very demanding feature in the market as most organizations are adopting AI/ML automation for their businesses. Also, it needs to add a lot of advanced visualizations so that the user has the choice of selection. Overall a good solution to be recommended.
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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.
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Pros
Clear Analytics
  • Quick management of the data through Excel thanks to the tools Clear Analytics provides such as filtering different information for an easier view.
  • Ability to add new KPIs to measure different areas of our business.
  • Drag and drop tool which makes an easier usage of Excel.
  • Cost-effective. I find Clear Analytics to be affordable considering the number of features added and the unlimited sharing and editing it provides.
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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.
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Cons
Clear Analytics
  • For Charts and Graphs , getting the Power Point Deck would be helpful. As of now we use the data from Excel Reports
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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.
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Likelihood to Renew
Clear Analytics
No answers on this topic
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.
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Usability
Clear Analytics
I have really enjoyed working with Clear Analytics. This platform has contributed to increased production and reliable data control processes. It has flexible user interface that can be operated by any organization member. Reports are shared on simple and transparent way in the dashboard for easy access. Data analytics from all departments have created manageable working environment that have increased production.
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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.
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Reliability and Availability
Clear Analytics
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
I have rarely, if ever, had issues with its availability.
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Performance
Clear Analytics
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.
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Support Rating
Clear Analytics
I have had multiple scenarios where I had to reach out to the support team of Clear Analytics, be it access-related, general queries, during initial implementation, etc. My overall experience has always been good. I got the needed support every time without any delay. I can definitely recommend Clear Analytics simply on the basis of its excellent support team.
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Microsoft
I have not had to use it often, but it is good.
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Alternatives Considered
Clear Analytics
There are other great tools that are out there but Clear Analytics is reasonable for our business and provides a lot of features that we specifically needed
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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.
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Contract Terms and Pricing Model
Clear Analytics
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
N/A I was not involved in this process.
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Scalability
Clear Analytics
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
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Return on Investment
Clear Analytics
  • Super useful to get started immediately
  • Didn't have to rely on migrating data
  • Easy to add members
  • Easy to learn and build charts
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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.
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ScreenShots

Clear Analytics Screenshots

Screenshot of Clear Analytics integrated Excel panel essentially transforms standalone Excel into an enterprise strength, fully auditable, collaborative and centralized business intelligence platform.Screenshot of Users have the ability to dynamically query systems and render that data in any way they like.  No more waiting on IT to create reports.Screenshot of Your firms existing knowledge of Excel enables the firm to be product from day 1. Use the skills already present in your organization and don't pay for outside reporting consultants to create reports for you.Screenshot of Leverage the integration capability of Microsoft's Power BI to extend the reach of your data to web and mobile devices.Screenshot of Leverage all of Excels capabilities, from it's slicers to miniature spark-line charts to create incredibly informative and responsive dashboards.