Google Sheets vs. Microsoft 365

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Google Sheets
Score 8.7 out of 10
N/A
Google Sheets is the spreadsheet app available on Google Workspace, or standalone, with a free plan for personal use and accessible via mobile apps for iOS and Android.N/A
Microsoft 365
Score 8.6 out of 10
N/A
Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365) is a Microsoft Cloud subscription service that includes Microsoft Office products (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Publisher, and Access). The software can be installed across multiple devices and ensures that users always have the most up-to-date version of the included Office applications.
$5
Per User Per Month
Pricing
Google SheetsMicrosoft 365
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Business Basic
$5.00
Per User Per Month
Individual
$5.84
*Per Month
Business - Apps
$8.25
Per User Per Month
Enterprise - F3
$10.00
Per User Per Month
Business Standard
$12.50
Per User Per Month
Business Premium
$20.00
Per User Per Month
Enterprise - E3
$32.00
Per User Per Month
Enterprise - E5
$57.00
Per User Per Month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Google SheetsMicrosoft 365
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details*When billed annually.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Google SheetsMicrosoft 365
Considered Both Products
Google Sheets

No answer on this topic

Microsoft 365
Chose Microsoft 365
Microsoft has quite a bit more functionality versus Google Sheets. Plus there are times that I want to work locally and not be connected to the cloud. Microsoft 365 allows for that.
Chose Microsoft 365
While Sheets has a lot of the functionality that Excel provides, it does not provide the same experience. For example, pivot tables and charts are much more complicated to create and manipulate in Excel. Sheets is free, though, with a Google account, but I do believe that Excel …
Chose Microsoft 365
Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365) and Google Drive have a very similar structure. Both have apps that can provide the same performance. For example, Google Docs and Microsoft Word are alike. Likewise, Google Sheets and Excel, Google Meet and Teams, Google Slide and …
Chose Microsoft 365
Google Sheets, doesn't give me the same flexibility that Excel does. I have been frustrated when trying to work in Sheets to build complex spreadsheets. It is easier to manipulate and the spreadsheet can still be shared with a team member when cooperation needs to be had in …
Chose Microsoft 365
Google Sheets is better for sharing and collaborative editing. Versioning of the same file is also one of Google Sheets strong points.
Microsoft 365 is better for working with local files. It is much easier to store the file in multiple places and backup multiple versions in …
Chose Microsoft 365
BTE, this search bar is not the best; I couldn't find Google Suite. In any case, it's challenging to find a suite with advanced tools that serves as an office. Google comes close, no one uses OpenOffice (hyperbole), and there isn't much else to use. If you add to that the …
Chose Microsoft 365
I used to like Google more than Microsoft because I used it more, but now I think they are very similar. I am able to use both on my phone, both have Clouds, and both have synced calendars, documents, and sheets. The reason I use Microsoft is [that] my company uses it, and I …
Chose Microsoft 365
Because 365 connects most of my work apps such as OneDrive, SharePoint, and Teams.
Chose Microsoft 365
Microsoft set the standard by creating the suite of software that's included in MS 365. The software totally ubiquitous, with everyone from entry-level employees to seasoned executives being familiar with how it all works. It's also the gold standard worldwide, which means that …
Best Alternatives
Google SheetsMicrosoft 365
Small Businesses
Stackby
Stackby
Score 9.0 out of 10
Google Workspace
Google Workspace
Score 9.1 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Excel
Score 8.9 out of 10
Google Workspace
Google Workspace
Score 9.1 out of 10
Enterprises
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Excel
Score 8.9 out of 10
Microsoft 365 Business Premium
Microsoft 365 Business Premium
Score 8.9 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Google SheetsMicrosoft 365
Likelihood to Recommend
9.2
(41 ratings)
7.9
(243 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(2 ratings)
9.5
(6 ratings)
Usability
9.0
(4 ratings)
7.7
(13 ratings)
Availability
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.0
(1 ratings)
8.9
(54 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(2 ratings)
Configurability
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Google SheetsMicrosoft 365
Likelihood to Recommend
Google
Google Sheets is great for just recording tabular information that needs to be shared with and/or edited by multiple people. Sharing and collaborating is especially convenient because Sheets is designed to be browser-based; while Excel has a browser version, it's limited compared to the desktop app. Google Sheets's editing, suggesting, commenting, and viewing permissions settings are absolutely perfect for my department. Google Sheets does not handle large datasets well. It does not load in a timely manner and often freezes. Apps Scripts fail to process large amounts of data.
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Microsoft
Office everyday things since time immemorial. It's hard for Google Suite or any other to compete with Microsoft. They have everything, and it all works great, with incredible tools and capabilities. The new integrations work seamlessly most of the time, such as embedding a Power BI in a PPT. Expecting too much AI, like note taking, or LLM-based PPT, is not available in my tier at least, so depending on the budget, you won't get all you may expect from an AI leader. For diagramming and process maps, you're better off with other tools like those above.
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Pros
Google
  • It is a cloud-based platform.
  • You can work in the same file simultaneously with your colleagues.
  • It allows you to share files much faster.
  • It allows you to access your Google Sheet files whenever you like and wherever you like if you have stable internet connection.
  • It has great integration with other Google software.
  • Google Sheets is very user-friendly and very intuitive to use.
Read full review
Microsoft
  • It allows us to keep our email organized. I like the fact that I can create folders in Outlook, and they replicate on my mail server.
  • Excellent for drafting and saving those documents as PDFs without needing PDF editing software.
  • Spreadsheets - what more is there to say?
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Cons
Google
  • Pivot tables are different but could be improved upon; sort, totals, filters
  • When entering negative numbers as the first in a formula you need to remember to "+-100+25" instead of "-100+25"
  • The power of the internet of course makes it easy to find solution, but the help function is not easily available
  • Color coding changes on the cell, but there is not an easy way to click on a cell and use the selected color; like excel
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Microsoft
  • Microsoft 365 really needs to work on protection part. In complex environment it is not reliable as compared to its competitors like Proofpoint. There are many instances where it fails to perform effectively.
  • In SharePoint Online the versioning feature of the document needs to be improved by Microsoft. Sometimes when we have to roll back to the previous version it does not work as expected.
  • In Teams messaging and app permission policies can be improved. There are some settings where we have to add a lot of things manually.
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Likelihood to Renew
Google
It is easy to use, free of charge for basic functionality, and easy to share with people within or outside your team or company
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Microsoft
There are many features of Office that we cannot replicate in any other tool. Plus people know it already. It's not going away anytime soon.
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Usability
Google
Overall the formula functions could improve but there's workarounds for them. Utilzing different formulas or approaches for building out accounting schedules. While collebrating with multiple team members and different departments being able to go in and see where others are on the sheets is helpful. Google Sheets overall is a great product
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Microsoft
It being the default office suite means it's user experience and idioms are things that everyone is generally very used to and fluent with.
The sharing is relatively simple, being directly hooked into Entra AD, and expiry being a first class concern.
It's usability decreases at scale, with multiple people simultaneously making edits can make documents unusable.
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Reliability and Availability
Google
Like most Google products, Google Sheets rarely has outages or slowness, and when it does, connection is always momentarily restored. I can't recall a time when I've been unable to access Google Sheets but able to access other sites just fine. That said, errors aren't uncommon when handling large data volume. You know what they say about using spreadsheets as databases, but sometimes it's just the most convenient option, especially for smaller or one-off projects, and not being able to store large amounts of data hampers our ability to move quickly with scrappy prototypes or full solutions. It would be great if we could better integrate our data manipulation (Apps Script) with big data in the sheet.
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Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Performance
Google
Again, Google Sheets is no exception to Google's general high speed and reliability, but load times can be slow for larger amounts of data. I've used Sheets with Zapier and have used the Python API, and speed has never been an issue.
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Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Google
I have never contacted Google Sheets support, but Google Sheets makes it very easy to report an issue or suggest a feature from Sheets itself (Help > Help Sheets improve), and I've had mostly good experiences with support for other Google products.
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Microsoft
Over the past 8 years of using Microsoft 365, I have noticed that they change vendors often. This always leads to a poor experience in the beginning, then levels out after some time for the company to get things worked out. As a customer, it is really frustrating because I don't have time when something isn't working to have them "look into my issue" and get back with me. They have even closed a ticket I specifically told them to keep open. Your applications are only as good as the support.
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Implementation Rating
Google
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
Everything works and I use it all the time.
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Alternatives Considered
Google
The major reason I use Google Sheets over Microsoft Excel and Apple Numbers is for its ability to allow multiple users to access and work on the same spreadsheet at once. This is incredibly more efficient and effective than updating and sending copies upon copies of the same Excel or Numbers spreadsheet back and forth as email attachments.
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Microsoft
Its very user-friendly, collaborative and efficient that boosts productivity using cloud tools. their security is strong and it provides data protection. There are regular updates that shields us from attackers too. It offers a wealth of learning resources, including tutorials, help articles and video guide to help users make the most of the application and personally upgrade their skills.
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Contract Terms and Pricing Model
Google
I'm not involved with the purchase, but I assume everything goes smoothly and that the pricing structure is predictable and reasonable. We do not get surprise fees.
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Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Scalability
Google
Google Sheets works very well with multiple users. It's convenient to see in real-time who is collaborating in a sheet, down to the specific cell that they're viewing/editing. Linking Sheets across departments is convenient with the IMPORTRANGE function.
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Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Google
  • We've used it to prepare quick budgets, presentations for funds that have helped raise money
  • It has helped us quickly analyze raw data, collaboratively.
  • it has helped us work more efficiently by making it easier to work from one sheet and not lose track of versions by passing around attached documents
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Microsoft
  • It has helped keep the high-energy culture my company has since it allows easy communication and calls.
  • Positively impacts responses from clients, since we can see how many times they have been contacted. (the more someone is contacted, the less likely they are to respond. Microsoft helps make sure we all know who and who not to contact)
  • positively impacts my ability to focus, since you can mute notifications. Since I look at my computer all day, it is helpful to lock in and not get distracted by the many emails I receive a day. You can also change preferences, so emails with high urgency are still seen.
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ScreenShots