Grist vs. Microsoft Excel

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Grist
Score 9.9 out of 10
N/A
Grist combines the capabilities of spreadsheets, databases and app builders. Using a familiar spreadsheet interface, information can be organized as a relational database, and dashboards built using drag-and-drop. Solving spreadsheet problems Ensures data is well-structured and stored in one place with no duplication, no spreadsheet-wrangling, no merging documents. Collaboration on sensitive data Data is protected…
$8
per month 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
GristMicrosoft Excel
Editions & Modules
Pro
$8
per month per user
Enterprise
Contact Sales
Excel with Microsoft 365
$6.99
per month
Excel for 1 PC or Mac
$139.99
perpetual license
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
GristMicrosoft Excel
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
YesYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
GristMicrosoft Excel
Considered Both Products
Grist
Chose Grist
Grist is easier to use, faster, and loads quicker with heavy data.
Microsoft Excel

No answer on this topic

Top Pros
Top Cons
Best Alternatives
GristMicrosoft Excel
Small Businesses
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Excel
Score 8.9 out of 10
Google Sheets
Google Sheets
Score 8.5 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Excel
Score 8.9 out of 10
Google Sheets
Google Sheets
Score 8.5 out of 10
Enterprises
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Excel
Score 8.9 out of 10
Google Sheets
Google Sheets
Score 8.5 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
GristMicrosoft Excel
Likelihood to Recommend
9.9
(2 ratings)
9.4
(57 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
9.9
(5 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
GristMicrosoft Excel
Likelihood to Recommend
Grist Labs
This is well suited to someone (or a team) who are technically minded and have a dataset that they need to be able to use in many ways. It's less appropriate for a team who isn't technically minded and/or don't have the data they need to manipulate. It would be useful for things that you could use a database or spreadsheet for such as CRM, Advertising database, Business tracking, Health tracking etc.
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Microsoft
For tasks like financial analysis, budgeting, forecasting, and data visualization, I frequently use Microsoft Excel. I can develop financial models, use pivot tables to examine enormous datasets, and produce eye-catching visualizations thanks to its comprehensive features. I have, however, also come across circumstances in which Excel isn't the best tool.Excel falls short of alternatives like Google Sheets when I need to collaborate with my team in real-time. I favor employing robust database management systems or data analysis tools like SQL, Python, or R for managing very big data sets or sophisticated calculations. I use specialized tools like SPSS, SAS, or programming languages for better outcomes when complex statistical analysis or machine learning are necessary. And finally, for formatting elaborate reports, In conclusion, even though I consider Excel to be a great tool for many finance jobs, there are some limits in collaborating, processing big amounts of data, performing complex analysis, and creating documents that I take into account when choosing the best tool for the job.
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Pros
Grist Labs
  • Provides amazing customer service, help, examples, and explains what they are having you do
  • The layout is easy
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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
Grist Labs
  • Making the user permissions more obvious on how to use them - They are highly adaptable, but hard to understand how to use them
  • Small changes such as auto colouring the choices/toggles options and being able to edit them once set.
  • Being able to copy the formatting from one column to the next
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Microsoft
  • Counting conditionally formatted cells (e.g., you have 5 green cells, 10 red ones, and 3 orange ones in a row).
  • Merging cells in a table; I have to remove the table first and then re-add the table to merge cells together.
  • Offering more preset colour categories for formatting graphs.
  • Built-in functions to run ANOVAs, Multiple Linear Regression, Factor Analysis, etc.
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Likelihood to Renew
Grist Labs
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
It comes with MS Office. Unless we stop using PCs or Microsoft Office, it's highly unlikely, even imperceivable to not continue to use Excel. It would be nice to see more Excel functions used, though, beside basic tables and calculations.
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Usability
Grist Labs
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
Microsoft excel stands out in its User Interface as compared to any other software which offers same functionality. It can be used by a beginner as well as the expert in the same field. It is having many features as we dig deep in it like advance functions, dynamic arrays, pivot, VBA and Macros.
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Reliability and Availability
Grist Labs
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
I have rarely, if ever, had issues with its availability.
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Performance
Grist Labs
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
Again it does what I need it to do with little to no issues.
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Support Rating
Grist Labs
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
I have not had to use it often, but it is good.
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Alternatives Considered
Grist Labs
Grist is easier to use, faster, and loads quicker with heavy data.
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Microsoft
We utilize Tableau and Alteryx in addition to Excel. We use Excel since we have a data dump that could be utilized in feeding for these two solutions. We select Excel for some manual work then plug the data into the other two tools for further analysis around text analytics like word clouds in Tableau, or text mining in Alteryx. Excel is an input data source that we use in conjunction with these two.
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Contract Terms and Pricing Model
Grist Labs
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
N/A I was not involved in this process.
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Scalability
Grist Labs
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
It integrates well with all cross functional teams
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Return on Investment
Grist Labs
  • It's saved a lot of time in both creating an advertising database and managing it week to week effectively. I had previously created in others that haven't worked, and this does, saving me a good 1 hour weekly, and 5 hours or more each time I had problems with the last ones
  • Being able to stay on track with this has meant I'm following up at the right time (advertisers) and keeping a professional manner and not losing business due to missed communication
  • Saving me $ from buying a program like Access (or Airtable monthly) and then the learning curve that that has. This has a much easier learning curve to say the least.
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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

Grist Screenshots

Screenshot of the drag and drop dashboard editor used to build layouts.Screenshot of the custom user permissions that determine who can see what, down to each column and row.Screenshot of dynamic charts and reports that update with the click of a mouse.Screenshot of Grist's formula support for Excel-like functions or Python formulas. Technical users can drill into database structure in code view.