Microsoft Excel vs. Microsoft Power BI

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
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
Microsoft Power BI
Score 8.5 out of 10
N/A
Microsoft Power BI is a visualization and data discovery tool from Microsoft. It allows users to convert data into visuals and graphics, visually explore and analyze data, collaborate on interactive dashboards and reports, and scale across their organization with built-in governance and security.
$10
per month per user
Pricing
Microsoft ExcelMicrosoft Power BI
Editions & Modules
Excel with Microsoft 365
$6.99
per month
Excel for 1 PC or Mac
$139.99
perpetual license
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Microsoft ExcelMicrosoft Power BI
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
Microsoft ExcelMicrosoft Power BI
Considered Both Products
Microsoft Excel
Chose Microsoft Excel
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 …
Chose Microsoft Excel
Integrates well with Power BI, since the company for both apps is Microsoft.
Chose Microsoft Excel
Compatibility is the main issue. It is frustrating to send an Excel workbook to someone who can't open it. Also, user interfaces are not as slick and intuitive.
Chose Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Excel is legacy software and no one till now had matched the functionality of Excel. We can even automate daily tasks easily with help of macros. Also one can connect various data base to it and you are good to go without any other hassle. Google Sheets is …
Chose Microsoft Excel
Actually, Power Bi and Planful can be [used] with Excel, each solution has strengths, Power Bi is more focused on graphics, and Planful is more on the financial database, but compared with Google Sheets, Excel is better, first, you can use out of browser, it has a specific …
Chose Microsoft Excel
Excel is much better than Google Sheets. It has better features and compatibility, especially for windows. For mac, I don’t see a big difference as excel needs some significant improvement for mac os. The Cloud version of excel is very similar to mac and I don’t see a lot of …
Chose Microsoft Excel
Excel is easier to use with one-off data sets, if data needs to be reported on a continual basis, PowerBI is great to use for repetitive reporting. PowerBI is great for custom visualizations, but it's easier in Excel to create quick graphs and pivot tables and pivot charts on …
Chose Microsoft Excel
Excel is not as expensive as other softwares and is easy to use. It has a lot of functions and customization as compared to other softwares.
It can also be used as a data source.
It does not require to be setup by a separate infrastructure team and can be installed by anyone.
Chose Microsoft Excel
Excel is the most basic of the options I have used. Basic does not mean bad it just means it is not as beefed up as some of the other tools out there. When you get into Macros and VBA coding the doors of excel open up, but where it has its downfall is with processing power. The …
Microsoft Power BI
Chose Microsoft Power BI
Microsoft Power BI is more flexible and can also handle more complex reporting scenarios. While Microsoft Excel is a great tool for analyzing data building visuals is not what it is made for. It is complicated to create Excel reports that will be interactive as a use wants to …
Chose Microsoft Power BI
We were able to bundle Power BI with other Microsoft products we rely on heavily. This and the customization options were the main sellers for us.
Chose Microsoft Power BI
Microsoft Power BI is free. If I didn't want to create a custom platform (i.e. my organization insisted on an existing platform that I *had* to use), I'd use Microsoft Power BI. For any start-up or SMB, I'd just use Claude & Grok to build it quickly, also for free. Would …
Chose Microsoft Power BI
While excel can be useful for a very quick data dump, Microsoft Power BI is able to bring that data to life, and show trends and the actual story of what is happening. Microsoft Power BI is the ultimate display tool, and allows us to share information quickly to the CORRECT …
Chose Microsoft Power BI
After several years using Google Looker Studio and BigQuery, Microsoft Power BI is a step-up in terms of visualizations. It is also much more powerful, leading to less errors and has a more intuitive interface. Looker Studio has a focus on Google Analytics whereas Microsoft …
Chose Microsoft Power BI
NA - did not use any other software, yet. Happy with the services and features provided by Microsoft Power BI which helps us navigate through the client requests on a daily basis while also providing actionable insights / solutions with maximum efficiency and that too in a …
Chose Microsoft Power BI
For Visualization and Reporting Power BI is way ahead of MS Excel, not only it has the functionality of MS Excel for cleaning and processing of data in the advance Query tab but also the add-on of more eye appealing and customizable Visualizations.
MS Excel is more focused on …
Features
Microsoft ExcelMicrosoft Power BI
BI Standard Reporting
Comparison of BI Standard Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Excel
-
Ratings
Microsoft Power BI
8.3
196 Ratings
1% above category average
Pixel Perfect reports00 Ratings8.3167 Ratings
Customizable dashboards00 Ratings8.7195 Ratings
Report Formatting Templates00 Ratings8.0178 Ratings
Ad-hoc Reporting
Comparison of Ad-hoc Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Excel
-
Ratings
Microsoft Power BI
8.0
194 Ratings
0% below category average
Drill-down analysis00 Ratings8.3191 Ratings
Formatting capabilities00 Ratings7.8191 Ratings
Integration with R or other statistical packages00 Ratings7.4143 Ratings
Report sharing and collaboration00 Ratings8.4189 Ratings
Report Output and Scheduling
Comparison of Report Output and Scheduling features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Excel
-
Ratings
Microsoft Power BI
8.0
187 Ratings
3% below category average
Publish to Web00 Ratings8.2177 Ratings
Publish to PDF00 Ratings8.0172 Ratings
Report Versioning00 Ratings7.7144 Ratings
Report Delivery Scheduling00 Ratings8.2147 Ratings
Delivery to Remote Servers00 Ratings7.9110 Ratings
Data Discovery and Visualization
Comparison of Data Discovery and Visualization features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Excel
-
Ratings
Microsoft Power BI
7.8
187 Ratings
2% below category average
Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)00 Ratings8.2181 Ratings
Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization00 Ratings8.1166 Ratings
Predictive Analytics00 Ratings7.4136 Ratings
Pattern Recognition and Data Mining00 Ratings7.437 Ratings
Access Control and Security
Comparison of Access Control and Security features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Excel
-
Ratings
Microsoft Power BI
8.5
178 Ratings
0% above category average
Multi-User Support (named login)00 Ratings8.7168 Ratings
Role-Based Security Model00 Ratings8.4146 Ratings
Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)00 Ratings8.4158 Ratings
Report-Level Access Control00 Ratings8.347 Ratings
Single Sign-On (SSO)00 Ratings8.6140 Ratings
Mobile Capabilities
Comparison of Mobile Capabilities features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Excel
-
Ratings
Microsoft Power BI
8.0
160 Ratings
3% above category average
Responsive Design for Web Access00 Ratings7.7150 Ratings
Mobile Application00 Ratings7.6131 Ratings
Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile00 Ratings7.9153 Ratings
Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding
Comparison of Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Excel
-
Ratings
Microsoft Power BI
7.8
115 Ratings
1% above category average
REST API00 Ratings8.0103 Ratings
Javascript API00 Ratings7.684 Ratings
iFrames00 Ratings8.055 Ratings
Java API00 Ratings7.068 Ratings
Themeable User Interface (UI)00 Ratings7.690 Ratings
Customizable Platform (Open Source)00 Ratings8.444 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Microsoft ExcelMicrosoft Power BI
Small Businesses
Stackby
Stackby
Score 9.0 out of 10
Yellowfin
Yellowfin
Score 8.7 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Airtable
Airtable
Score 8.7 out of 10
Reveal
Reveal
Score 10.0 out of 10
Enterprises
Airtable
Airtable
Score 8.7 out of 10
Kyvos Semantic Layer
Kyvos Semantic Layer
Score 9.5 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Microsoft ExcelMicrosoft Power BI
Likelihood to Recommend
9.3
(76 ratings)
8.5
(197 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.8
(7 ratings)
9.5
(3 ratings)
Usability
8.4
(22 ratings)
8.3
(113 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
10.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
10.0
(2 ratings)
10.0
(52 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.0
(1 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Configurability
10.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
10.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
10.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
10.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
10.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Microsoft ExcelMicrosoft Power BI
Likelihood to Recommend
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
Microsoft
Has significantly improved collation of data and visualisation especially with business across Europe. Has given me the ability to see the Site availability at the click of a button to see which Site is in the "money" and seize opportunities based on Market data
Read full review
Pros
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
Microsoft
  • Options for data source connections are immense. Not just which sources, but your options for *how* the data is brought in.
  • Constant updates (this is both good and bad at times).
  • User friendliness. I can get the data connections set up and draft some quick visuals, then release to the target audience and let them expand on it how they want to.
Read full review
Cons
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
Microsoft
  • It would be easier for users could Microsoft Power BI and Excel used the same programming languages.
  • Would like to see the online version of Microsoft Power BI be as powerful as the desktop version.
  • Publishing a Microsoft Power BI file online and then having to save the file is somewhat redundant.
  • Would like to export each page or chart as an image.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
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
Microsoft
Microsoft Power BI is an excellent and scalable tool. It has a learning curve, but once you get past that, the sky is the limit and you can build from the most simple to the most complex dashboards. I have built everything from simple reports with only a few data points to complex reports with many pages and advanced filtering.
Read full review
Usability
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
Microsoft
Automating reporting has reduced manual data processing by 50-70%, freeing up analysts for higher-value tasks. A finance team that previously spent 20+ hours per week on Excel-based reports now does it in minutes with Microsoft Power BI's automated Real-time dashboards have shortened decision cycles by 30-40%, enabling leadership to react quickly to sales trends, operational bottlenecks, and customer behavior.
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
Microsoft
I have rarely, if ever, had issues with its availability.
Read full review
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Performance
Microsoft
Excel load and performs calculations immediately. It integrate well with all Microsoft Office applications and does not slow them down.
Read full review
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Microsoft
I have not had to use it often, but it is good.
Read full review
Microsoft
It is a fantastic tool, you can do almost everything related with data and reports, it is a perfect substitutive of Power Point and Excel with a high evolution and flexibility, and also it is very friendly and easy to share. I think all companies should have Power BI (or other BI tool) in their software package and if they are in the MS Suite, for sure Power BI should be the one due to all the benefits of the MS ecosystem.
Read full review
Implementation Rating
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
It was integrated with our erp easily and was accessible on cloud.
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
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
Microsoft
Microsoft Power BI is free. If I didn't want to create a custom platform (i.e. my organization insisted on an existing platform that I *had* to use), I'd use Microsoft Power BI. For any start-up or SMB, I'd just use Claude & Grok to build it quickly, also for free. Would not pay for Tableau or Sigma anymore. Not worth it at all.
Read full review
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
Microsoft
N/A I was not involved in this process.
Read full review
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Scalability
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
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
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
Microsoft
  • Power BI usage reduced the effort of analytical reports creation by about 80%
  • Empowered all the level of employee to be more vigilant of the data and business insights, gained the profit of 8% overall.
  • AI-powered predictive analytics improved forecasting accuracy by 17%, that topped the overall sales.
Read full review
ScreenShots

Microsoft Power BI Screenshots

Screenshot of Microsoft Power BI - Turns insights into impact for business usersScreenshot of Power BI integrates easily with Microsoft 365Screenshot of Microsoft Power BI - AI-Powered CapabilitiesScreenshot of Microsoft Power BI - Copilot can be used to create reportsScreenshot of Microsoft Power BI - Data HubScreenshot of Microsoft Power BI - Scales as organizational needs grow