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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Microsoft Excel

    Score9 out of 10
    N/AMicrosoft 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 Project

    Score7.6 out of 10
    N/AMicrosoft Project is a project management software. It provides core PM functionality, including agile workflow support and resource management. Project can be deployed in the cloud or on-premise.

    $120

    per year per user

    Pricing
    Microsoft ExcelMicrosoft Project
    Editions & Modules
    Excel with Microsoft 365
    $6.99
    per month
    Excel for 1 PC or Mac
    $139.99
    perpetual license
    Project Server
    $0
    Planner Plan 1
    $10
    per month per user
    Planner and Project Plan 3
    $30
    per month per user
    Planner and Project Plan 5
    $55
    per month per user
    Project Standard 2024
    $679.99
    one-time fee per installation
    Project Professional 2024
    $1,129.99
    one-time fee per installation
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Microsoft ExcelMicrosoft Project
    Free Trial
    YesYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    YesNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details—Plans are billed annually.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Microsoft ExcelMicrosoft Project
    Considered Both Products
    Microsoft
    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 …
    Incentivized
    Microsoft
    Chose Microsoft Project
    I do not use any other software
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    99%
    Would buy again
    78 Answers
    87%
    Would buy again
    41 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    70 Answers
    98%
    Delivers good value for the price
    42 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    96%
    Happy with the feature set
    76 Answers
    94%
    Happy with the feature set
    44 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    96%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    46 Answers
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    34 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    54 Answers
    89%
    Implementation went as expected
    34 Answers
    Features
    Microsoft ExcelMicrosoft Project
    Project Management
    Comparison of Project Management features of Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Project
    Feature
    Microsoft Excel
    -
    Ratings
    Microsoft Project
    8.0
    111 Ratings
    4% above category average
    Task Management00 Ratings8.2110 Ratings
    Resource Management00 Ratings7.7107 Ratings
    Gantt Charts00 Ratings9.0107 Ratings
    Scheduling00 Ratings8.5109 Ratings
    Workflow Automation00 Ratings10.083 Ratings
    Team Collaboration00 Ratings7.298 Ratings
    Support for Agile Methodology00 Ratings4.483 Ratings
    Support for Waterfall Methodology00 Ratings7.783 Ratings
    Document Management00 Ratings9.077 Ratings
    Email integration00 Ratings5.082 Ratings
    Mobile Access00 Ratings10.067 Ratings
    Timesheet Tracking00 Ratings10.073 Ratings
    Change request and Case Management00 Ratings7.364 Ratings
    Budget and Expense Management00 Ratings7.486 Ratings
    Professional Services Automation
    Comparison of Professional Services Automation features of Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Project
    Feature
    Microsoft Excel
    -
    Ratings
    Microsoft Project
    8.6
    79 Ratings
    11% above category average
    Quotes/estimates00 Ratings7.355 Ratings
    Invoicing00 Ratings10.045 Ratings
    Project & financial reporting00 Ratings7.276 Ratings
    Integration with accounting software00 Ratings10.050 Ratings
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    Microsoft ExcelMicrosoft Project
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    Score8.9 out of 10
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    Score7.3 out of 10
    Enterprises
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    Score8.9 out of 10
    Microsoft To Do
    Score7.9 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Microsoft ExcelMicrosoft Project
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.0
    (78 ratings)
    8.2
    (111 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    9.9
    (7 ratings)
    10.0
    (3 ratings)
    Usability
    8.5
    (23 ratings)
    8.7
    (9 ratings)
    Availability
    10.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    10.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    10.0
    (2 ratings)
    8.2
    (34 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    5.0
    (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 Project
    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.
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    Microsoft Project Online is suited to Turnkey Projects where more Collaboration is required in Project Progress monitoring, risk assessment and conveying, issue recording and tracking. It is less appropriate when ERP Suites other than MS Dynamics are used, i.e when Enterprises need to integrate Finance / Accounting with It and having straight project management workflow
    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.
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    • I love the Gantt Chart that Microsoft Project offers me, because it provides me with a view from various aspects, it provides me with exact details about the fulfillment of tasks over a period of time, it also allows me to make comparisons with the necessary data and the fulfilled data. by the employees, in order to know exactly if the project's expectations have been met.
    • I love the Gantt Chart that Microsoft Project offers me, because it provides me with a view from various aspects, it provides me with exact details about the fulfillment of tasks over a period of time, it also allows me to make comparisons with the necessary data and the fulfilled data by the employees, in order to know exactly if the project's expectations have been met.
    • The alert system for the fulfillment and delay of assignments is perfect. Microsoft Project allows me to configure the task system, I can assign the necessary tasks to fulfill the project, and the software alerts me immediately if the managers are fulfilling the assignments.
    Incentivized
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    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    • Seems overly complicated for users sometimes in using Project and its functionalities
    • Hard to share files for those folks who do not have MS Project, and then have to print out for them
    • Can be confusing since it looks and feels like MS Excel
    Incentivized
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    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.
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    I like using Microsoft Project. It simplifies building a schedule
    Incentivized
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    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.
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    Microsoft
    Project is easy to operate because data could be inserted, changed and
    deleted like you are in an Excel timesheet. Besides, it provides a great
    level of automation beween his fields allowing few data changes. Also, its
    funcionalities are well defined and grouped in upper menus, so you can find a
    funcionality quickly
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Microsoft
    I have rarely, if ever, had issues with its availability.
    Incentivized
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    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.
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    Microsoft
    I have not had to use it often, but it is good.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    Microsoft in recent years has transformed itself and gives a positive feeling when one interacts with the company. The company is focusing on its customers and willing to go extra mile to make customers happy.The company continues to invest in its products and bringing new features from time to time. Overall it is a positive feeling to be associated with such an iconic company.
    Incentivized
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    Implementation Rating
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Microsoft
    I wasn't part of it so I don't know
    Incentivized
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    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.
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    While many of the above tools are extremely well-versed, Microsoft Project's largest advantage comes from it being related to the largest business productivity company in the world. Project does have its sharing limitations - but regardless, offers one of the most robust tools in the market today. Microsoft Project is built with large-scale projects in mind but is more than up to the task for smaller projects as well. However, there are options available (especially cloud-based options) that may be more fitting for higher-level projects that do not require going into the weeds.
    Incentivized
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    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    Microsoft
    N/A I was not involved in this process.
    Incentivized
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    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
    Incentivized
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    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
    • Project saved me, as the project manager, countless hours of digging through tickets and schedules to plan everything out. It also saved me time in adjusting the project triangle as needed, since it does so much automatically.
    • It is costly, and since it requires extensive training to master, it's not just the high licensing cost that you need to take into account.
    • The reporting features - even just printing out Gantt charts - makes it far easier to communicate with stakeholders. That means less time for PMs doing all of this manually, and it means less follow-up questions and delays moving forward.
    Incentivized
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    ScreenShots