Spreadsheets are an integral part of the modern business world. This means that whether you like it or not, you must have one. In most cases, the specific features required in the spreadsheet application will depend on the nature and preferences of your work. No matter how rich the features you want, almost all the functions provided by Microsoft Excel will not be needed. Unfortunately, if you choose it, you must pay the full amount, which is very high. If you don’t want to spend too much money on Microsoft Excel (to spend so much money, we mean $99 per year for business use, $149.99 for Office Home & Student 2019 license, and $6.99 per month for home use) or No’ you don’t need to be like many of the features provided in Excel, you can save money by choosing other free alternative products that can be installed on your computer and cloud. Let’s go and see them.
1. Google Spreadsheet
This is a Google cloud-based program that provides answers to the prayers of those who seek to replace Microsoft Excel. Google Sheets can perform most of the work required by general Excel users. It runs in a web browser and is hosted in the cloud. This means that it is platform independent and can run on Windows, Linux and Mac OS. With Google Sheets, you don’t need to worry about losing any calculations, because everything can be saved in Google Drive anytime, anywhere. This means that even if your computer crashes, you don’t have to worry about losing important data. Like other Google Office tools, this tool has real-time collaboration capabilities, allowing multiple users to manage and edit documents simultaneously.
It must be mentioned that Google Sheets lacks some advanced features of Microsoft Excel. Therefore, before migrating, you should check whether your work requires the necessary functions.
2. Office WPS spreadsheet
If you are looking for a true competitor of Microsoft Excel, then WPS Office Spreadsheets is the best choice. In fact, it is the only “free value added” in Microsoft Excel’s list of free alternative products. In fact, it is a paid product, but it has a free version, which comes with all the ads in the app. However, you don’t have to worry about ads because they run in less than ten seconds and only show up if you want to save as PDF or print or use certain tools. After the advertisement is published, the function will be unlocked within 30 minutes. If you don’t want to participate, you can choose the paid version, which includes $29.99 per year or $79.99 for lifetime access. WPS Office Spreadsheets is compatible with Excel, which means you can open any Excel document and save its format.
3. Microsoft Office Excel online
If you want Microsoft products at all costs, you can choose to use Microsoft Office Excel Online (if you don’t want to pay for the desktop version). Excel Online is the basic version of Microsoft Excel. Compared with Google Sheets, it is better than the desktop version of Excel. However, the fact is that it is more Microsoft Excel than Google Sheets. It performs the basic functions of the desktop version and is automatically added to the cloud in OneDrive. It also has real-time collaboration. For those looking for advanced Excel features, this tool should never be selected. Many functions are restricted, and some functions are read-only. It does not yet have a VBA script, nor will it create an external data connection. There are no advanced graphics features or search and replace.
4. Apache OpenOffice Calc
If you don’t like the latest version of the Microsoft interface (at least since 2007), you should check Apache OpenOffice Calc, which is similar to Office 2003 and works the same way. Before the introduction of Cloud, the tool was the best choice for those seeking a free alternative to Microsoft Office. In this regard, OpenOffice Calc is the latest because it retains many of the most important advanced features in Microsoft Excel, although there are some subtle differences in form. If you are an advanced Excel user, it is recommended that you spend some time reading the OpenOffice User Guide before the migration. This will help you understand the functions of this software that are important to your work. The main disadvantage is the lack of cloud support. By the way, other free platforms have the same disadvantages. Apache OpenOffice Calc has no real-time collaboration or native cloud connection.
5. LibreOffice Calc
This is also a free office suite, such as Apache OpenOffice Calc, which has its own Excel option Calc, the tool is the same as OpenOffice, because it does not have real-time collaboration and cloud support. However, choosing this free software package will give you access to a wide range of functions not even available in Microsoft Excel. There is no doubt that LibreOffice Calc has more functions than Excel. It has the ability to compare two different spreadsheet files and has more options for formatting cells. The program can also import spreadsheets inherited from other obsolete applications, such as Microsoft Works, BeagleWorks, Lotus 1-2-3 and Claris Resolve.
In fact, there are many reasons to consider using LibreOffice Calc instead of Microsoft Excel. However, there are many other reasons why you may not want to do this. The disadvantages of this suite include limited macro recording capabilities, the inability to use external data sources, presentation of many advanced types of graphics, and export of documents to standard XML. Here, we have to say that before using LibreOffice Calc, please try to read the list of features to ensure that you have the required basic knowledge.
in conclusion
These are the five best alternatives to Microsoft Excel. The problem is that they are all free, so please choose what you need.