Excel vs Every Rival
Compare Excel versus every rival — head-to-head records, stats, and matchup breakdowns side by side, updated for 2026.
About Excel
Microsoft Excel is the world's most widely used spreadsheet application, first released in 1985 and part of Microsoft Office/Microsoft 365. Excel has over 1 billion users and is the industry standard for financial modeling, data analysis, and business reporting. Excel's power comes from its deep analytical capabilities: Power Query (data transformation), Power Pivot (relational data modeling), DAX (data analysis expressions), complex pivot tables, 500+ functions, VBA macros, and Excel Add-ins. Excel 2024 features Copilot AI integration for formula assistance, data analysis, and chart creation. For large datasets, Excel handles up to 1,048,576 rows x 16,384 columns. Excel is the lingua franca of business and finance — investment banking, accounting, and consulting firms rely on it for complex financial models. Microsoft 365 (which includes Excel) has 400+ million commercial subscribers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do investment banks still use Excel?
Excel remains dominant in finance because: (1) Financial models require extreme formula flexibility and custom calculations that database tools don't match; (2) Decades of model templates and institutional knowledge are built in Excel; (3) Auditability — auditors and clients can inspect every formula in an Excel model; (4) VBA macros automate complex workflows; (5) Excel's one-time-purchase accessibility vs database software costs. Despite alternatives, the financial industry's deep Excel lock-in means it remains the standard.
Is Excel free?
Excel Online (web version) is free at office.com with a Microsoft account, with limited features. Full Excel requires Microsoft 365 ($69.99/year Personal, $99.99/year Family) or the one-time Microsoft Office Home 2024 ($149.99). Free alternatives include Google Sheets (full-featured online) and LibreOffice Calc (full-featured offline). For most personal use, Google Sheets handles standard spreadsheet tasks for free.
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A Versus B, "Excel Comparisons," aversusb.net, 2026. https://aversusb.net/entity/excel
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