What is Microsoft Excel used for?

Microsoft Excel is Microsoft's spreadsheet application with formulas, pivot tables, charts and Power Query, on desktop and in the browser. It is a good fit for building budgets and forecasts, tracking inventory or projects, and analyzing business data with pivot tables.

Is Microsoft Excel free?

Yes. Microsoft Excel has a free plan. Excel for the web is advertised as free; paid options come through Microsoft 365, with details on Microsoft's pricing page.

Is Microsoft Excel open source?

No. Microsoft Excel is proprietary (closed-source) software and can't be self-hosted. Open-source alternatives to Microsoft Excel include Univer, EtherCalc and CryptPad.

What are some alternatives to Microsoft Excel?

Microsoft Excel competes with Google Sheets, Apple Numbers and Zoho Sheet. For open-source options, see Enlisted's ranked list of open-source Microsoft Excel alternatives.

Microsoft Excel: features, pricing and alternatives

About Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet application for entering data, calculating with formulas and analyzing results. It supports pivot tables, charts and Power Query for importing and shaping data, and is widely used for budgets, forecasts, lists and reports in personal and business settings.

The web edition lets people create and edit spreadsheets in a browser, with formatting, analysis and real-time collaboration from any device. Microsoft's site highlights templates for budget planners, invoices, balance sheets, forecasts, Gantt charts, project trackers, dashboards and calendars, as well as AI help through Copilot in Excel, a formula generator and AI data visualization.

Excel is proprietary Microsoft software, available on its own and as part of Microsoft 365. The web version is advertised as free to use, and pricing details are on Microsoft's site.

Key features

Spreadsheet formulas and calculations
Pivot tables and charts
Power Query for data import and shaping
Templates for budgets, invoices and forecasts
Copilot assistance and formula generation
Real-time collaboration in the web version

Good fit for

→Building budgets and forecasts
→Tracking inventory or projects
→Analyzing business data with pivot tables

Tags: spreadsheet; pivot-tables; charts; power-query; microsoft; data-analysis; templates

Microsoft Excel: questions and answers

What is Microsoft Excel used for?: Microsoft Excel is Microsoft's spreadsheet application with formulas, pivot tables, charts and Power Query, on desktop and in the browser. It is a good fit for building budgets and forecasts, tracking inventory or projects, and analyzing business data with pivot tables.
Is Microsoft Excel free?: Yes. Microsoft Excel has a free plan. Excel for the web is advertised as free; paid options come through Microsoft 365, with details on Microsoft's pricing page.
Is Microsoft Excel open source?: No. Microsoft Excel is proprietary (closed-source) software and can't be self-hosted. Open-source alternatives to Microsoft Excel include Univer, EtherCalc and CryptPad.
What are some alternatives to Microsoft Excel?: Microsoft Excel competes with Google Sheets, Apple Numbers and Zoho Sheet. For open-source options, see Enlisted's ranked list of open-source Microsoft Excel alternatives.