Best Excel Alternatives in 2026: 9 Free and Paid Spreadsheets Compared

Google Sheets opens in a browser, so there is nothing to install, and several people can edit the same sheet at once with comments and version history. It handles budgets, lists, simple models, and shared trackers well, and it opens Excel files for editing. For teams that live in Google Workspace, it also fits naturally with Docs, Drive, and Gmail. Very large workbooks with many formulas can feel slower than a desktop app, and heavy pivot work may still call for Excel. For everyday sheets, though, the free price and simple sharing make it hard to beat. Check the 15 GB shared Google account storage limit if you store many large files in Drive.

LibreOffice Calc runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux without a subscription or account, and it covers formulas, charts, pivot tables, and conditional formatting for most everyday work. It opens and saves .xlsx files, which helps when you exchange files with Excel users. Because it stores files locally, it also suits users with poor internet or strict offline needs. Files with complex macros or unusual formatting can shift when moving between Calc and Excel, so test important workbooks before sharing them widely. Collaboration is mainly through file sharing rather than live co-editing. If you want a free desktop spreadsheet with no feature locks, Calc is the strongest choice here.

Zoho Sheet is a browser based spreadsheet with real time collaboration, charts, pivot tables, and data cleaning tools, and it is free for individual users. It imports Excel files and exports back to Excel format, which helps mixed teams. Integration with other Zoho apps also helps small businesses that already use Zoho for mail, CRM, or books. The trade-off is familiarity. Fewer colleagues will already know Zoho Sheet, and some niche Excel features may be missing or placed differently. For a free online sheet that is more polished than a bare bones editor, it deserves a test, especially if you want an alternative to Google without installing software.

WPS Office bundles a spreadsheet, word processor, and presentation app in one install, with a layout that feels close to Microsoft Office. The free version covers most spreadsheet tasks and opens Excel files well, which shortens the learning curve for people switching from Excel. Mobile apps extend the same files to phones and tablets. The free version shows ads and prompts for the paid plan, which may bother users who want a quiet workspace. Paid plans remove those prompts and add more cloud storage and PDF tools. If a familiar look matters more than a completely free experience, WPS is a practical middle ground.

Apple Numbers ships free on Mac, iPhone, and iPad, with polished templates for budgets, invoices, and planners. Its canvas style layout lets you place tables, charts, and text on one page, which suits reports and presentations more than dense data entry. Sharing through iCloud works well within Apple households and teams. Complex Excel workbooks may lose formatting or features when imported, and Windows users can only use a limited web version through iCloud. Numbers is best as a primary tool for Apple centered users, not as a drop in Excel replacement for heavy financial models.

ONLYOFFICE focuses on keeping Excel files looking correct when opened, edited, and saved again, which matters when clients or colleagues still use Excel. Desktop editors work offline, while the online version supports collaboration and can be self hosted by teams that want control over their data. Its spreadsheet tools cover formulas, charts, and pivot tables for most business work. Template and add-on choices are smaller than Google or Microsoft, and self hosting needs technical setup. For teams that pass Excel files back and forth all day, though, file fidelity is often the deciding factor, and ONLYOFFICE performs well on that test.

Airtable looks like a spreadsheet, but it works more like a simple database, with linked records, typed fields, and views for grid, calendar, kanban, and gallery layouts. That design suits content calendars, inventory lists, applicant trackers, and other record keeping where rows relate to each other. The free plan covers small bases and is enough to test a real project. It is a weaker pick for heavy calculations, since its formulas do not match Excel for complex models. Teams that outgrow the free limits will face per seat pricing, so check seat counts before building a large base. Use Airtable when the job is organizing records, not crunching a large financial model.

Smartsheet turns a grid into a project tool, with Gantt charts, dependencies, automated reminders, and approval flows that a plain spreadsheet lacks. Teams use it for marketing plans, construction schedules, product launches, and other work with dates, owners, and status changes. Templates help new teams start without building a tracker from scratch. The price is per member per month on the entry Pro plan when billed yearly, so larger teams should budget carefully. It is also more tool than a household budget needs. Smartsheet earns its place here for readers whose spreadsheet is really a project plan in disguise.

CryptPad offers encrypted documents and spreadsheets where the service cannot read your content, which appeals to users handling sensitive lists or research notes. You can create and share a sheet without an account for basic use, and registered users get more storage. Its interface is simpler than mainstream sheets, but it covers core formulas and formatting. Feature depth is the limit. Advanced charts, pivot tools, and Excel compatibility trail the larger apps, so CryptPad suits privacy focused collaboration rather than complex analysis. For shared sheets where privacy matters more than power features, it is a thoughtful free choice.