Numbers vs LibreOffice Calc

Numbers

• Mac, iPad and iPhone owners who want a spreadsheet at no cost
• Home budgets, invoices and checklists started from a template
• Laying out several tables and charts on one sheet

LibreOffice Calc

• People who want a full desktop spreadsheet at no cost
• Anyone who needs the same spreadsheet app on Windows, macOS and Linux
• Users who prefer open-source software and the OpenDocument format

Numbers

• There are no Windows or Android apps; on a PC, Numbers is available only in a browser through iCloud.com.
• Magic Fill, premium templates and the Content Hub need an Apple Creator Studio subscription at $12.99 per month or $129 per year.
• Apple's compatibility list marks Excel macros, data validation, external data and slicers as not supported when a workbook is imported.

LibreOffice Calc

• There is no hosted cloud version; The Document Foundation says it does not plan a service like those from Google and Microsoft.
• Shared mode merges each user's edits when they save the file, and some commands are unavailable while a spreadsheet is shared.
• On Android the foundation offers only a viewer with experimental editing, and it points to Collabora's apps for editing documents on mobile.
• The Mac App Store version costs $8.99 and the Microsoft Store version also carries a charge; downloads from the website are free.

Numbers

Flexible canvas

Tables, charts, text and images can be placed anywhere on a sheet, so one page can hold several separate tables alongside the charts that draw on them.

Functions, pivot tables and categories

Hundreds of functions, including XLOOKUP and RegEx, with a built-in function browser. Pivot tables and categories group and summarize a table's data.

Charts

2D and 3D charts including bar, column, line, area, pie, donut and radar, plus interactive column, bar, scatter and bubble charts that animate data.

Real-time collaboration

Share a spreadsheet publicly or with specific people through iCloud or Box and see their changes as they happen. Collaborators can join from a Mac, iPad, iPhone or a PC browser.

Excel and CSV files

Imports and edits Microsoft Excel and CSV files and exports to Excel, CSV, TSV and PDF. Apple publishes a feature-by-feature list of what carries over from Excel.

Magic Fill and premium content

For Apple Creator Studio subscribers, Magic Fill suggests contents or formulas for empty cells from patterns in nearby data. Subscribers also get premium templates and the Content Hub's photos and graphics.

LibreOffice Calc

Functions and the Function Wizard

Built-in functions, including statistical and banking functions, are combined into formulas for complex calculations, and the Function Wizard helps assemble them step by step.

Pivot tables

A pivot table combines, compares and analyzes large amounts of data. Its fields can be rearranged to view different summaries of the same source data.

Scenarios and what-if tools

Named scenarios hold alternative sets of cell values that can be switched to compare results, and the Multiple Operations command calculates a formula across a range of inputs.

Dynamic charts

Spreadsheet data can be presented in charts that update automatically whenever the underlying data changes.

Excel compatibility

Imports and modifies Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, and filters open and save a variety of other formats in addition to the native OpenDocument format.

Shared spreadsheets

In shared mode several users can open the same spreadsheet file for writing at once. Changes merge when each person saves, with a dialog to settle conflicting edits.

Numbers

• Numbers$0

  Create, view and edit spreadsheets on Mac, iPad, iPhone and iCloud.com, with real-time collaboration, pivot tables, charts and Excel import and export.

• Apple Creator Studio$12.99

  per month, or $129 per year

  Adds premium templates, the Content Hub media library, Magic Fill and image generation in Numbers, plus Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro and Pixelmator Pro.

LibreOffice Calc

• LibreOffice$0

  The full office suite, including Calc, downloaded free from libreoffice.org for Windows, macOS or Linux.

Numbers

• Annual discount

  About 17% less on the yearly plan

  Apple Creator Studio is $129 per year or $12.99 per month. Twelve monthly payments come to $155.88, so the yearly plan costs about 17% less.

• Education

  Students and educators: $2.99 a month

  Verified college students and educators pay $2.99 per month or $29.99 per year for Apple Creator Studio. Apple calls it a limited-time offer, and it cannot be shared through Family Sharing.

• Other savings

  3 months free with a new Mac or iPad

  Buyers of an eligible new Mac or iPad can try Apple Creator Studio free for 3 months, claimed within 3 months of activating the device.

LibreOffice Calc

No public discounts listed.