Equals vs Google Sheets (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Equals if

• Fits if you are a company that reports from NetSuite or Salesforce data every week
• Makes sense if the finance team wants a spreadsheet rather than a separate dashboard tool

Look elsewhere if

• Pricey if you are a small team or a person, as the cheapest plan is $24,000 a year
• Not for you if you want to try it alone, since every plan is bought through a demo
• Tight if you have many data sources, because the entry plan allows 3 connectors with a 6-hour refresh
• Watch out: AI use above the included monthly spend is billed by usage
• Watch out: browser only, with no desktop or phone app listed

Pick Google Sheets if

• Fits if a few of you need to be in the same spreadsheet at once, each seeing the others' edits
• Works for budgets, rotas and sign-up lists shared with a link, and Excel files you edit without converting

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you want a spreadsheet app on your Mac or PC: Sheets lives in the browser, and offline needs Chrome or Edge with an extension
• Not for you if your work hangs on old Excel macros, which commenters say don't run in Sheets
• Too light for giant data sets, as a file is capped at 20 million cells or 100 MB
• Tight if you do real work on an iPhone or iPad, where reviewers miss conditional formatting, pivot tables and scripts
• Pricey if you want Gemini in Sheets, which starts on Workspace Business Standard at $14 a head; a business can't buy Sheets alone

Equals

• Pricing starts at $24,000 a year and every plan is bought through a demo; there is no self-serve or free plan.
• Each plan limits connectors (3, 5 or unlimited), and refresh speed (6 hours, 1 hour or 15 minutes) rises with the tier.
• AI use beyond the included monthly spend is billed by usage.
• Browser-based only; no desktop or mobile apps are listed.

Google Sheets

• There is no standalone paid Sheets plan; the business version comes only as part of Google Workspace, with Gmail, Drive and Meet.
• Gemini in Sheets is not in Business Starter; it starts at Business Standard, $14 per user / month on a 1-year commitment.
• A spreadsheet created in or converted to Google Sheets is capped at 20 million cells or 100 MB.
• Google's help lists Sheets for computer browsers, Android, iPhone and iPad; no Windows or Mac desktop app is listed.

Equals

Spreadsheet on live data

A spreadsheet connected directly to sources such as billing, CRM, accounting and warehouse data, with scheduled refreshes.

Dashboards

Dashboards built on the same spreadsheet logic, which can be pushed on a schedule to Slack or email.

AI agent

An agent that builds reports and answers questions about the data. Each plan includes a monthly AI spend, then usage-based billing.

Writeback

Pushes corrected or calculated values from the spreadsheet back into a CRM. Included from the Business plan.

Infinity

Works with large data sets without row limits. Included from the Business plan.

Forward deployed analyst

A named analyst builds the first reports during setup. Extra implementation work is $5k per 10 hours.

Google Sheets

Co-editing and revision history

Several people can work in one spreadsheet at the same time. Sharing settings control who can view, comment or edit, and revision history restores earlier versions.

Gemini in Sheets

Builds and edits spreadsheets from a prompt, writes and repairs formulas, and fills table columns with summarized or categorized data. Among Business editions it starts at Business Standard.

Sheets canvas

Turns the data in a sheet into interactive mini-apps such as dashboards, heat maps and Kanban boards from a text prompt, without writing code.

Connected Sheets and data connectors

Connected Sheets analyzes BigQuery or Looker data from the grid without SQL, and connectors bring in data from sources such as Asana, HubSpot, QuickBooks and Salesforce.

Excel files

Microsoft Excel files can be edited directly without making a copy, or converted to Sheets format. Gemini features such as Sheets canvas need the file converted first.

Offline editing

Spreadsheets can be created, viewed and edited without a connection. On a computer this requires Chrome or Microsoft Edge with the Google Docs Offline extension.

Equals

• Essential$24k

  per year, unlimited seats

  3 connectors, 6-hour data sync and $250 a month of included AI spend. Sold through sales.

• Business$36k

  per year, unlimited seats

  5 connectors or a warehouse, hourly sync, $500 a month of AI spend, Writeback and Infinity. Sold through sales.

• Enterprise$60k

  per year, unlimited seats

  Unlimited connectors or warehouse, 15-minute sync, $1,000 a month of AI spend and SSO. Sold through sales.

Google Sheets

• Personal Google Account$0

  Create, edit and share spreadsheets in a browser or the mobile apps, with co-editing, revision history and offline access.

• Business Starter$7

  per user / month, 1-year commitment ($8.40 flexible)

  Google Workspace with Sheets and 30 GB of pooled storage per user. Gemini in Sheets is not included.

• Business Standard$14

  per user / month, 1-year commitment ($16.80 flexible)

  2 TB of pooled storage per user. The lowest Business edition that includes Gemini in Sheets.

• Business Plus$22

  per user / month, 1-year commitment ($26.40 flexible)

  Everything in Standard with 5 TB of pooled storage per user, plus Vault, eDiscovery and advanced endpoint management.

• EnterpriseCustom

  No minimum or maximum user count, with data loss prevention, context-aware access and data regions; priced through Google sales.

Equals

No public discounts listed.

Google Sheets

• Other savings

  Up to 50% off the first 3 months

  New Google Workspace customers get up to 50% off their first 3 months, for a limited time with no end date given. Which plan gets 50%, 30% or 20% differed between two reads of the US page on 9 November 2026.

• Annual discount

  Save 16% with a 1-year commitment

  Business Starter is $7 per user per month on the Annual/Fixed-Term Plan against $8.40 on the Flexible Plan. Standard drops from $16.80 to $14 and Plus from $26.40 to $22.

• Nonprofit

  Google Workspace for Nonprofits at $0

  Eligible nonprofits get Google Workspace for Nonprofits at $0, or Business Standard at $3.50 and Business Plus at $6.16 per user per month on a 1-year commitment.

• Education

  Education Fundamentals at no charge

  Google Workspace for Education Fundamentals, which includes Sheets, is available at no charge to qualifying institutions.