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

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

Pick Univer if

• Fits if you build a product that needs a spreadsheet editor inside it
• Makes sense if you need an Apache-2.0 core you can host yourself

Look elsewhere if

• Not for you if you want a spreadsheet to use, as it is a developer toolkit
• Pricey if you are small, since a production licence starts at $99 a month
• Tight if you stay on Freemium, as it adds watermarks and feature limits
• Watch out: a Business licence covers one main domain and its subdomains
• Watch out: licences run 1 to 12 months with no automatic renewal

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.

Univer

• It is a developer SDK, not a ready-made spreadsheet app for end users.
• Production use requires Business or Enterprise; the Freemium tier adds watermarks and feature limits.
• A Business license covers one main domain and its subdomains; other domains need separate licenses.
• Model services and infrastructure costs are not included in the license fee.

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.

Univer

Spreadsheets, docs and slides SDK

Web SDK embeds Office-style editing in a product; Business adds charts, pivot tables, printing and an advanced formula engine.

Server SDK

Handles real-time collaboration, history and Office file import and export in your own environment.

AI SDK

Lets agents read and edit Office content and collaborate with people. It includes no model; you connect your own.

File formats

Sheets import XLS, XLSX, CSV and TSV and export XLSX, CSV and TSV; the vendor warns unsupported elements may be dropped in conversion.

Customizable interface

A plugin architecture for toolbars, menus and components written in React, Vue 3 or Web Components.

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.

Univer

• Freemium$0

  Watermarks and feature limits; meant for development and testing, with 10 exports a month.

• Business$99

  per month and up, or from $1,000 per year billed annually

  Self-hosted Office SDK for production: 25+ editing connections, 5,000+ exports a month, one main domain and its subdomains. Licenses run 1 to 12 months with no automatic renewal.

• EnterpriseCustom

  Unlimited editing connections and exports, distributed deployment and advanced support.

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.

Univer

• Annual discount

  Annual license from $1,000

  The pricing page lists Business from $99 a month, or from $1,000 a year billed annually.