Microsoft Excel vs Row Zero (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick Microsoft Excel: it is second in our ranking of spreadsheet and database tools, and it grades higher too, 3.4 against 2.6.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Microsoft Excel grades higher on features, ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money and the free plan.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Microsoft Excel
Spreadsheet app sold with Microsoft 365, free in the browser
Row Zero
Cloud spreadsheet for very large files and warehouse data
Which one is for you
Pick Microsoft Excel if
- Fits if you need a full desktop spreadsheet on Windows or Mac and will pay $9.99 a month
- Works for analysts who work in PivotTables, Power Query and Python
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want the desktop app without paying, as only the web and phone versions are free
- Not for you if your workbooks run on macros and you work in a browser, where they open but don't run
- Pricey if Excel is the only app you want, since $9.99 a month pays for Word, PowerPoint and Outlook too
- Watch out: Copilot needs a paid plan, has usage limits, and on shared plans works for the subscription owner only
- Watch out: Business Basic has only web and phone Excel, business trials need a card, and Office 2024 gets no upgrade
Pick Row Zero if
- Fits if your CSVs are too big for Excel
- Works for analysts who want warehouse data in a grid
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you need more than one workbook, as Free allows 1
- Pricey if you want automated refresh or write-back, which need Business at $20 per user
- Watch out: version history and CSV export need Pro
- Watch out: the page says Databricks acquired Row Zero, so check roadmap and pricing before committing
- Skip it if you need a desktop or phone app, as it is browser only
How we grade them
| 3.4GPAMicrosoft ExcelVery good | 2.6GPARow ZeroGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CMicrosoft 365 Personal is $9.99 a month, which is exactly the middle price in this category, so an ordinary deal rather than a good one, although Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, 1 TB of storage and Copilot come along. Office Home 2024 is $179.99 once for one PC or Mac, with no upgrade to the next release. | CPro is $12 per user a month billed annually ($15 monthly), which is the middle of spreadsheet tools. Business is $20. |
| Free plan and trial | BExcel for the web is free for one person, with sharing, real-time collaboration and 5 GB of cloud storage, and the free plan covers iOS and Android too. What's missing: some desktop features, and macros that open in a browser but won't run. | BFree gives 1 workbook, 10M+ rows, AI chat with weekly limits, pivot tables and charts, which one person could work on. |
| Features | AIt covers the whole job and then some things no rival here has: PivotTables with slicers and timelines, Power Query for pulling in and reshaping outside data, Python formulas running pandas and Matplotlib in the grid, co-authoring, templates in over 40 categories, and Copilot on paid plans. | BVery large files, Excel-compatible functions, warehouse connections and an AI agent. Refresh and write-back need Business, but nothing in the core job is missing. |
| Ease of use | A4.75 from 1,468,663 App Store ratings, which clears our bar on both counts, and most people have met Excel somewhere already. Templates give you a ready-made start. Its own phone reviewers do grumble that the iPad app leaves out desktop features like data validation. | CNo store rating on record. Connecting warehouses takes some setup, though a plain file opens straight away. |
| Platforms and integrations | AThe full set: web, Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android, hooked into OneDrive, SharePoint, Power BI, SQL Server and Anaconda. The desktop apps go deepest, and Power Query on Mac and the web is newer than on Windows. | BWeb only, with Snowflake, Databricks, BigQuery, Postgres, Redshift, Oracle, S3 and Athena links. No desktop or phone app is listed. |
| Best for | serious number work on Windows or Mac | opening spreadsheets with millions of rows |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Microsoft Excel and Row Zero. How we grade
Price against what you get
Microsoft Excel starts at $8.33 a month when paid by the year and scores 4.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Row Zero starts at $12 a month for each person and scores 2.7.
Microsoft Excel scores higher and starts $3.67 a month lower. Of the other spreadsheet and database tools on the chart, none scores higher than Microsoft Excel for less, and 5 score higher than Row Zero for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Microsoft Excel also covers templates.
- Row Zero also covers reports.
At a glance
| Microsoft Excel | Row Zero | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $9.99 / month, or $99.99 / year (Microsoft 365 Personal) | $12 per user / month, billed annually ($15 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | Excel for the web is free for 1 person, with sharing, real-time collaboration and 5 GB of cloud storage. Microsoft lists the free plan as working on web, iOS and Android. | 1 workbook, datasets of 10M+ rows (5GB per workbook), 400+ functions, AI chat, pivot tables and charts. |
| Free trial | 1-month free trial of the Microsoft 365 home and business plans; business trials need a credit card. | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Microsoft | Row Zero, Inc. |
| Price read from | microsoft.com | rowzero.com |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Microsoft Excel
- The Windows and Mac apps need a Microsoft 365 subscription or a one-time Office purchase; only the web and mobile versions are free.
- Excel for the web and the mobile apps have many, but not all, desktop features; macro-enabled workbooks open in a browser but the macros do not run.
- Copilot needs a paid subscription, has usage limits, and on shared plans works for the subscription owner only.
- Microsoft 365 Business Basic ($7.00 per user / month paid yearly, or $5.40 without Teams) includes only the web and mobile versions of Excel.
Row Zero
- The free plan is limited to 1 workbook, and version history and CSV export need Pro.
- Automated refresh and warehouse write-back need Business ($20 per user / month, billed annually).
- The page states that Row Zero was acquired by Databricks; check roadmap and pricing before committing.
- Runs in the browser only; no desktop or mobile apps are listed.
Key features
Microsoft Excel
- Copilot in Excel
- Edits formulas, tables and formatting from a written request and suggests formulas for the data. It needs a Microsoft 365 subscription and a workbook saved to OneDrive with AutoSave on.
- PivotTables and charts
- PivotTables calculate, summarize and analyze data to show comparisons, patterns and trends, and work with PivotCharts, slicers and timeline controls.
- Power Query
- Imports or connects to external data from files, databases, the web and Azure, then reshapes it before loading. It is available in Excel for Windows, Mac and the web; support on Mac and the web is newer than on Windows.
- Python in Excel
- Python formulas run in the grid using Anaconda libraries such as pandas and Matplotlib. It comes with eligible Microsoft 365 plans; a $24 per user / month add-on gives faster premium compute.
- Co-authoring
- Several people can work in one workbook stored in OneDrive or SharePoint Online and see each other's changes within seconds. In the Windows and Mac apps this requires a Microsoft 365 subscription.
- Templates
- Microsoft offers free Excel templates in more than 40 categories as ready-made starting points for common spreadsheets.
Row Zero
- Very large datasets
- Opens files of tens of millions of rows (5GB per workbook) on every plan; Enterprise scales to 1 billion+ rows.
- Excel-compatible functions
- 400+ spreadsheet functions, pivot tables, charts, and imports of XLSX, CSV, Parquet and JSONL files.
- Warehouse connections
- Built-in connectors to sources such as Snowflake, BigQuery, Databricks, Postgres and S3, with SQL queries from the sheet.
- AI agent
- Chat for analyzing data in the sheet. The latest models are used with weekly limits on the Free, Pro and Business plans.
- Write-back and refresh
- Business adds scheduled data refresh and writing results back to the data warehouse.
- Security and compliance
- SOC 2 Type II, GDPR and HIPAA are listed for every plan; Enterprise adds SSO, SCIM and private hosting options.
Plans
Microsoft Excel
Free$0
Excel for the web for 1 person, with sharing and real-time collaboration and 5 GB of cloud storage. Works on web, iOS and Android.
Microsoft 365 Personal$9.99
per month, or $99.99 per year
1 person signed in on up to 5 devices, 1 TB of cloud storage, and the Excel, Word, PowerPoint and Outlook desktop apps with Copilot.
Microsoft 365 Apps for business$10.00
per user / month, paid yearly
Desktop versions of Excel, Word, PowerPoint and Outlook for up to 300 employees, with 1 TB of cloud storage per user.
Microsoft 365 Family$12.99
per month, or $129.99 per year
Everything in Personal for 1 to 6 people, with 1 TB of storage per person. AI features are for the subscription owner only.
Microsoft 365 Premium$19.99
per month, or $199.99 per year
Everything in Family, plus extensive Copilot usage and agentic AI features such as advanced research and analytics.
Office Home 2024$179.99
one-time purchase for 1 PC or Mac
Classic 2024 desktop versions of Excel, Word, PowerPoint and OneNote, with no upgrade path to the next major release.
Row Zero
Free$0
1 workbook, 10M+ rows, AI chat with weekly limits, built-in data connectors and real-time collaboration.
Pro$12
per user / month, billed annually ($15 billed monthly)
Everything in Free plus unlimited workbooks, version history and CSV export.
Business$20
per user / month, billed annually ($25 billed monthly)
Everything in Pro plus automated data refresh, write-back to the data warehouse and consolidated billing.
EnterpriseCustom
1 billion+ rows, bring-your-own-key AI, SSO and SCIM, workspaces, private hosting options. Sold through sales.
Ways to pay less
Microsoft Excel
- Annual discount
Save up to 17% by paying yearly
Microsoft 365 Personal is $99.99 a year against $9.99 a month, Family $129.99 against $12.99 and Premium $199.99 against $19.99.
- Education
Students save 50% on Microsoft 365 Personal
Verified college and university students get Microsoft 365 Personal at half price. Student status has to be re-verified each year to keep the discount.
- Education
Office 365 A1 free for eligible schools
Educators and students with an eligible education email address get Office 365 A1 at no cost, which includes the web versions of Excel and the other core apps.
- Nonprofit
Nonprofit staff pricing on Microsoft 365 E3
Eligible nonprofits can buy Microsoft 365 E3, with desktop, web and mobile versions of Excel, for $9.75 per user / month paid yearly.
- Lifetime license
Office Home 2024 one-time purchase
$179.99 buys the classic 2024 desktop versions of Excel, Word, PowerPoint and OneNote for 1 PC or Mac, with no subscription.
Row Zero
- Annual discount
Annual billing lowers the monthly rate
Pro is $12 a month on annual billing against $15 billed monthly; Business is $20 against $25.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Microsoft Excel or Row Zero?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Microsoft Excel starts at $9.99 / month, or $99.99 / year (Microsoft 365 Personal), and Row Zero starts at $12 per user / month, billed annually ($15 billed monthly). One is priced for each person and the other is not, so which costs less depends on how many of you use it.
Which has a free plan, Microsoft Excel or Row Zero?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Microsoft Excel and Row Zero have a free plan.
Which platforms do Microsoft Excel and Row Zero run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Microsoft Excel lists macOS, Windows, iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.