Microsoft Excel vs Sourcetable

Microsoft Excel

• People who need a full desktop spreadsheet on Windows or Mac
• Analysts working with PivotTables, Power Query and Python
• Households: Microsoft 365 Family covers 1 to 6 people
• Occasional users who only need the free browser version

Sourcetable

• Analysts who want to query databases and SaaS data without writing SQL
• Finance and market research in a spreadsheet with an AI assistant
• Students and faculty, who get 50% off the Pro and Max plans

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.

Sourcetable

• AI use is metered in credits: 50 a month on the free Regular plan, 2,000 on Pro and 6,000 on Max, with extra credits sold in one-time packs from $10.
• Deep Research, premium AI models, the Python toolkit and the SQL editor need the Pro plan.
• It runs in the browser only; on phones the vendor describes viewing workbooks and quick edits rather than the full experience.
• The pricing page lists monthly prices only, and the vendor's FAQ page quotes a different Pro price ($20 a month).

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.

Sourcetable

AI analyst in the spreadsheet

Ask a question in plain English and the AI answers it, writes formulas, builds pivots and cleans or transforms data. Manual control stays available through A1-style formulas.

Data connectors

Connects to databases and applications including PostgreSQL, MySQL, BigQuery, Supabase, Stripe, Notion, GA4 and Google Ads. The vendor counts more than 900 data sources.

Charts from a prompt

Describe a chart and it is built from the data. Visualizations can be downloaded as images or embedded as interactive widgets that update when the data changes.

Python and SQL

The Pro plan adds a Python and data science toolkit with libraries such as Pandas, NumPy and Scikit-learn, plus a SQL editor, query builder and query library.

Large files

Files of up to 10 GB are supported, with larger limits on request. Large files are processed server-side, and the vendor says files with over 1 million rows can be analyzed.

Sharing and version history

Workbooks are shared by email invite or link with view, edit or admin permissions and edited together in real time. Changes are saved automatically, with versions that can be restored.

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.

Sourcetable

• Regular$0

  50 AI credits a month, the AI spreadsheet assistant with message limits, formulas, pivots, charts and access to data connectors.

• Pro$29

  per user / month

  2,000 credits a month, Deep Research, premium AI models, the Python and data science toolkit, and a SQL editor, query builder and library.

• Max$100

  per user / month

  6,000 credits a month, the highest model intelligence, advanced agent capabilities and unlimited AI messages, subject to abuse guardrails.

• EnterpriseCustom

  For teams of 15 or more seats: SAML single sign-on, bring-your-own-key encryption, role-based access control and a dedicated account manager.

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.

Sourcetable

• Education

  50% off Pro and Max for students and faculty

  The pricing FAQ says students and faculty receive a 50% discount on the Pro and Max plans by emailing support. Students are also asked to sign up with a university email.

• Nonprofit

  Discounted pricing for registered non-profits

  Sourcetable's FAQ says registered non-profit organizations can receive discounted pricing by contacting support with their documentation. The amount is not published.