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3 Free Alternatives To Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Excel is one of the most commonly used applications in computing, but it isn’t free. Excel is part of the Microsoft Office suite, which is an unnecessary cost for many fledgling businesses.
Microsoft Excel is simply a spreadsheet program, and there are many free alternatives available.
How good are these free alternatives to Excel? Here’s a roundup of the three absolute best.
1. Google Docs Spreadsheet
Chances are you already use a lot of Google products (e.g., Gmail, Google+) and therefore, you likely already have a Google account. If this is the case, you have access to the Google Docs Spreadsheet application without any extra effort.
Google Docs Spreadsheet is Google’s own version of an Excel-like spreadsheet application; the only difference is that it’s available for free, without downloading anything.
Google Docs Spreadsheet looks similar to Excel but operates inside your web browser. It has much of the same functionality, including charts and formulas, so it’s a good alternative if you want to save money on Excel expenses.
You can use Google Docs anywhere you are, as long as you have an internet connection. This makes working remotely on your spreadsheets easier, and your files are backed up automatically online.
2. OpenOffice
OpenOffice is a feature-rich and completely free alternative to Microsoft Excel.
Unlike Google Docs Spreadsheet, OpenOffice is a downloadable program that works on Windows, Mac OSX, and Linux.
In terms of functionality, OpenOffice is very similar to Microsoft Excel. It has charts, macros, and most of the other features you might be familiar with.
One benefit of OpenOffice over Google Docs is that you don’t need internet access to use the program. It also allows you to open, edit, and create Excel worksheets, so switching from Excel to OpenOffice is easy.
3. Zoho Sheet
Zoho Sheet is a cloud-based application, so you need an internet connection to use it.
Zoho offers many cloud-based web apps, and luckily, Zoho Sheet is free. Create a free account with Zoho, sign in, and access the Sheet app.
Zoho Sheet looks similar to Microsoft Excel and allows you to work with local files or Google Docs files. You can also create files from scratch in the Zoho Sheet app.
For most small business owners, Zoho Sheet offers most of the functionality needed from a spreadsheet application.
Conclusion
A few years ago, there were virtually no good alternatives to Microsoft Excel. But these days, things are different. All of the alternatives mentioned in this list offer the functionality that SME’s need.
They might not offer everything that Excel does, but they come close. And to be honest, the difference isn’t worth paying for unless you use Excel’s more in-depth functions regularly.
They might not offer everything that Excel does, but they come close. And to be honest, the difference isn’t worth paying for unless you use Excel’s more in-depth functions regularly.
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