Microsoft Access 2026: Benefits, Features & Pricing

Wondering if Microsoft Access is right for your organization?

Our Database Software selection experts can help you in 15 minutes or less.

On this page

Overview
User Interface
Pros and Cons
Popular Alternatives
Pricing and Plans
Features
Integrations
User Reviews
Popular Comparisons

Overview

Microsoft Access

4.4

(205)

Pricing

Pricing available upon request

About Microsoft Access

Microsoft Access is a database management solution that helps users store and manage information, create business apps for advanced reporting and analysis. Access can easily manage large amounts of information imported from Excel or other spreadsheet applications. Microsoft Access integrates Visual Basic for Applications to helps users create any business app and automate integrated business processes.

Microsoft Access can easily integrate with third-party apps using built-in connectors, allowing users to centralize data across multiple business systems and generate data visuals and insights.

Wondering if Microsoft Access is right for your organization?

Our Database Software selection experts can help you in 15 minutes or less.

Microsoft Access User Interface

Popular Microsoft Access Alternatives

Main Product

Microsoft Access

4.4

(205)

Ratings Breakdown

3.95Ease of use
4.25Value for money
3.90Customer support
4.40Functionality

Pricing

Available upon request

Get Price

Alternative Product

Microsoft SQL Server

4.6

(1973)

Ratings Breakdown

4.31Ease of use
4.27Value for money
4.26Customer support
4.57Functionality

Pricing

Starting at $209.00 one time

Get Price

Alternative Product

MySQL

4.6

(2093)

Ratings Breakdown

4.38Ease of use
4.60Value for money
4.16Customer support
4.47Functionality

Pricing

Starting at $2000.00 per year

Get Price

Alternative Product

Airtable

4.6

(2219)

Ratings Breakdown

4.45Ease of use
4.48Value for money
4.41Customer support
4.53Functionality

Pricing

Starting at $20.00 per month

Get Price

Alternative Product

Google Cloud

4.7

(2250)

Ratings Breakdown

4.48Ease of use
4.43Value for money
4.32Customer support
4.60Functionality

Pricing

Available upon request

Get Price

Alternative Product

MongoDB

4.7

(468)

Ratings Breakdown

4.41Ease of use
4.57Value for money
4.34Customer support
4.56Functionality

Pricing

Starting at $30.00 per month

Get Price

Microsoft Access Pros and Cons

We analyzed 205 verified reviews for Microsoft Access to find out what actual users really think.

Select to learn more

Easy Database Creation Tools

Microsoft Access offers a user-friendly interface for building and managing databases, making it accessible for beginners and experienced users alike. It provides templates, integration with Excel, and quick setup for small to medium databases, streamlining the process of organizing and accessing information.

Microsoft Access Pricing and Plans

Starting price: Connect with an advisor for pricing

Free Trial

Free Version

Confused about pricing? We've got you covered.

Get a personalized pricing breakdown tailored to your specific needs—no guesswork, no generic estimates.

Microsoft Access Features

Popular features found in Database
Backup and Recovery
Database Conversion
Data Connectors
Data Migration
Data Replication
Data Virtualization
Multiple Programming Languages Supported
Performance Analysis
Secure Data Storage
More features of Microsoft Access
Access Controls/Permissions
Activity Dashboard
API
Customizable Fields
Data Dictionary Management
Data Storage Management
Data Visualization
Real-Time Monitoring
Relational Database Management
Reporting & Statistics
Workflow Management

Microsoft Access Integrations

Microsoft Excel

Integration rated 4.7 from 36 reviews

Microsoft Word

Integration rated 4.8 from 13 reviews

Microsoft Access User Reviews

Overall Rating

4.4

Ratings Breakdown

51%

40%

Secondary Ratings

Ease of Use

4.0

Value for money

4.2

Customer support

3.9

Functionality

4.4

Guy G.

Verified reviewer

Health, Wellness and Fitness

2-10 employees

Used monthly for more than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed August 2024

A good database and query solution

find for small or quick projects, but sometimes lacking for more complex needs

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Functionality

Pros:

Compatibility and familiarity with all other Microsoft product family

Cons:

feels somewhat less powerful and functional than other database and query engines

Reasons for choosing Microsoft Access

We didn't, we used both for different projects,

Mark S.

Verified reviewer

Facilities Services

51-200 employees

Used weekly for more than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed April 2024

Microsoft Access & SQL

In general MS Access is great tool which can be used to manage small company data, reducing the need for lots of spreadsheets.

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

If you are a beginner to database management and dash boards MS Access is a good place to start. It then has the additional features to connect to other databases such as SQL. There are also many customization you can make with VBA.

Cons:

After using Access for many years the updated versions would often have different file types and previous VBA would become redundant. This seems not to be such a problem in recent years.

Reasons for choosing Microsoft Access

We had the best in house knowledge at the time to successfully use the software.

Reasons for switching to Microsoft Access

To improve data management and customize workflows.

Marco G.

Verified reviewer

Legal Services

Self-Employed

Used weekly for less than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed November 2023

Good only for local and standalone applications

For personal use it is effective but trying to use it by sharing access to network resources presents a lot of problems (from security to performance, to the number of simultaneous accesses etc. etc.)

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Functionality

Pros:

It is easy to have the program installed on your PC and create tables in which to insert data and forms with which to populate them

Cons:

It's not ideal for a centralized solution to share tables for colleagues. It was born as a single-user application to be installed on your PC and any workaround to transform it into a centralized database is a forcing that inevitably leads to problems or compromises, especially in terms of security

Kobus M.

Verified reviewer

Telecommunications

11-50 employees

Used daily for more than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed April 2022

Microsoft Access Review

It has been extremely helpful in managing our increasing customer base and billing.

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

"I love that you can quickly learn the most important things about database interaction." "I've used it over and over again. My favorite thing about this software is that it's easy to use, especially for beginners who want to start learning how to report for Data Management." "It's good for translating raw data into insights with its great Data mining features. I can use queries to query any criteria specified based on what I'm using the information for." "I have been using Microsoft Access for 8 years to set up various databases used to manage our telecom platform and I find it very useful and make full use of the many features."

Cons:

It is difficult to manage large databases and it is not possible to improve performance by using MS Access.

Reasons for choosing Microsoft Access

It is easier to use and very powerful especially for creating queries, forms and reports.

Federico A.

Verified reviewer

Investment Banking

2-10 employees

Used weekly for more than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed November 2021

Great product for a Small / Medium Bussiness

My overall experience is very positive, I always use is when possible. Saves em a lot of time and allows me to perform world-class reports.

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

I am very impressed about the reliability in handling regular size databases, and the best part is that you can write your own SQL commands!

Cons:

The only thing that I don't like is that it is not very powerful and gets slow with some big databases.

Reasons for choosing Microsoft Access

The Microsoft suite is widely used over any other suite in the market.

Reasons for switching to Microsoft Access

Because I was able to have more reliability and work perfectly with different companies rather than using the IBM suite.

Tammy S.

Verified reviewer

Fine Art

2-10 employees

Used daily for more than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed April 2022

Integral part of our office

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

The way I can customize reports and queries to produce the information that I need in the format that I need.

Cons:

Microsoft had said it was going to discontinue the program, so we changed before that happened and struggle with a different approach for two years before realizing they had changed their mind and kept it. It can be challenging to format the reports, but I eventually figure it out.

Reasons for choosing Microsoft Access

Ability to manipulate data to output in the format needed

Reasons for switching to Microsoft Access

Jackrabbit's recital module does not communicate with the student module, therefore, it is difficult to give families individualized information in regards to their participation in recital(s).

Ian S.

Verified reviewer

Computer Networking

11-50 employees

Used daily for more than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed September 2021

Still the best product in the market

Access is a learning curve, but you can crib a lot of useful code from forums online.

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Functionality

Pros:

You can design very sophisticated and feature rich applications with little or no development skills if you do have VBA skills then you can do even more with it

Cons:

there is almost too much information out there from developer forums but hard to find anything direct from Microsoft that trains you in Access or VBA development.

Reasons for choosing Microsoft Access

Access worked out a lot cheaper for us, as already included in other Office licences

Jill D.

Verified reviewer

Real Estate

2-10 employees

Used monthly for more than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed July 2021

Somewhat clunky interface, great data collection and reporting tool.

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Functionality

Pros:

I have used Access over the years for many purposes, from employee databases to customer management to logistics and inventory tracking. My favorite feature was a combination of having all the data I needed in one place, and being able to customize the end reports to show and manipulate the visibility of just the data needed for myself or a supervisor. Instead of giving them a spreadsheet, I was able to give them a tidy report with just what they asked for, which made the bosses happy.

Cons:

Access is, as its core, a data management tool. The very feature that makes it so awesome also makes it cumbersome - it can be really hard to move around a large database and get to the entry points you need. This is surmountable by building an entry form, but not for the faint of heart or the casual user, either.

Reasons for choosing Microsoft Access

Access could handle more than Excel, but Excel is easier to use. We began to migrate lighter data needs over to Excel, and stayed in Access for the larger and more data intensive data collection needs.

Carlos Hugo Martin C.

Verified reviewer

Information Technology and Services

11-50 employees

Used monthly for more than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed March 2022

Experience with Microsoft Access

It has been used for the generation of the billing system, as well as for the generation of documentary control reports.

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

It has tools that allow you to save time when generating a system that will be used in a single computer, in addition to being able to easily generate reports.

Cons:

Large databases become difficult to maintain and manage, and there are no options to improve the performance of the database from within MS Access.

Reasons for choosing Microsoft Access

SQLite needs other tools to be able to generate a user interface as well as to generate reports.

Mohammed Ameen A.

Verified reviewer

Hospital & Health Care

51-200 employees

Used monthly for less than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed February 2024

Microsoft Access

My overall experience working with MS Access has been rather pleasant. We mostly use it to have ease of use of reports with regards to our assets and equipment

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

As a user in my opinion and commonly cited by alot of users , I like Microsoft Access for its user-friendly interface, ease of creating databases, and its ability to manage and analyze data without requiring advanced programming skills. The integration with other Microsoft Office applications and the flexibility it provides in creating forms, reports, and queries are commonly cited as positive aspects by users.

Cons:

While Microsoft Access has its strengths, there are some limitations and drawbacks to consider: Scalability,Security Concerns Limited SQL Support Integration Challenges Reliability

Showing 1 - 10 of 205 Reviews

See All Reviews