---
title: "Microsoft 365 vs Microsoft Excel - 2026 Comparison - Software Advice"
description: "Microsoft 365 vs Microsoft Excel - See how these products stack up against each other with real user reviews, product feature comparisons and screenshots. Find out which one is best for your organization."
source_url: "https://www.softwareadvice.com/productivity/microsoft-365-profile/vs/microsoft-excel/"
page_type: "comparison"
language: "en"
publication_date: "2026-11-04"
---

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Microsoft 365 vs Microsoft Excel

Software Advice offers objective insights based on verified user reviews and independent product and market research. When our advisors match you to a software provider, we may earn a referral fee.

Updated November 4, 2026

# Microsoft 365 vs. Microsoft Excel: 2026 Comparison

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Updated November 4, 2026

# Microsoft 365 vs. Microsoft Excel: 2026 Comparison

Skip hours of research. Get your top 5 matches from an expert in 15 minutes, 100% free.

Free Expert Guidance

Real Human Advice

1M + Businesses Helped

Product comparison

Compare up to 3 products side-by-side

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Add product

[](https://www.softwareadvice.com/productivity/microsoft-365-profile/)

[Microsoft 365](https://www.softwareadvice.com/productivity/microsoft-365-profile/)

4.6

[(14181)](https://www.softwareadvice.com/productivity/microsoft-365-profile/reviews/)

Starting Price

$6.00per month

Free trial: Available

Free version: Not available

Pros:

-   Office
-   Ease of Use

Cons:

-   Pricing
-   User Accounts

Who uses Microsoft 365

Based on 14181 reviews

-   Popular among: Small businesses
-   Most common industries: IT & Software Development (17%), Education & Learning (10%) and Professional Services (10%)
-   Top use cases: Document Management (12%), Email Management (10%) and File Sharing (9%)

83% of users recommend this product

[](https://www.softwareadvice.com/productivity/microsoft-excel-profile/)

[Microsoft Excel](https://www.softwareadvice.com/productivity/microsoft-excel-profile/)

4.8

[(19538)](https://www.softwareadvice.com/productivity/microsoft-excel-profile/reviews/)

Starting Price

$6.00per month

Free trial: Not available

Free version: Available

Pros:

-   Features
-   Data Management

Cons:

-   Formulas
-   Training and Learning Curve

Who uses Microsoft Excel

Based on 19538 reviews

-   Popular among: Small businesses
-   Most common industries: IT & Software Development (15%), Professional Services (10%) and Education & Learning (10%)
-   Top use cases: Spreadsheet (18%), Productivity (10%) and Document Management (3%)

90% of users recommend this product

[](https://www.softwareadvice.com/productivity/microsoft-365-profile/)

Microsoft 365

4.6

[(14181)](https://www.softwareadvice.com/productivity/microsoft-365-profile/reviews/)

[](https://www.softwareadvice.com/productivity/microsoft-excel-profile/)

Microsoft Excel

4.8

[(19538)](https://www.softwareadvice.com/productivity/microsoft-excel-profile/reviews/)

+

Add product

Add product

## Microsoft 365 vs Microsoft Excel: At a glance

* * *

Product ratings at a glance
|  | Microsoft 365 | Microsoft Excel |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Overall rating | 4.6<br>14,181 reviews | 4.8<br>19,538 reviews |
| Ease of use | 4.5 | 4.3 |
| Value for money | 4.3 | 4.6 |
| Functionality | 4.6 | 4.7 |
| Customer support | 4.3 | 4.3 |
| Ease of deployment | 4.5 | 4.6 |

Best in comparison

## User interface

* * *

## Key features

Features selected based on 33,719 reviews from Productivity

* * *

Archiving & Retention

4.4

Collaboration Tools

4.5

Commenting/Notes

N/A

Data Visualization

N/A

Document Editing

4.7

Document Generation

4.6

-   Real-Time Updates: 5.0
-   Team Collaboration: 4.9
-   Meeting Management: 4.8
-   Data Security: 4.8
-   Presentation Tools: 4.8
-   Document Editing: 4.7
-   Calendar/Reminder System: 4.6
-   Content Creation: 4.6
-   Document Generation: 4.6
-   Document Management: 4.6
-   Office Suite: 4.6
-   File Management: 4.6
-   Document Storage: 4.6
-   Document Capture: 4.6
-   Single Sign On: 4.6
-   Calendar Management: 4.6
-   Communication Management: 4.6
-   Secure Data Storage: 4.6
-   Commenting/Notes: 4.6
-   Email Management: 4.6
-   File Sharing: 4.5
-   Two-Way Audio & Video: 4.5
-   Multiple Projects: 4.5
-   Data Visualization: 4.5
-   Email Monitoring: 4.5
-   Notes Management: 4.5
-   Discussions/Forums: 4.5
-   Scheduling: 4.5
-   Real-Time Notifications: 4.5
-   Productivity Tools: 4.5
-   Inbox Management: 4.5
-   Full Text Search: 4.5
-   File Transfer: 4.5
-   Collaboration Tools: 4.5
-   Mobile Access: 4.5
-   Project Management: 4.5
-   Content Management: 4.5
-   Address Book: 4.4
-   Reminders: 4.4
-   Archiving & Retention: 4.4
-   Response Management: 4.4
-   Chat/Messaging: 4.4
-   Offline Access: 4.4
-   Video Conferencing: 4.4
-   Contact Management: 4.3
-   Task Management: 4.3
-   Customizable Templates: 4.3
-   Alerts/Notifications: 4.3
-   Search/Filter: 4.3
-   To-Do List: 4.3
-   Event Management: 4.3
-   Version Control: 4.2
-   Reporting/Analytics: 4.2
-   Activity Tracking: 4.2
-   @mentions: 4.2
-   Audit Trail: 4.2
-   Brainstorming: 4.1
-   Data Synchronization: 4.1
-   Room Booking: 4.1
-   API: 3.9

Archiving & Retention

N/A

Collaboration Tools

N/A

Commenting/Notes

4.4

Data Visualization

4.6

Document Editing

N/A

Document Generation

N/A

-   Office Suite: 4.7
-   Multiple Projects: 4.7
-   Productivity Tools: 4.7
-   Offline Access: 4.7
-   Data Import/Export: 4.7
-   Database Creation: 4.6
-   Search/Filter: 4.6
-   Task Management: 4.6
-   Data Visualization: 4.6
-   Team Collaboration: 4.6
-   Document Management: 4.6
-   Charting: 4.6
-   Project Management: 4.6
-   Real-Time Data: 4.5
-   File Sharing: 4.5
-   Customizable Templates: 4.5
-   Commenting/Notes: 4.4
-   Real-Time Updates: 4.4
-   Drag & Drop: 4.4
-   API: 4.4
-   Collaboration Tools: 4.3
-   To-Do List: 4.3
-   Templates: 4.3
-   Notes Management: 4.3
-   Version Control: 4.2
-   What-if Analysis: 3.9

### Wondering if these products fit your needs?

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### Wondering if these products fit your needs?

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## Integrations

* * *

[

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Microsoft OneNoteIntegration rated 4.6 from 90 reviews

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Microsoft BookingsIntegration rated 4.4 from 29 reviews

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-   Microsoft Excel
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[

Microsoft 365Integration rated 4.8 from 192 reviews

](https://www.softwareadvice.com/productivity/microsoft-365-profile/)[

BasecampNot enough reviews

](https://www.softwareadvice.com/project-management/basecamp-profile/)[

PaperformNot enough reviews

](https://www.softwareadvice.com/forms-automation/paperform-profile/)

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## Reviews

* * *

Positive review:

Rajesh A.

CMO

Information Technology and Services, 2-10 employees

"Overall, Microsoft 365 is an indispensable productivity suite for both individual work and team collaboration. While the subscription pricing and occasional app bloat can be minor drawbacks, the reliability, seamless cloud integration across devices, and comprehensive set of tools make it well worth the investment for daily operations."

Sep 19, 2026

Negative review:

VR

Verified Reviewer

It Administrator

Information Technology and Services, 51-200 employees

"Support services now gets weak. Whenever you face an issue then you need to first reach out to the partner now from whom licenses are purchased. If issue is not resolved by the partner team then on your behalf they will raise a ticket to Microsoft which can take a lot of time now."

May 29, 2026

Positive review:

HA

Hector A.

Engineer

Construction, 1001-5000 employees

"The email management capabilities in Outlook are outstanding; utilizing custom keyword rules, maintaining intricate folder hierarchies, and writing custom VBA scripts to automate replies with attachments has completely streamlined my daily correspondence."

Jul 28, 2026

Negative review:

LS

Louis s.

CTO

Real Estate, 201-500 employees

"Licensing structure: The different plans (Business Basic, Standard, Premium, E3, E5, etc.) can be confusing, and some essential features are locked behind higher-tier licenses."

May 22, 2026

Positive review:

SP

Sonu P.

Systems Analyst

Consumer Goods, 51-200 employees

"File sharing and document management are seamless across teams and devices, while spam filtering and security features in Outlook help maintain reliable communication and protect against unwanted emails."

May 18, 2026

Negative review:

LS

Louis s.

CTO

Real Estate, 201-500 employees

"Admin complexity: The Microsoft 365 Admin Center and related portals (Azure AD/Entra, Exchange Admin, Teams Admin, etc.) can be overwhelming and fragmented."

May 22, 2026

[Read all reviews](https://www.softwareadvice.com/productivity/microsoft-365-profile/reviews/)

Positive review:

SS

Samantha S.

Controller

Real Estate, 2-10 employees

"The platform’s robust data visualization options—ranging from standard bar graphs to detailed dynamic charts—allow users to present critical information clearly and professionally."

Aug 25, 2026

Negative review:

VR

Verified Reviewer

Manager

Human Resources, 501-1000 employees

"What I liked least about Microsoft Excel was that large or highly complex spreadsheets can become difficult to maintain, troubleshoot, and audit over time. As workbooks grow in size, performance can sometimes slow down, and managing complex formulas across multiple sheets increases the risk of errors."

Sep 16, 2026

Positive review:

SS

Samantha S.

Controller

Real Estate, 2-10 employees

"Its extensive library of complex formulas, advanced functions, and customizable Pivot Tables makes transforming raw datasets into actionable business insights remarkably fast."

Aug 25, 2026

Negative review:

Bruno M.

Sales Executive

Automotive, 2-10 employees

"Additionally, I discovered that this software can malfunction when one works with extensive databases, a large number of formulas, Macros, External Data Bases, and so on."

Jul 22, 2026

Positive review:

SE

Sai Teja E.

Construction Project Manager

Construction, 2-10 employees

"It is one of the most important tools for daily business work, including calculations, project tracking, budgeting, payroll information, and preparing reports."

May 29, 2026

Negative review:

EB

Erica B.

COO

Information Technology and Services, 2-10 employees

"When using volatile array formulas on large workbooks with large number of rows I often experience a delay and sometimes the application even crashes."

May 31, 2026

[Read all reviews](https://www.softwareadvice.com/productivity/microsoft-excel-profile/reviews/)

## Customer support

* * *

Microsoft 365

Email/Help Desk: Available

FAQs/Forum: Available

Knowledge Base: Available

Phone Support: Available

24/7: Available

Chat: Available

Microsoft Excel

Email/Help Desk: Available

FAQs/Forum: Available

Knowledge Base: Available

Phone Support: Available

24/7: Not available

Chat: Not available

## Training options

* * *

Microsoft 365

In Person: Not available

Live Online: Not available

Webinars: Not available

Documentation: Not available

Videos: Available

Microsoft Excel

In Person: Not available

Live Online: Not available

Webinars: Not available

Documentation: Not available

Videos: Available

## Send this comparison chart to my inbox

## Popular Comparisons

* * *

[Google Docs vs Microsoft 365](https://www.softwareadvice.com/cms/google-docs-profile/vs/microsoft-365/)[Google Workspace vs Microsoft Excel](https://www.softwareadvice.com/marketing/google-workspace-profile/vs/microsoft-excel/)