Quick Links
It’s no secret that Microsoft Excel is more powerful and complex than Google Sheets and is often the preferred program for sophisticated calculations and large datasets. However, Google Sheets offers several advantages that are often overlooked and may swing the balance in its favor.
5Get Detailed Help When Typing Formulas
Google SheetsandMicrosoft Excelwant to help you when you’re typing formulas. Indeed, as soon as you type the opening parenthesis, both programs display pop-up tips with the function’s syntax.
However, in Google Sheets, if you click the down arrow to the right of the pop-up, you can see more information about the function you’re using.
Specifically, you’re given an example of a completed formula for the function in question. This is particularly useful if—like me—you often forget that certain arguments need to be structured in certain ways, like being wrapped in quotation marks. You’re also presented with a detailed description of what the function does and what each argument in the formula represents. If you’re still struggling with the formula, scroll to the bottom of the pop-up, and click the link to a support page.
This extra info is a game-changer if you’re using a function you’ve never used before or one that requires many arguments.
4Condense Your Links to Other Files
Both Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel let you insert links to other files in the same program. For example, in Sheets, you can copy the URL of the Google Sheets file to which you want to link, and paste it into a cell in the active file. Similarly, in Excel, you can right-click a cell, select “Link,” and generate a hyperlink to an existing Excel file.
As you can see in both screenshots above, the links are lengthy and untidy.
To avoid this in Microsoft Excel, instead of pasting the link directly into a cell, you could first type some text and then link the text to the relevant Excel file.
However, this process can be time-consuming, especially if you need to link to many files at the same time. What’s more, selecting and formatting the linked cell without triggering the link can be frustratingly challenging, since the link is active as soon as you insert it.
On the other hand, in Google Sheets, when you select the cell containing the link to the other Sheets file, you’re given the option to replace theURLwith a chip.
When you activate this option, the URL turns into a tidily formatted button, with the file name inserted automatically.
One of the biggest benefits of using link chips in Google Sheets is that if you accidentally click them, you’re not instantly taken to the linked file. Instead, you see a pop-up that lets you confirm your wish to leave the active worksheet and navigate to the linked one.
This means that you can easily select and format the cell containing the link without having to be overly careful about where you click.
3See Table Names in the Cell Area
Before 2024, formatted tables were only available in Microsoft Excel, but Google realized their benefit and decided to implement them into their own spreadsheet software.
There are many reasons why you might convert your data to formatted tables, including the ability to reference table and column names in formulas. For example, typing:
into an empty cell in both Sheets and Excel returns the total of all values in the Score column of the Player Scores table, saving you the bother of manually referencing data ranges.
However, rather than simply copying Microsoft’s table design, Google went a step further in the table naming process.
Torename a table in Microsoft Excel, you need to select a cell in the table, head to the “Table Design” tab, and change the text in the Table Name field of the Properties group. Given how useful tables are, it’s surprising that you have to dig quite deep through the ribbon to rename them.
On the other hand, in Google Sheets, the table’s name is visible in the worksheet area, directly above the table itself. So, as soon as you create the table, you’re reminded to name it, and doing so only takes a second.
As a result, when you go to reference a table in a formula in Google Sheets, you only have to glance at the table—rather than root through the menus on the ribbon—to remind yourself of its name, thus saving lots of time.
To see a list of all tables and named ranges in a Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel file, click the down arrow in thename box, which is located in the top-left corner of the spreadsheet window (just above the row headings).
2Know Which Cells Contain Drop-Down Lists
Adding drop-down lists to cells—something you’re able to do in both Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel by clicking Data > Data Validation—improves data entry efficiency, prevents typos, and ensures consistency.
In Microsoft Excel, cells containingdrop-down data validation ruleslook like “normal” cells until they’re clicked. In other words, there’s no way to know that you may select a value from a drop-down list until you select the affected cells.
On the other hand, cells in Google Sheets containing drop-down lists adopt a stylized format that looks professional and makes it clear that the cells can be clicked to reveal the input options.
What’s more, when stating the data validation input options, you may assign colored chips. To do the same in Microsoft Excel, you would need to take the extra step ofadding conditional formatting rules.
1Get Notified if Certain Cell Values Change
So far, I’ve discussed how Google Sheets' versions of some features it shares with Microsoft Excel are more user-friendly. However, in this final section, I’ll show you a tool exclusive to Google Sheets: conditional notifications.
At the time of writing (July 2025), conditional notifications in Google Sheets are only available to people using Business, Enterprise, or Education Google Workspace accounts. This is because the tool is intended for shared worksheets in collaborative environments.
Imagine you’re a project manager, and you’re tracking the progress of various tasks in your organization. The Status column tells you whether a task is in progress, completed, or requires a certain action for it to continue.
So you can keep an eye on the development of each task, you can set up a conditional notification rule that emails you if any of the task statuses change. To do the same in Microsoft Excel, you would need to know how to write VBA code—a much more complex skill.
First, in Google Sheets, right-click any cell in the range, and select “Conditional Notifications.”
Then, in the Add Rule pane, name the rule, select the table, range, or cell, type the Gmail or Workspace email addresses (up to 10) that should be notified when the data changes, and click “Save.”
You can also add extra conditions—such as only notifying you if the cell value changes to a specific word—by clicking “Add Condition.”
Google Workspace Standard
Google Workspace, formerly known as G Suite, is a collection of cloud-based productivity tools designed to help you work more efficiently. It focuses on collaboration to enable real-time editing and seamless integration between apps.
Now, when the value in one of the nominated cells changes, an email notification will be sent to the specified addresses. The notification contains details of which cell has changed, what it changed from and to, and the name of the individual who made the change.
The notification can take up to 30 minutes to arrive. If more than one change is made in a short space of time, the notifications may be grouped into a single email.
In this case, because the status has changed toAction required, I need to email the person who made the change to discuss how we can enable the task to continue.
If you’re still on the fence when deciding whether to use Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel, take some time to compare the programs in terms of their data analysis and visualization capabilities, ease of collaboration, the complexity of the tools they offer, and their overall performance.
