The "spreadsheet" category fragmented in 2026. Google Sheets and Excel remain dominant for traditional use, but Airtable + Rows blur into databases and apps. Apple Numbers stays in the Apple ecosystem.
Quick Picks
- Real-time collab + free→Google Sheets
- Power user, complex formulas→Excel
- Database + workflow→Airtable
- API/integration-first→Rows
- Apple ecosystem only→Apple Numbers
Pricing
| Tool | Free | Standard |
|---|---|---|
| Google Sheets | Free w/ Google account | $6/user (Workspace Starter) |
| Excel | Excel Online free | $9.99/mo (M365 Personal) |
| Airtable | Free (1,000 records) | $24/seat (Team) |
| Rows | Free (50 connector req) | $59/mo (Plus) |
| Numbers | Free with Mac | Included with Mac/iCloud+ |
What Each Wins At
Google Sheets — Collaboration Default
Google Sheets remains the king of real-time collaboration. Gemini integration generates formulas from English. Best for: distributed teams, marketing, ops.
Excel — Power User Champion
Excel still has unmatched power for complex modeling — Power Query, Power Pivot, dynamic arrays. Copilot for natural-language analysis. Best for: finance, accounting, advanced data work.
Airtable — Database Hybrid
Airtable acts more as a database than spreadsheet. Field types, views (Kanban, Gantt, calendar), automations. AI App Builder generates apps from prompts. Best for: project tracking, content calendars, lightweight CRMs.
Rows — Integration-First
Rows treats integrations as first-class — pull data from Stripe, HubSpot, Notion, OpenAI directly into cells. Best for: dashboards, analyst workflows, ops reporting.
