Stuck eyeing yet another Microsoft 365 invoice, you might ask yourself – why keep footing the bill for a tool that does little more than fill boxes with numbers. These days, free options such as LibreOffice or OnlyOffice run just as smoothly, maybe even better, which makes skipping paid plans seem obvious. A number inside a grid stays a number, after all; adding them up hardly requires wizardry. True enough – if your needs stop at counting weekend snacks or splitting rent. Yet when spreadsheets grow wild, stretching into hundreds of columns, things shift quickly. Hidden beneath neat rows, complexity blooms without warning. Even though open source sounds appealing, Excel’s had years to pack in tools others still lack. What looks like a basic spreadsheet runs more like a quiet machine under the hood. Not quite paper, not quite software – this thing lives between worlds. Five strong supports hold up what keeps heavy users tied close. Each piece fits only here, nowhere else.
What stands in the way at first? It’s how strong yet smooth Power Query feels. Ever tried fixing disorganized information – removing odd symbols, joining fields, tossing out noise? That kind of work drains energy when done by hand. Here things shift: Power Query turns fixes into steps you can reuse later. No need to adjust a CSV each month after downloading another report. Show it once. Then press Refresh next time. Other options exist online made by volunteers. Some offer importing help too. These rarely match the tight fit Power Query has inside Excel. You create flow here without typing any programming lines. Cleaning data stops being something only coders handle. Now it looks like moving blocks around. Something anyone might follow.
Here comes the Data Model, quietly powering how today’s Excel manages huge amounts of data without slowing down. Back then, connecting separate tables meant relying on VLOOKUP. Once files got larger, these calculations began dragging, making everything feel clunky and delayed. Today’s version no longer follows that rigid layout approach. Excel transforms into something smarter when using its Data Model, working much like a well-organized database. Different tables connect through special matching fields – think of puzzle parts clicking neatly into place – not unlike building with toy blocks. This setup powers quick calculations across large amounts of information stored directly in memory. Free tools have gotten better at managing pivot tables lately. Still, most miss having such a tightly tuned system for linking data smoothly. For serious work involving complex data structures, that missing piece creates a steep hurdle. Tough to get around it without the right foundation underneath.
One thing needs mentioning – back in 2019, Excel changed how formulas work through something called Dynamic Arrays. A single entry now spills results into nearby cells automatically, shifting the whole idea of what a formula does. Instead of stacking several calculations, you get full ranges filled by one rule sitting quietly in a corner. Tools such as FILTER, UNIQUE, or SORTBY reshape data on the fly, doing smoothly what used to take multiple steps. Even though newer builds of LibreOffice Calc and OnlyOffice began copying some features, their setup still feels less complete. Beyond spilling, there’s depth – helpers like LAMBDA build custom logic, while MAP and SCAN process information in ways older systems never allowed. What matters most hides beneath the surface: it’s not novelty but cohesion across tools that sets Excel apart. Fine-tuned logic becomes possible through these tools, avoiding tangled formula chains that make troubleshooting a mess. Power users find more than convenience here – instead, a shift takes root in how they shape their systems.
VBA – yeah, that old thing – still hangs around like a stubborn guest. Sure, some folks roll their eyes, calling it outdated tech from a floppy disk era. From today’s view, okay, maybe it looks awkward on screen. Hard to argue against the dated design. But here’s where it flips: inside Excel, nothing touches its grip. Total command, zero competition. For many years now, office teams have gathered heaps of tiny programs meant to take care of dull, repeated chores. Not mere code – they’re handmade helpers that pull data from folders, build detailed summaries, while shaping output down to exact rules. Shift them toward something like LibreOffice Basic? Trouble waits. System links behave differently there, support slips here, so what once ran smooth suddenly demands full rebuilding – effort poured into fixes instead of progress. Years of steady function crumble when old paths vanish without warning.
Last comes the island issue. Not unlike a lone patch of land, open source spreadsheet tools sit apart – good at handling whatever document sits right in front of you, yet missing threads to tie into everything else online. Excel, despite its pay-to-use setup, works more like a pathway. Connecting to online data, linking up with other Office programs, or tapping into company databases – the whole setup thrives on being linked. Manual transfers across free tools eat up far more hours than most expect. Even though open-source options keep getting better and collect specialized add-ons, their core structure still falls short here. A basic household budget works just fine without all that. Excel stays ahead not by accident, but because pros rely on consistent, growing systems tied together tightly.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article has been collected from publicly available sources on the Internet. Readers are requested to verify this information with available sources.
