Why I Still Choose Sheets > Excel

RESOURCES

Some tools to make life easier. You’re welcome :)

• beehiiv - my choice for a newsletter operating system

• Coefficient - Live connections to 60+ business systems

• Lido - Automate your spreadsheets; accurately extract date from PDFs

• TransactionPro - quickly import, export or delete data in Quickbooks

• Perspective - Build high-converting lead funnel microsites

• Gamma - AI designer for presentations, websites, social posts, and more

• Gratitude Plus - social gratitude journal

• Senja - collect and display testimonials

• OpusClip - turn long videos into short clips

• Carrd - free one-page website builder

• Notion - notetaking + project management + database

• Transistor - my favorite podcast host

• Fathom - AI-powered notetaking app

MAIN ARTICLE

If you’re running a business, managing a team, or building solo, you probably live in spreadsheets. And while Excel will always have its place (and is more powerful), I still find myself choosing Google Sheets 90% of the time.

Here’s why.

1. Real-Time Collaboration Wins Every Time

Excel has come a long way with co-authoring features, but Google Sheets was built to be used and shared online easily.

• Multiple people can edit the same doc at once without conflict.

• Comments, suggestions, and chat are built-in and intuitive.

• No need to email around 6 versions of the same file.

If I’m working with a client, teammate or friend Sheets is close to frictionless.

2. Built-In Apps Script = Custom Automations Fast

Sheets shines for tech-savvy operators:

• Trigger-based automations (on form submit, on edit, etc.)

• Email digests, Slack alerts, PDF creation are all possible with a few lines of code.

• Easy integration with Google Workspace (Calendar, Docs, Drive).

You don’t need to be a developer to get real value from Apps Script. It’s a low-code playground.

3. Instant Access, Anywhere

Sheets is web native. Excel... kind of is now too. But Sheets was built for this:

• Access from any device with a browser

• Mobile editing is reliable (though only for lightweight things)

• No install or version mismatch drama

Whether I’m on my laptop, tablet, or phone, it’s easy to pull up any sheet I need. Although, I do still recommend using a computer for either program when you’re doing serious edits.

4. Sharing and Permissions Are Simple

This is becoming more and more popular. With Sheets:

• You can control who sees or edits with a few clicks

• Easily publish a view-only version to the web

• Share entire folders with version history intact

It’s one of those invisible time-savers you don’t appreciate until you go back to emailing .xlsx files around.

And yes, you can do this with Excel’s web version too. However, I find that it’s not as frictionless as doing the same thing in Sheets. This goes back to the multiple version issue. Excel for web does behave differently than desktop.

5. It Plays Nicely With My Stack

I’m using Beehiiv, Canva, Stripe, Notion, ChatGPT, and 12 other tools any given week. Google Sheets can sit nicely in the middle of all of it:

• Zapier, Make, n8n and a hundred other services all have rock-solid support for Sheets

• CSVs drop in easily and cleanly

• Public APIs connect to Sheets in with a tiny bit of Apps Script

Yes, it will pay dividends to know how to code (even a little bit), but if you have a specific problem to automate, a little bit of searching can usually reveal how to stitch it together in an Apps Script.

Doing the same with VBA in Excel is a different story. Much harder to edit the code, find the right documentation, and make it behave properly.

This could speak to my own inexperience with VBA, but for the use-cases I’ve needed, Apps Script is easier to jump into.

But What About Excel’s Power Features?

Yes, I know. Excel is more powerful. Excel wins on power user features:

• Complex financial modeling

• Power Query and Power Pivot

• Native support for VBA macros

If you live in a finance team or enterprise environment, Excel probably makes sense. I’m not trying to convert the accountants.

But for most operators, founders, and marketers Google Sheets does 95% of what you need, with half the friction.

Work With Me

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NEXT STEPS

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HAPPY SPREADSHEETING!

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Cheers, Eamonn
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