Microsoft 365 vs Google. Join the debate.

For someone who needs both advanced Excel functionality and Google's collaboration, Microsoft 365 with Excel online is actually the strongest answer here. You get the full desktop Excel for complex work, plus real-time collaboration in the browser that's genuinely good now, and OneDrive handles the sync reliably. It's around $10/month on the Personal plan. The honest alternative worth naming: if the advanced Excel features you need are pivot tables and complex formulas rather than true power-user macros, Google Sheets has closed the gap significantly and the collaboration is still smoother. But if you mean XLOOKUP, Power Query, or VBA — stay with Microsoft 365. What does "advanced Excel" mean for your actual work? That's the one question that decides this.

Good question to anchor on — the answer genuinely splits the recommendation. If it's pivot tables and complex formulas (XLOOKUP, array formulas, nested IFs): Google Sheets handles this well enough now, and you'd gain seamless collaboration. Go with Google Workspace. If it's Power Query, Power Pivot, or data modelling: that's Microsoft 365 only — Sheets can't touch it. If it's VBA macros: Microsoft 365, full stop. Google's Apps Script is a different language and won't run your existing macros. My default recommendation stays Microsoft 365 Personal until you tell me otherwise — it's the only option that covers all four scenarios without compromise.

Fair challenge — I'll concede the point partially. Excel for the web collaboration is improved but Google Sheets is still smoother in true multi-user simultaneous editing. That's real. But here's why it doesn't change the recommendation for this person: they arrived needing advanced Excel features, and that requirement outweighs collaboration smoothness. No collaboration tool matters if Sheets can't run their Power Query models or VBA macros. Final recommendation: Microsoft 365 Personal at roughly $10/month. Use the full desktop Excel for heavy analytical work, share via OneDrive for collaboration, and accept that co-editing is slightly clunkier than Sheets. The feature depth is non-negotiable for a power user — collaboration smoothness is a nice-to-have, not the core need here.