What I like best about MS Excel is how effortlessly it turns raw, messy data into something meaningful and usable. A few things really stand out:

Power with simplicity

You can start with basic tasks like lists and totals, and gradually move into advanced analysis—formulas, PivotTables, Power Query—without changing tools. It grows with your skill level.

Speed and efficiency

Tasks that would take hours manually—calculations, sorting, filtering, comparisons—can be done in seconds. This is especially valuable in research, finance, pharmacy data, or administrative work.

Flexibility across domains

Excel works just as well for academic research data, clinical study results, inventory management, budgeting, or simple record-keeping. Few tools are that versatile.

Strong data analysis and visualization

Charts, conditional formatting, PivotTables, and dashboards make trends and patterns obvious, which helps in decision-making and presentations.

Universal acceptance

Almost everyone knows Excel at some level. Files are easy to share, review, and reuse—important for collaboration, submissions, and reports.

In short, Excel feels like a practical problem-solver: not flashy, but incredibly reliable and powerful once you know how to use it well. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What I dislike about MS Excel is that, despite its power, it has some real limitations that show up once your work becomes complex or large-scale:

Error-prone formulas

A small mistake in a formula (wrong cell reference, drag error, hidden overwrite) can silently change results. In research or financial work, this can be risky if not carefully validated.

Poor handling of very large datasets

Excel slows down or crashes with large files (hundreds of thousands to millions of rows). It’s not designed to be a true database or big-data tool.

Version and compatibility issues

Files may behave differently across versions (Windows vs Mac, older vs newer Excel), especially with advanced functions, macros, or Power Query.

Limited reproducibility

Unlike programming tools (R, Python), Excel workflows are harder to document and reproduce step-by-step, which is a drawback for academic and clinical research.

Manual dependence

Many tasks still rely on manual steps (copy-paste, drag-fill). This increases the chance of human error and makes automation less robust unless VBA or Power Automate is used.

Not ideal for collaboration

While Excel Online has improved, simultaneous editing, version control, and audit trails are still weaker compared to modern collaborative data tools.

In essence, Excel is excellent for analysis and reporting—but once accuracy, scale, automation, or reproducibility become critical, its weaknesses become more noticeable. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

As a Manager - Solar Asset Management, i like most about microsoft excel is that it provides strong data analysis with pivot tables, charts,conditional formatting. It supports files like CSV and excel directly from scada. It's AI feature like import data from images reduces times and improves productivity. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

It has some limitations like it requires manual data uploads. Also it is not capable in monitoring live plant operations or auto scada exports. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Excel allows me to take raw data and turn it into something visual and consumable for managers, sales associates, and customers. It also allows for the organization of invoicing data to allow for greater efficiency in Receivables processing. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Excel can be sometimes glitchy with conditional formatting, formulas sometimes crash and won't appropriately transmit what I need between files, and putting tables from Excel into other documents (Example: Excel to Word) can be tricky. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I like it's easy of use when it comes to formulas and its support for various kinds of data sources including SQL Server Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Sometimes formulas break when opening and excel sheet on another computer that may use ";" instead of "," as a term separator. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

It’s useful for organizing, analyzing, and visualizing data efficiently. Features like formulas, pivot tables, and charts make it a powerful tool. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

It can become slow and difficult to manage large datasets. It is also prone to human error when it comes to formulas Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

As an inventory accountant, I rely on Excel daily for complex data organization. The ability to use Pivot Tables and advanced formulas makes managing large warehouse stocks much more accurate and efficient Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

While it is very powerful, the software can occasionally slow down when working with extremely large data sets or multiple complex links between workbooks Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Best I like about MS Excel is its flexibility to handle large volumes of data efficienly, from daily logs to complex SAT reports. It anables quick analysis, automation and clear visualization. This makes it an essential tool for process optimization and buidling performance. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I dislike about Excel that it can become sometimes slow and error prone with large datasets and managing complex formulas or version control can be challenging. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What I like most about Microsoft Excel is its vast number of functions that allow for everything from simple calculations to complex data analysis and financial modeling. Despite this complexity, it maintains a remarkable ease of use thanks to its familiar interface and extensive documentation. Additionally, its ease of integration with other Microsoft products (such as Word, PowerPoint, and Power BI) and with third-party systems is unmatched, which optimizes any business workflow. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What I like the least is the ease of implementation in environments where very intensive real-time collaboration is required, as cloud-based solutions can sometimes be more seamless. Occasionally, the quality of customer support can be slow for very specific or advanced issues that are not resolved with standard documentation. Finally, for users who only require occasional use, the full subscription model of Microsoft 365 can feel excessive. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Easy to use & integrate with other software we use.

Makes updating information so much more efficient with the import & export of data feature.

I use excel daily Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

No real downsides, although it can get overwhelming with amount of formulas etc that available.

Make sure to save as sometimes one wrong click can mess up a spreadsheet . Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I can see everything in one place. helps me with making lists. there are a bunch of features like conditional formatting, charts etc that help to make the data more visual instead of boring plain numbers Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

sometimes formulas are hard to remember and too many features makes it overwhelming. there are multiple ways to reach to a solution but finding out the easiest way and fastest one is a whole another task. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.