Google Sheets Alternative That Keeps Files on Your Device

If you want a Google Sheets alternative that keeps your workbooks on your own device, try Spreadsheet. It runs in your browser with formulas, functions, charts, pivot tables, conditional formatting and multiple sheets. It opens XLSX, XLS, ODS and CSV files, and saves XLSX, ODS or CSV with no account. Google Sheets is built for working together in real time, with every file stored in Google Drive. If several people need to edit the same sheet at once, stay with Google Sheets. If you want a private workbook you can save straight back as XLSX, Spreadsheet is the simpler fit.

This comparison is based on what each product is designed for. Google changes its plans and storage limits over time, so check Google's own site for current terms.

The short version

	Spreadsheet	Google Sheets
Built for	Working on spreadsheets on your own device	Working on spreadsheets together online
Where workbooks live	On your device	In Google Drive
Account needed	No, for XLSX, ODS and CSV	Yes, a Google account
Real-time co-editing	No	Yes, its main strength
Formulas, charts, pivot tables, conditional formatting	Yes	Yes
Opens XLSX and old XLS files	Yes	Yes, by uploading to Drive
Saves as XLSX	Yes, directly	Yes, through File then Download
Other exports	TSV, JSON, HTML, PNG and JPG with a free account; PDF with Pro	Several formats through File then Download
Works offline	Yes, once installed and loaded	Yes, after you turn on offline mode
Price	Free to use; Pro adds PDF export and My files	Free with a Google account; check Google's site for its paid plans

Who each one is for

Choose Google Sheets when a spreadsheet is shared work. A team tracking a project in one sheet, a club collecting sign-ups, a family splitting the costs of a holiday. You share a link, everyone edits, and changes show up for everyone as they happen. Comments and version history help a group keep track of who changed what. If your school or company already runs on Google Workspace, Sheets fits in with Gmail, Drive and Google Forms.

Choose Spreadsheet when the workbook is yours and you want it to stay on your device. A household budget, a list of stock and prices, a mark book, the results of an experiment. You open a file, edit it and save it, and the file stays where you put it. It is also a quick way to open an XLSX someone emailed you when there's no Office on the computer, and to send it back in the same format.

What Spreadsheet does well

• XLSX in and out. Open XLSX, XLSM, XLSB, XLS, ODS, CSV and TSV files, then save as XLSX, ODS or CSV. No account is needed to save in those formats.
• The tools you expect. Formulas and functions, charts, pivot tables, conditional formatting and as many sheets as you need, on a ribbon that will feel familiar if you have used Excel.
• Your workbooks stay on your device. The editor runs in your browser and your files are not uploaded.
• Works offline. Install it from your browser and, once it has loaded, it works without an internet connection. On iPhone, use Share then Add to Home Screen in Safari.
• Old files open too. XLS files from older versions of Excel open, and you can save them as XLSX, which current spreadsheet apps all open.
• More exports with a free account. A free account adds TSV, JSON, HTML, plain text and images in PNG or JPG.

What Google Sheets does better

Be clear about where Google Sheets wins. Real-time co-editing is its main strength, and Spreadsheet doesn't do it. If two people need to edit the same sheet at the same time, use Google Sheets.

Google Sheets also gives you comments and version history, so you can step back to an earlier state of the sheet. It saves to the cloud as you type, so you can pick up the same file on any device where you're signed in. It has mobile apps, and it works with the rest of Google Workspace. For example, answers from a Google Form can go straight into a sheet, and you can automate tasks with Apps Script.

Spreadsheet saves files to your device. To open the same workbook on another device, you move the file yourself, or use My files with Pro.

What Spreadsheet doesn't do

Spreadsheet has no live co-editing and no share link, and without Pro your workbooks are kept only on your device. It doesn't connect to Google Forms or other online services. PDF export and saving to My files are part of Pro. Every editing feature works the same without Pro.

The first load downloads the editor, which is a large program, so give it a moment the first time you open it. After that it starts faster.

How to move from Google Sheets

You can take a Google Sheet with you by downloading it as XLSX.

1. Open the spreadsheet in Google Sheets.
2. Choose File, then Download, then Microsoft Excel (.xlsx).
3. Open Spreadsheet and open the XLSX, or drop it onto the window.
4. Edit as usual, then save as XLSX, ODS or CSV.

Values, formulas and formatting usually come across in the XLSX file. Check any sheet that uses functions found only in Google Sheets, or that pulls in data from other files or the web. Those links may not work outside Google, so the cells can show an error or a fixed value. Check charts too, because no two spreadsheet apps draw them in exactly the same way.

If you only want to try it, start a new workbook instead. There's nothing to sign up for.

Can you use both?

Yes. Use Google Sheets for shared work, where several people edit together. Use Spreadsheet for your own workbooks, for files that must stay on your device, and for editing an XLSX someone sent you. Because both read and write XLSX, you can move a file between them whenever you need to.

Getting data into a spreadsheet

A lot of spreadsheet work starts with data stuck somewhere else. If your numbers are in a table inside a PDF, such as a bank statement or a price list, PDF to Excel, part of Pro, turns the tables into an XLSX you can open in Spreadsheet, one sheet per page. If you have JSON from an app or an API, the free JSON to CSV tool gives you rows and columns. To print a finished workbook or send it as a PDF, Excel to PDF, also part of Pro, converts XLSX, ODS and CSV files. Not sure whether you need CSV or TSV? Read our guide to CSV vs TSV.