Comparison of spreadsheet software explained

Spreadsheet is a class of application software design to analyze tabular data called "worksheets". A collection of worksheets is called a "workbook". Online spreadsheets do not depend on a particular operating system but require a standards-compliant web browser instead. One of the incentives for the creation of online spreadsheets was offering worksheet sharing and public sharing or workbooks as part of their features which enables collaboration between multiple users. Some on-line spreadsheets provide remote data update, allowing data values to be extracted from other users' spreadsheets even though they may be inactive at the time.

General

NameDeveloperInitial releasePlatformLatest releaseLicense
Version Date
Apache OpenOffice CalcApache Software Foundation2012-05-08Linuxrowspan="3"
macOS
Windows
AppleWorksApple Inc.1991macOSrowspan="2"
Windows
Calligra SheetsKOffice KSpread TeamBSDrowspan="4"
Linux
macOS
Windows
Collabora Online CalcCollabora2019Androidrowspan="9"
2021BSDBuild your ownBuild your own
2019ChromeOS
2019iOS
2019iPadOS
2016LinuxOnline server:
2015Desktop app:
2015macOS
2015Windows
Google SheetsGoogle2006AndroidRollingRollingrowspan="6"
ChromeOS
iOS
Linux
macOS
Windows
|-! GNU Oleo| Tom Lord| 1992| Linux| | | |-! rowspan="4" | Gnumeric| rowspan="4" | GNOME community| rowspan="4" | 1998| BSD| rowspan="4" | | rowspan="4" | | rowspan="4" |-| Linux|-| macOS|-| Windows|-! rowspan="2" | Gobe Productive| rowspan="2" | Gobe Software| 1998-08| BeOS| 2.0.1[1] | | rowspan="2" |-| 2001-12-12[2] | Windows| 3.04[3] | |-! rowspan="3" | IBM Lotus Symphony| rowspan="3" | IBM| rowspan="3" | 2008| Linux| rowspan="3" | | rowspan="3" | rowspan="3" |-| macOS|-| Windows|-! rowspan="5" | LibreOffice Calc| rowspan="5" | The Document Foundation| rowspan="5" | 2011-01-25| BSD| rowspan="5" | | rowspan="5" | | rowspan="5" |-| Linux|-| macOS|-| Unix|-| Windows|-! Mariner Calc| Mariner Software| 1989| iOS?| 5.6.0| | |-! rowspan="7" | Microsoft Excel| rowspan="7" | Microsoft| 2015-06-25| Android| 16.0.15128.20206| 2022-09-30| rowspan="7" |-| 2017-11 [4] | ChromeOS| ?| [5] |-| 2013-06 [6] | iOS| 2.66| 2022-10-10|-| 2014-02 [7] | iPadOS| ?| ?|-| 1985| macOS| 16.65| 2022-09-13|-| 1989| OS/2| 3.0| |-| 1987| Windows| 2209| 2022-09-26|-! rowspan="3" | Microsoft Works| rowspan="3" | Microsoft| 1987-09-14| DOS| | | rowspan="3" |-| 1988| macOS| | |-| 1991| Windows| | |-! rowspan="2" | Numbers| rowspan="2" | Apple, Inc.| 2010-01-27| iOS| 12.1| 2022-06-21| rowspan="2" |-| 2007-08-07| macOS| 12.1| 2022-06-21|-! rowspan="3" | OnlyOffice| rowspan="3" | Ascensio System SIA| rowspan="3" | 2014| Linux| rowspan="3" | | rowspan="3" | | rowspan="3" |-| macOS|-| Windows|-! rowspan="6" | OpenOffice.org Calc| rowspan="6" | Sun Microsystems
Oracle Corporation| rowspan="6" | 2002-05| BSD| rowspan="6" | | rowspan="6" | rowspan="6" |-| Linux|-| macOS|-| Solaris/Illumos|-| Unix|-| Windows|-! rowspan="4" | PlanMaker| rowspan="4" | SoftMaker Software GmbH| rowspan="4" | 1994[8] [9] | Android| rowspan="4" | 2024| rowspan="4" | 2023-06-20| rowspan="4" |-| Linux|-| macOS|-| Windows|-! rowspan="4" | Pyspread| rowspan="4" | Martin Manns| rowspan="4" | 2008| BSD| rowspan="4" | | rowspan="4" | | rowspan="4" |-| Linux|-| Unix|-| Windows|-! Quattro Pro| Corel| 1988| Windows| 2020| 2020| |-! Resolver One| Resolver Systems| 2008-01-16| Windows| 1.9| | |-! sc| James Gosling et al| 1981| | | | |-! rowspan="4" | Siag| rowspan="4" | Ulric Eriksson| rowspan="4" | | BSD| rowspan="4" | | rowspan="4" | | rowspan="4" |-| Linux|-| Unix|-| Windows|-! rowspan="3" | StarOffice StarCalc| rowspan="3" | Sun Microsystems| rowspan="3" | 1994| Linux| rowspan="3" | | rowspan="3" | rowspan="3" |-| macOS|-| Windows|-! rowspan="6" | WPS Office| rowspan="6" | Kingsoft| 2012-03-23| Android| 16.3.7| 2022-07-22| rowspan="6" |-| 1988| DOS| | |-| 2014| Linux| 11.1.0.11664| 2022-06-08|-| 2014| iOS| 11.24.1| 2022-07-14|-| 2019| macOS| 4.2.1| 2022-07-15|-| 1995?| Windows| 11.2.0.11191| 2022-07-05|-class="sortbottom"! rowspan="2" | Name! rowspan="2" | Developer! rowspan="2" | Initial release! rowspan="2" | Platform! colspan="2" | Latest release! rowspan="2" | License|-! Version ! Date |}

Operating system support

The operating systems the software can run on natively (without emulation). Android and iOS apps can be optimized for Chromebooks and iPads which run the operating systems ChromeOS and iPadOS respectively, the operating optimizations include things like multitasking capabilities, large and multi-display support, better keyboard and mouse support.

NameWindowsmacOSLinuxBSDUnixAndroidChromeOS optimizediOSiPadOS optimized
Apache OpenOffice Calc
Calligra Sheets
Collabora Online Calc[10]
Google Sheets
Gnumeric
IBM Lotus Symphony
LibreOffice Calc
Mariner Calc
Microsoft Excel [11]
Numbers
PlanMaker?
Pyspread
Quattro Pro
Resolver One????
Siag
WPS Office??

Supported file formats

This table gives a comparison of what file formats each spreadsheet can import and export. "Yes" means can both import and export.

Rows and Columns

ProgramRows (per sheet)Columns (per sheet)Total cells (per sheet)SheetsTotal cells (per workbook)
Collabora Online 22.05, or later versions – Online, Desktop, Tablet, Mobile1,048,576[12] 16,38417,179,869,184[13] 1,02417,592,186,044,400
Gnumeric16,777,216 16,384 274,877,906,944 142,648 603,103
Google Sheets1,048,57618,27810,000,00020010,000,000
KSpread32,767 32,767 1,073,676,289 130,645 953,923
LibreOffice Calc 5.4.5 – 7.31,048,576 1,024 1,073,741,824 1,024 1,099,511,627,776
LibreOffice Calc 7.4, or later versions1,048,576[14] 16,384 17,179,869,184[15] 1,024 17,592,186,044,400
Lotus 1-2-3[16] 65,536256 16,777,216 256 4,294,967,296
Microsoft Excel 200365,536 256 16,777,216 65,531 1,099,427,741,696 -Microsoft Excel 2007, or later versions[17] [18] [19] 1,048,576 16,384 17,179,869,184Limited by available memoryLimited by available memory
OpenOffice.org Calc 2[20] 65,536 256 16,777,216 256 4,294,967,296
OpenOffice.org Calc 3.0, 3.1 and 3.2[21] [22] 65,536 1024 67,108,864 256 17,179,869,184
OpenOffice.org Calc 3.3[23] 1,048,576 1024 1,073,741,824 256 274,877,906,944
Pyspread~80 000 000 (limited by sum of row heights) ~30 000 000 (limited by sum of column widths) Limited by available memory Limited by available memory Limited by available memory
Resolver Onelimited by machine memory* limited by machine memory* limited machine memory* limited by machine memory* limited by machine memory*

-* 32-bit addressable memory on Microsoft Windows, i.e. ~2.5 GB.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Productive BeOS. https://web.archive.org/web/20011223101948/http://www.gobe.com/storegobeproductive.html. 2001-12-23.
  2. Web site: Windows Release. https://web.archive.org/web/20020204040701/http://www.gobe.com/press/pr12_12_2001.html. 2002-02-04.
  3. Web site: Gobe Corporation. https://web.archive.org/web/20031004234541/http://gobe.com/. 2003-10-04.
  4. News: 2017-11-27. Microsoft Office finally available for all Chromebooks. 2022-12-01. ...Without any fanfare, Microsoft finally made Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint available for (apparently) all Chromebooks..
  5. News: 2021-08-31. Office apps for Chromebook to be stopped. 2022-12-01. ...it’s too expensive to support Office apps on the larger screen Chromebook devices which are rivalling Windows in some markets..
  6. News: 2013-06-15. Microsoft launches Office iOS app but no iPad version yet. 2022-12-01. ...Requires active Office 365 subscription to edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint files, but no iPad version for now.. 2024-08-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20240817051443/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/appsblog/2013/jun/14/microsoft-office-365-iphone-app. live.
  7. News: 2014-02-27. Microsoft announces Office for iPad, extending productivity to all iOS devices. 2022-12-01. ...Office 365 subscription is needed to edit as well as create documents.. 2022-12-02. https://web.archive.org/web/20221202092928/https://www.pcworld.com/article/444564/microsoft-announces-office-for-ipad-extending-productivity-to-all-ios-devices.html. live.
  8. Web site: Infos zu PlanMaker 97 . 1997-06-03 . 2010-03-28 . https://web.archive.org/web/19970603185443/http://www.softmaker.de/planmake.htm . 1997-06-03.
  9. Web site: The Emerging ODF Environment, Part IV: Spotlight on SoftMaker Office 2006 . Andy Updegrove . 2006-07-05 . 2010-03-28 . 2016-12-23 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161223062244/http://www.consortiuminfo.org/standardsblog/article.php?story=2006070509040463 . live .
  10. News: 2020-12-15. Collabora Office on iOS and Android Just got Better!. Adfinis. 2021-01-15. ...touch optimized interfaces: one for tablets and one for phone screens. ...(iOS, iPadOS, Chrome OS, Android)..
  11. News: 2021-08-31. Office apps for Chromebook to be stopped. 2022-12-01. ...it’s too expensive to support Office apps on the larger screen Chromebook devices which are rivalling Windows in some markets.. 2024-08-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20240817051444/https://office-watch.com/2021/office-apps-for-chromebook-to-be-stopped/. live.
  12. Web site: 16,777,216 row limit is a setting under experimental features. websetnet.net.
  13. Web site: 274,877,906,944 cells when the 16,777,216 experimental row limit is enabled. documentfoundation.org. 2024-08-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20240817051555/https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=50916. live.
  14. Web site: 16,777,216 row limit is a setting under experimental features. websetnet.net.
  15. Web site: 274,877,906,944 cells when the 16,777,216 experimental row limit is enabled. documentfoundation.org. 2023-09-24. https://web.archive.org/web/20230924100703/https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=50916. live.
  16. Web site: Limitations of 1-2-3 for Windows . https://archive.today/20130103060417/http://www-1.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg27003548 . dead . 2013-01-03 . 2008-04-10 . IBM .
  17. Web site: Excel specifications and limits . 2016-11-28 . MS Office Support . Microsoft . 2016-11-28 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161128200920/https://support.office.com/en-gb/article/Excel-specifications-and-limits-16c69c74-3d6a-4aaf-ba35-e6eb276e8eaa . live .
  18. Web site: Excel specifications and limits . 2016-11-28 . MS Office Support . Microsoft . 2020-04-28 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200428192633/https://support.office.com/en-us/article/excel-specifications-and-limits-1672b34d-7043-467e-8e27-269d656771c3 . live .
  19. Web site: Excel specifications and limits . 2016-11-28 . MS Office Support . Microsoft . 2024-08-17 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240817052050/https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/excel-specifications-and-limits-1672b34d-7043-467e-8e27-269d656771c3?redirectSourcePath=%252fen-us%252farticle%252fExcel-specifications-and-limits-ca36e2dc-1f09-4620-b726-67c00b05040f . live .
  20. Web site: What is the maximum number of cells in an OpenOffice.org spreadsheet? . 2008-04-10 . OpenOffice.org . FAQ . 2008-04-05 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080405234505/http://documentation.openoffice.org/faqs/spreadsheet/023.html . live .
  21. Web site: What's the maximum number of rows and cells for a spreadsheet file? . 2008-11-04 . OpenOffice.org . Calc FAQ . https://web.archive.org/web/20090504095550/http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Documentation/FAQ/Calc/Miscellaneous/What's_the_maximum_number_of_rows_and_cells_for_a_spreadsheet_file . 2009-05-04 . dead .
  22. Web site: OpenOffice.org 3.0 New Features . 2008-11-10 . OpenOffice.org . 3.0 Features . 2021-01-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210125024230/http://www.openoffice.org/dev_docs/features/3.0/#1024_Columns_Per_Calc_Sheet_.28Instead_of_256.29 . live .
  23. Web site: OpenOffice.org 3.3 New Features . 2010-12-13 . OpenOffice.org . 3.3 Features . 2024-08-17 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240817052055/http://www.openoffice.org/dev_docs/features/3.3/#One_Million_Rows_in_a_Spreadsheet . live .

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