The Web's Most Useful Sites
Chart: Web-Based Spreadsheets Compared
Only Google Docs and Spreadsheets allows multiple people to work on the same document at the same time.
Click the icon below to view the comparison chart.
| Spreadsheet | Features | Best feature | Bottom line | |
| Winner | Google Docs and Spreadsheets | -Real-time collaborative editing -Maximum of 20 sheets per spreadsheet -No charts |
The service instantly saves documents. | The lack of charts is a glaring omission, but the app's speed and instant saving of changes make it stand out. Its robustness and features--like the ability to freeze header rows, its unique capability to let you collaborate with others in real time, and integration with Google's word processor--all make this a great choice for business use. |
| Runner-up | Zoho Sheet | -Document sharing -Maximum of 101 sheets per spreadsheet -4 basic chart templates |
A panel lists all your spreadsheets and lets you switch documents quickly. | Zoho Sheet's clear icon-based controls, snappy response, intuitive keyboard navigation, graphs, and sharing options (which let you decide who can read particular worksheets in a document) make this an excellent tool for collaboration. It should improve as Zoho adds real-time collaboration and integrates it with other office offerings. |
| Also-ran | ThinkFree | -Document sharing -Maximum of 101 sheets per spreadsheet -14 powerful chart templates |
Java-based power-editing mode makes it feel as good as or better than Excel. | ThinkFree uses a client-side Java applet for power editing, which means that it's mostly running on your computer, rather than on the Web. It's part of a powerful Web suite, but it requires a plug-in to work, and its reliance on an applet for the heavy lifting makes it slow. |
| Also-ran | NumSum | -Document sharing -Maximum of 1 sheet per spreadsheet -3 basic chart templates |
Spreadsheets are public by default and allow commenting, tagging, and rating. | NumSum is inappropriate for serious business applications due to its inability to highlight multiple cells, its cut-and-paste limit of just a single cell, and its lack of support for multiple worksheets. Despite those limitations, it has a surprisingly wide range of features and is easy to use. |
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