Microsoft Excel vs Microsoft Outlook

Two Tech stack tools side by side: what each does, what it costs and who it suits.

The verdict Side by side Plans and pricing Who each is for Other options

The verdict

On the data we hold, Microsoft Outlook comes out ahead. Here is why, point by point.

What the data says

Both have a free plan, so you can try each before you pay.
Microsoft Outlook starts lower, at $1.67/mo against $8.33/mo.
In our Tech stack ranking, Microsoft Outlook places 29 and Microsoft Excel 45 of 72.

Side by side

Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Outlook compared
At a glance	Microsoft Excel	Microsoft Outlook
Starts at	$8.33/mo	$1.67/mo
Free plan	Yes	Yes
API	Yes	Yes
MCP server	Not known yet	Yes
Links	Visit	Visit

Plans and pricing

Microsoft Excel

Free (web apps)Free web and mobile versions with a Microsoft account, with 5 GB of OneDrive storage.Free
Microsoft 365 PersonalFor 1 person; desktop apps with Copilot, 1 TB cloud storage.$9.99/mo
Microsoft 365 FamilyFor 1 to 6 people; AI features for the subscription owner only, up to 6 TB storage.$12.99/mo
Microsoft 365 PremiumFor 1 to 6 people; extensive Copilot usage and agentic AI features.$19.99/mo
Office Home 2024One-time purchase for 1 PC or Mac; Word, Excel and PowerPoint.$179.99/one_off

Microsoft Outlook

Outlook (free)Free account for one person with 15 GB mailbox storage.Free
Microsoft 365 BasicAd-free Outlook for one person with 100 GB mailbox storage.$19.99/yr
Microsoft 365 PersonalFor one person, with desktop apps and Copilot features.$99.99/yr
Microsoft 365 FamilyFor one to six people, with desktop apps and Copilot features.$129.99/yr
Microsoft 365 Business BasicWeb and mobile Outlook with custom business email, paid yearly.$84/yr/seat
Microsoft 365 Business Standard with CopilotDesktop apps with Copilot built in, paid yearly.$282/yr/seat
Microsoft 365 Business Premium with CopilotAdds advanced security and device management, with Copilot built in, paid yearly.$384/yr/seat

Prices as the vendors list them. They change often; the final price is on their sites.

Who each is for

Choose Microsoft Excel if…

Finance, operations and sales teams that build models, clean data exports and make reports, especially when the company already runs on Microsoft 365.

Visit Read the review

Choose Microsoft Outlook if…

Businesses and teams that work in Microsoft 365 and want email, calendar and contacts in the same place as Teams, Word and Excel.

Visit Read the review

Other options worth a look

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Airtable
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Coda
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Perplexity
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Google Workspace
Bundle business email, shared documents, spreadsheets, and video meetings in one cloud subscription.
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From €6.80/moAffiliate link
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Anthropic API
Call Claude models from your own code to build AI applications, agents, and automations.
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RudderStack
Collects event data and routes it to your warehouse and 200+ business tools with open-source infrastructure.
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From $265/moFree plan
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