Microsoft Excel vs Microsoft Teams

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 Teams 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 Teams starts lower, at $4/mo against $8.33/mo.
In our Tech stack ranking, Microsoft Teams places 30 and Microsoft Excel 45 of 72.

Side by side

Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Teams compared
At a glance	Microsoft Excel	Microsoft Teams
Starts at	$8.33/mo	$4/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 Teams

Teams (free)Free version of Teams for chat, files and meetings; meeting links work up to 60 minutes.Free
Microsoft Teams EssentialsMeetings up to 30 hours with 300 participants and 10 GB storage per user; 4 per user per month paid yearly.$48/yr/seat
Microsoft 365 Business BasicWeb and mobile Microsoft 365 apps with Teams and 1 TB storage; 7 per user per month paid yearly.$84/yr/seat
Microsoft 365 Business Standard with CopilotDesktop Microsoft 365 apps with Teams and Copilot; 23.50 per user per month paid yearly.$282/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 Teams if…

Companies on Microsoft 365 that want chat, video meetings, calling and file collaboration in one app, from small teams on the free version to larger organisations.

Visit Read the review

Other options worth a look

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Airtable
Combines spreadsheet simplicity with database structure so teams build custom workflows, trackers and apps without code.
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From $20/mo yearlyFree planAffiliate link
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Coda
Combines documents, spreadsheets, and databases into one workspace for building custom trackers and internal tools.
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From $10/moFree plan
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Perplexity
Get instant answers to questions backed by live web search results and inline source citations.
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From $20/moFree plan
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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
Sign up on Google Workspace
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Anthropic API
Call Claude models from your own code to build AI applications, agents, and automations.
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Sign up on Anthropic API
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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
Sign up on RudderStack