Microsoft Excel vs Proton

vsPR

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

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

The verdict

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

What the data says

Only Microsoft Excel has a free plan to start on.
Proton starts lower, at $7/mo against $8.33/mo.
In our Tech stack ranking, Microsoft Excel places 45 and Proton 70 of 72.

Side by side

Microsoft Excel and Proton compared
At a glance	Microsoft Excel	PRProton
Starts at	$8.33/mo	$7/mo
Free plan	Yes	No
API	Yes	Not known yet
MCP server	Not known yet	Not known yet
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

Proton

Mail EssentialsTeams needing core secure email and calendar functionality$7.99/mo
Workspace StandardGroups requiring full privacy suite with large storage$14.99/mo
Workspace PremiumOrganizations needing AI tools and extensive resources$24.99/mo

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.

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Choose Proton if…

We haven't written up who Proton suits yet.

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