Comparison

Numbers vs Microsoft Excel

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Numbers

Design impressive spreadsheets with a flexible canvas, interactive charts, and powerful functions. Collaborate with others and access your work across devices. Includes tools for data analysis and text composition.

Highlights
  • Apple-designed templates
  • Flexible canvas for layout
  • Interactive charts and pivot tables
  • Hundreds of powerful functions
  • Cross-device compatibility via iCloud
  • Collaboration and real-time editing
  • Import/export Excel and CSV files
Features
Read full description

Numbers is now part of Apple Creator Studio, an amazing collection of Apple’s most powerful creative apps designed to help you bring your ideas to life. The suite includes Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Pixelmator Pro, Motion, Compressor, and MainStage — plus premium content and intelligence features in Keynote, Pages, Numbers, and Freeform, all in one simple plan. Creating, viewing, and editing spreadsheets in Numbers, as well as collaborating in real time, does not require a subscription. Create gorgeous spreadsheets with Numbers on iPhone, iPad and Mac. Get started with Apple-designed templates for everything from a home budget to an invoice. Add tables, charts, text, and images anywhere on the flexible canvas. Animate your data with interactive charts, find patterns with pivot tables, and use hundreds of powerful functions. Get Started Quickly • Work from iPhone, iPad, Mac, or even a PC with iCloud.com • Select from a wide variety of Apple-designed templates • Add from a library of shapes, tables, and charts with pre-defined styles • Import and edit Microsoft Excel and CSV files Create Beautiful Spreadsheets • Place tables, charts, text, and images anywhere on the flexible canvas • Create a form on iPhone or iPad to quickly enter data on the go • Draw or write with Apple Pencil on iPad Formulas for Everyone • Choose from hundreds of powerful functions, including XLOOKUP and RegEx • Search the integrated function browser for built-in help and sample formulas • Easily add stock information to spreadsheets • See results from a single formula across multiple cells using spilling arrays Everything Adds Up Beautifully • Use pivot tables and categories to see your data in a whole new way • Quickly organize and summarize tables to gain new insights • Insert gorgeous 2D and 3D charts, including bar, column, line, area, pie, donut, and radar charts • Animate data with interactive column, bar, scatter, and bubble charts • Easily filter through large tables for specific values, text, or duplicate entries • Change values in cells using sliders, steppers, checkboxes, pop-ups, and star ratings Share with Anyone • Share your spreadsheet publicly or collaborate with specific people using iCloud or Box • Make changes from any device and see a list of changes from others in real-time • Export your spreadsheet in CSV, TSV, PDF, and Microsoft Excel Apple Intelligence • Use Writing Tools to proofread, rewrite, summarize, and compose text • Create your own fun images with Image Playground based on a description Some features of Apple Creator Studio require an Apple Intelligence–capable device. For full system requirements and usage limits for Apple Creator Studio intelligence features, see Apple Support article 125029.

About

Microsoft Excel

This powerful productivity app allows you to create, view, and edit spreadsheets on the go. Manage data, perform calculations, and analyze information with robust formatting and charting tools. Share your work easily with others.

Highlights
  • Create, view, and edit spreadsheets
  • Data analysis with charts and graphs
  • Budgeting and accounting tools
  • Customizable tables and formatting
  • Share files with collaborators
  • Draw and annotate with ink
Read full description

Review files and run data analysis on the go. Customise tables the way you want with robust formatting tools and great features. Excel lets you build your spreadsheet to meet your specific needs. Get the power of AI with Copilot in your favourite apps when you sign in with your Microsoft 365 subscription. Create templates, edit spreadsheets, organise charts and share with ease when you download Microsoft Excel. Tables and Spreadsheets: Create, Calculate and Analyse • Jump-start your budget, task list, accounting or financial analysis with Excel’s modern templates. • Rich productivity features and formatting options make your workbook easier to read and use. Productivity App: Review, Edit and Work Anywhere • Refresh sheet data or update your task list from anywhere. • Spreadsheet features like sort and filter columns help focus your reviews. • Create, duplicate, hide and unhide sheets easily. Data Analysis: Discover Key Insights on the Go • Analyse data using charts and graphs. • Highlight key insights using chart labelling features. • Visualise data at a glance. Finance Budgeting and Accounting: Simplify Personal Finance • Use spreadsheets and charts to help manage budgets. • Familiar tools to help you drill down to your exact finance needs. • Calculate tax estimates, personal finances and more. Draw and Annotate with Ink: Capture Ideas on the Page • Make notes, highlight your worksheet, create shapes or write equations using the draw tab feature on devices with touch capabilities. Sharing Made Easy: Collaborate Anywhere • Share your files with a few taps to quickly invite others to edit, view or leave comments directly in your workbooks. • Copy the content of your worksheet in the body of an email message with its format intact or attach or copy a link to your workbook for other sharing options. • Send worksheet content in an email while preserving formatting or send a link to your workbook. AI Assistance with Copilot* • Summarise data and highlight trends quickly. • Generate charts and tables from raw data with simple prompts. • Get intelligent recommendations for budgeting and forecasting. REQUIREMENTS: 1 GB RAM or above To create or edit documents, sign in with a free Microsoft account on devices with a screen size smaller than 10.1 inches. *Unlock the full Microsoft 365 experience with a qualifying Microsoft 365 subscription for your phone, tablet, PC and Mac. This app is provided by either Microsoft or a third-party app publisher and is subject to a separate privacy statement and terms and conditions. Data provided through the use of this store and this app may be accessible to Microsoft or the third-party app publisher, where applicable, and transferred to, stored and processed in the United States or any other country where Microsoft or the app publisher and their affiliates or service providers maintain facilities. Please refer to Microsoft's EULA for Terms of Service for Microsoft 365 on iOS. By installing the app, you agree to these terms and conditions: http://aka.ms/eula

Screenshots

Numbers4 screens
Microsoft Excel4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Numbers at none against Microsoft Excel's 15. Numbers also leads on review sentiment (50% vs 24%). Microsoft Excel's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 3 months) and chart position (#20 vs unranked). On price, rating, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Microsoft Excel sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Numbers asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Numbers against 4.7 for Microsoft Excel. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Microsoft Excel has 1.5M ratings behind it against 215K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 50% of Numbers's written reviews are positive against 24% of Microsoft Excel's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Numbers ships an update every 3 months, Microsoft Excel weekly. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Numbers versus Microsoft Excel: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNumbersMicrosoft Excel
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (215K ratings)4.7 (1.5M ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.1% of reviews — better24.4% of reviews
Number of ratings215K1.5M — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#20 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, Vision Pro
Requires iOS18.018.0
Further details — not scored
Size620 MB436 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAppleMicrosoft Corporation

Customer experience

Numbers

All ratings215,159 ratings
Positive91.0%
Neutral3.5%
Negative5.5%
Written reviews4,879 reviews
Positive50.1%
Neutral9.6%
Negative40.3%

Microsoft Excel

All ratings1,460,557 ratings
Positive94.3%
Neutral2.3%
Negative3.4%
Written reviews3,588 reviews
Positive24.4%
Neutral6.4%
Negative69.2%

User reviews

Numbers

From 215K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Easy to use
  • 🚀 Intuitive interface
  • 🚀 Seamless integration with Apple ecosystem
  • 🚀 Great for basic spreadsheet needs
  • 🚀 Visually appealing charts and formatting

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and stability issues
  • 🐛 Compatibility problems with Excel files
  • 🐛 Limited functionality compared to Excel
  • 🐛 Frustrating editing experience on mobile
  • 🐛 Disappearing spreadsheets after updates

Microsoft Excel

From 1.5M App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💻 Powerful and feature-rich
  • 🔍 Useful for data management and analysis
  • 🔧 Convenient for on-the-go work
  • 🤝 Good integration with Microsoft ecosystem
  • 🤩 Excellent for personal and professional use

Room to improve

  • 🔒 Subscription required for full functionality
  • 🐛 Crashes and freezes
  • 📱 Limited features compared to desktop version
  • 🤔 Confusing user interface changes
  • 🤯 Frustrating syncing and file management issues

Bugs and requests

Numbers

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Frozen headers issue
  • Keyboard and text editing problems
  • Spreadsheet data loss after updates
  • Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions
  • Slow performance and loading times

Requested features

6 requests
  • Ability to lock individual cells
  • More advanced formula and function support
  • Improved collaboration and sharing options
  • Better mobile interface and keyboard integration
  • Customizable templates and formatting options
Show 1 more
  • Pivot table and data analysis features

Microsoft Excel

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Inability to open or edit files
  • Unexpected app closures
  • Syncing problems with OneDrive
  • Formatting issues when copying and pasting
  • Slow performance on high-end devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • Conditional formatting options
  • Ability to open password-protected files
  • Improved Apple Pencil and keyboard support
  • Customizable keyboard shortcuts
  • Better compatibility with Dropbox and other cloud storage

In-app purchases

None

Numbers

No in-app purchases

12 purchases

Microsoft Excel

Subscriptions12
  • Office 365 Personal1 Month trial$5.991 Month
  • Office 365 Personal1 Month trial$6.991 Month
  • Microsoft 365 Personal Student1 Month trial$9.991 Month
Show 9 more
  • Microsoft 365 Personal1 Month trial$9.991 Month
  • Microsoft 365 Family1 Month trial2 variants$12.991 Month
  • Office 365 Home1 Month trial$12.991 Month
  • Microsoft 365 Premium Monthly1 Month trial$19.991 Month
  • Microsoft Copilot Pro$20.001 Month
  • Office 365 Personal$69.991 Year
  • Microsoft 365 Personal1 Month trial$99.991 Year
  • Office 365 Home$129.991 Year
  • Microsoft 365 Family1 Month trial$129.991 Year

Questions

Is Numbers free?
Numbers is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Microsoft Excel free?
Microsoft Excel is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Numbers or Microsoft Excel?
Microsoft Excel is rated higher. Numbers averages 4.6 out of 5 from 215K ratings, while Microsoft Excel averages 4.7 from 1.5M ratings.
Do Numbers or Microsoft Excel have ads?
Neither Numbers nor Microsoft Excel shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Numbers or Microsoft Excel?
Numbers ships an update every 3 months, and Microsoft Excel weekly. Most recently, Numbers was updated on September 24, 2026 and Microsoft Excel on September 24, 2026.

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