Comparison

Google Sheets vs Polaris Viewer

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

Head to head
About

Google Sheets

Create, edit, and collaborate on spreadsheets from anywhere, anytime. Work offline, format cells, insert formulas, and view charts. Seamlessly edit Excel files and enjoy automatic saving of your work.

Highlights
  • Create and edit spreadsheets
  • Real-time collaboration
  • Offline access
  • Format cells and insert formulas
  • View charts
  • Edit Excel files
Read full description

Create, edit, and collaborate on spreadsheets with the Google Sheets app. With Sheets you can: * Create new spreadsheets or edit existing ones * Share spreadsheets and collaborate with others in the same spreadsheet at the same time * Work anywhere, anytime - even offline * Format cells, enter/sort data, view charts, insert formulas, use find/replace, and more * Never worry about losing your work -- everything is automatically saved as you type * Open, edit, and save Excel files Google Sheets is part of Google Workspace: where teams of any size can chat, create, and collaborate. Google Workspace subscribers have access to additional Google Sheets features, including: * Easily add collaborators to projects, see changes as they occur, receive notifications for edits that happen while you’re away, and chat with colleagues in the same spreadsheet. All changes are automatically saved as you make them. And with offline access, you can create, view, and edit files wherever and whenever * Get insights fast, powered by Google AI * Work seamlessly across Sheets and Excel * Maintain control with enterprise-grade security * Analyze data from other business-critical tools * Build custom solutions

About

Polaris Viewer

This app offers a mobile-optimized experience for viewing various document types, including Microsoft Office files, PDFs, and TXT. It provides smart document management features and supports cloud integration for easy access to your files.

Highlights
  • Mobile optimized document viewer
  • Supports Microsoft Office, PDF, TXT, Zip, CSV
  • Cloud storage integration (iCloud, Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.)
  • Smart document management
  • App lock with fingerprint, face, or password
  • Night mode and paper texture background options
Read full description

Polaris Office, selected by 100 million users across the world, provides mobile optimized document viewer at the requests of numerous users. Using compact and stable Polaris Office Viewer which takes some edit functions out and strengthens view function, quickly and easily manage all the document files such as Microsoft Office, TXT, Zip file, as well as Adobe PDF! ■ Supporting Languages ■ • English, Korean, Japanese, German, Russian, Indonesian, Brazilian Portuguese ■ Supported formats ■ • (NEW) Now we support CSV format. • Microsoft Word : DOC, DOCX • Microsoft Excel : XLS, XLSX • Microsoft Powerpoint : PPT, PPTX, PPS, PPSX • Other documents and files : PDF, TXT, ODT, Zip ■ Main functions ■ Mobile optimized document viewer : Supporting must-have functions to easily view the documents in Mobile. • Landscape mode / Portrait mode / Multi window mode • View per page, View in a row • Able to dim the screen and choose background (Providing Night mode and Paper texture) • Supporting text copy function in document Smart document managing : Supporting the functions for managing various documents more efficiently. • Able to check all the documents in My device storage & other cloud service (Supporting iCloud, Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Box, WebDAV, FTP) • Able to manage main documents separately through bookmark settings. • Support various sorting methods. (Name order / Date order / Size order etc) • Support view function per document format. • Able to search document you need through search function. • Able to use App lock function (via fingerprint, face, password) ■ Note ■ • Homepage : Polarisoffice.com • Facebook : facebook.com/polarisoffice • Youtube : youtube.com/user/infrawareinc • Inquiry : support@polarisoffice.com • Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy : www.polarisoffice.com/privacy

Screenshots

Google Sheets3 screens
Polaris Viewer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Google Sheets at none against Polaris Viewer's 1. Google Sheets also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (weekly vs every 3 months). Polaris Viewer's advantage is device support (4 vs 2) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). On price and review sentiment 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. Polaris Viewer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Google Sheets asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Google Sheets holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Google Sheets has 1.8M ratings behind it against 74, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 54% of Google Sheets's written reviews are positive against 56% of Polaris Viewer's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Google Sheets ships an update weekly, Polaris Viewer every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and September 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard9 real differences · 2 level
Google Sheets versus Polaris Viewer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGoogle SheetsPolaris Viewer
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (1.8M ratings) — better4.6 (74 ratings)
Positive reviews54.3% of reviews56.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.8M — better74
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#13 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod, Vision Pro — better
Requires iOS17.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size422 MB177 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGooglePolaris Office Corp.

Customer experience

Google Sheets

All ratings1,847,054 ratings
Positive95.9%
Neutral1.8%
Negative2.3%
Written reviews2,085 reviews
Positive54.3%
Neutral9.2%
Negative36.5%

Polaris Viewer

All ratings74 ratings
Positive89.2%
Neutral5.4%
Negative5.4%
Written reviews55 reviews
Positive56.4%
Neutral10.9%
Negative32.7%

Bugs and requests

Google Sheets

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Spreadsheets not saving properly
  • Inconsistent behavior when switching between devices
  • Formatting issues when printing or exporting
  • Glitches when working with large or complex spreadsheets

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more advanced formatting and editing options
  • Improve search and navigation
  • Allow offline editing and syncing
  • Provide better integration with other Google apps
  • Add password protection or biometric security

Polaris Viewer

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Google Sheets

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Polaris Viewer

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$10.99

Questions

Is Google Sheets free?
Google Sheets is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Polaris Viewer free?
Polaris Viewer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Google Sheets or Polaris Viewer?
Google Sheets is rated higher. Google Sheets averages 4.8 out of 5 from 1.8M ratings, while Polaris Viewer averages 4.6 from 74 ratings.
Do Google Sheets or Polaris Viewer have ads?
Polaris Viewer shows ads; Google Sheets does not.
Which is updated more often, Google Sheets or Polaris Viewer?
Google Sheets ships an update weekly, and Polaris Viewer every 3 months. Most recently, Google Sheets was updated on September 27, 2026 and Polaris Viewer on September 26, 2026.

Other comparisons