If we want create a calendar, keep track of our business, or make some invoices from our personal accounts, we must opt ​​for spreadsheets. And if you are looking for the ideal software to carry out these accounts, a couple of options may come to mind. The best ones for a Mac user are probably Numbers and Microsoft Excel.
These two programs, with their pros and cons, and their differences, remain the two best that exist right now to perform this function. If you are a person who It is not clear which of these two to use, you have come to the right place, because here we will help you clarify this question. Here I will show you How different are these two programs? y Which one should you use depending on the task you want to carry out?.
Differences between Microsoft Excel and Numbers
Operating System
If we talk about the operating system in which both work, we must highlight that Microsoft Excel is universal software. This means that it works on any device, whether it is from Apple or Microsoft (if we are talking about Windows); It is even easily portable to similar software on Android, Linux and others. On the other hand, Numbers only works on Apple's operating system.
On Apple devices, the installation can be carried out on either Mac, iPhone or iPad. This is a great advantage, because it makes the work pace more efficient. For example, if we start a job on our Mac, we can continue it from the iPhone.
Excel is not perfectly adapted to MacOS, when using the Microsoft app on devices belonging to Apple, we are going to realize the functional deficits of the software when compared to the Windows version. Also, we'll see what works. much better on Mac than iPhone or iPad, where major shortcomings can be found and disabling at times.
Price
An important aspect to compare both programs is the price of each one, and that is that there is a wide difference Between both. In the case of Numbers, we have an application that is already integrated into the iWork suite, so it is completely free.
Therefore, Anyone who boots up their Mac will have the full application package at their disposal, without having to pay absolutely anything.
However, the same does not happen with Excel, since it does requires a recurring payment. In order to access this software, a monthly fee must be paid to Microsoft, which will give us access to Office 365, where the spreadsheet manager comes.
In the case of students, they will have the advantage of having a discount fee on subscription, but it is still a product to pay for.
Application interface
A big difference that you can notice as soon as you enter each of these programs is the design of both applications. In the case of Numbers, we find a minimalist interface, simpler. Therefore, if you like this type of design, you will love this application.
At the top of the screen, within the application, we can find a menu of very basic tools. These will always be developed in the submenus that we will find on the left side of the screen.
On the other hand, In the tables we can see differences, since not everything is tabled, and also, their header has a different color than Excel.
On the other hand, in Excel the differences are clear, the tools can be found by default at the top. However, this can give a feeling of complexity when seeing so many options available from the first moment, but the truth is that it becomes much more practical as you use it.
In other words, Number is a friendly app for inexperienced users, while Excel is a more efficient tool.
At the top, we will see buttons which act as tabs making you more productive. You can too use keyboard shortcuts to save time searching for a specific tool.
Available templates
For the basic user of this app, templates are very important. These save us a lot of time, by creating different spaces to enter financial data or make an invoice. That is why Both applications have different templates that can be used for a basic and professional work environment.
Each of these can be found when we access the application, although we can also download them from the network. However, if we talk about the default templates of each of these two applications, Numbers takes the lead.
Numbers templates have a more attractive aesthetic part and have lot variety, finding templates aimed at creating work calendars or accounting documents.
For its part, Excel uses a much coarser and more serious design, in addition to having a higher number of these than Numbers..
Space to work
The workspace is important, since it is where all the data in our document will be stored. This is something traditional from spreadsheets, so we can find wide differences if we compare both software.
Specifically, Excel has a total of 1 rows and 048 columns. This makes it possible to write a large amount of data in this program, and it is very difficult for us to end up using all this space.
On the other hand, Numbers has a smaller size of columns and rows. Specifically, it has 65 rows and 535 columns, much less than Excel. Nevertheless, This is only relevant to algunos the legal ends Experiencees, since we will hardly spend all this amount of space on a daily basis.
Table typography
The design of the application is not only based on the general design of the application. We must also take into account the presentations of the data that we are going to process. A good design of data or boxes to store it always increases the ease of understanding it better.
Taking this aspect into account, we can say that Both applications have fairly quality typography. In both you can modify both the size, color and design of the data and cells. In addition, we can also make a division with several lines, to be able to create a table completely personalized to your liking.
Microsoft has a much more complete font system, but in Numbers we can see a superior aesthetic than Excel. Although this is something that should perhaps be seen as an extra, we should not give it so much importance when choosing, since Either tool does a decent job..
Different graphics
In this type of applications, always are necesarios different types of graphs to be able to organize the data obtained in a more practical way. Therefore, these two applications integrate this function, however, each one differs in this aspect.
Excel is based more on a professional audience, therefore, the graphs are not the best in terms of design. It has sober designs, and unattractive in the eyes of the public, but yes, they are effective. In addition, we can use external tools to have a better view of this data.
By your side, Apple has put more effort into the design of its graphics, making them more fun on the eyes and less flat. In this way, they enrich their presentations with more original designs, making Numbers, aonce again, the best choice if you are thinking about aesthetics.
Programme
In this section, Excel is an excellent option thanks to its compatibility with Visual Basic programming code. This allows for a wide variety of possibilities, especially when accounting for a large company. So much Programming such as macros makes it possible to use dynamic tables, task and project automation.
These options are practically exclusive to Excel, so if we move to Numbers, We will see few automation and programming options. This is, undoubtedly, because Numbers is dedicated to a more basic audience. Therefore, if you do not plan to carry out complicated operations, you will practically not miss this option.
Numbers has limited functionality, but it may be enough
As we have already seen, there are many differences between these two programs, although there are also some similarities. It is clear that Excel and Microsoft are the parents of spreadsheets, since they have been on the market since 1985. On the other hand, Numbers has only been around since 2007, clearly seen in some aspects that we have reviewed.
In general, we can say that Numbers is an application designed for a more basic audience, without extensive computer knowledge. Therefore, it is a good option for those who do not want to spend money and need something basic to work with.
Excel, for its part, is a professional tool, where we can even schedule and automate data, as long as we pay the monthly fee.
Our final recommendation is to take advantage of Numbers to the extent that its capabilities allow us. If at some point our needs exceed Apple's native software, we should start thinking about purchasing an Office 365 plan.
And that was all, let me know in the comments which of these two options you are thinking of using to manage your data.