Microsoft Excel vs Google Sheets: A One-Minute Test on Basic Data Functions

In a recent data analytics course, I conducted a practical comparison between Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets using a simple one-minute test. This exercise aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of these tools by performing three common data-cleaning tasks: deleting blank rows, removing sub-headers, and rewriting descriptions in bulk. Here is a breakdown of how the two platforms performed.

Task 1: Find and Delete Blank Rows

In Microsoft Excel:
Excel offers the Go To Special feature, which allows users to quickly select all blank cells within a list. Once selected, I used the “Delete Entire Row” option to remove all rows with any hidden blank cells in a matter of seconds.
- Advantage: This is fast and efficient, especially when dealing with large datasets where blanks are scattered.
In Google Sheets:
Sheets lacks the Go To Special feature, making it impossible to select all blank cells in one step. While it offers filters to hide blank cells, the process of actually deleting them row by row becomes more manual and time-consuming.
- Limitation: The absence of this feature hampers productivity, especially with larger datasets.

Task 2: Remove Sub-Headers from the List

In Microsoft Excel:
Using the Find All function in Excel, I quickly identified and selected all occurrences of the 26 sub-headers. With all of them highlighted simultaneously, I was able to remove them in a single operation.
- Advantage: This precise control over search results ensures efficient data cleaning.
In Google Sheets:
Sheets only provides a Find and Replace All feature, which lacks the ability to selectively manage the search results. Since it replaces all occurrences without showing them individually, I could not delete only the sub-headers while preserving other parts of the data accurately.
- Limitation: This restricts flexibility and increases the risk of unintended changes.

Task 3: Rewrite Descriptions Using Flash Fill

In Microsoft Excel:
The Flash Fill feature in Excel is a powerful tool that automatically detects patterns in the data and rewrites content accordingly. I used Flash Fill to transform the descriptions of about 100 rows effortlessly.
- Advantage: This tool is a game-changer for repetitive formatting tasks, saving considerable time.
In Google Sheets:
Sheets currently does not support a Flash Fill-like feature, meaning that rewriting content across multiple rows must be done manually or through more complex formulas.
- Limitation: This significantly reduces the ease of performing data transformations, making Sheets less suitable for repetitive formatting tasks.

Summary of Results

The one-minute test provided a clear insight into the fundamental strengths and limitations of Excel and Google Sheets. While both platforms are popular for data analytics and collaboration, the absence of key features in Sheets (like Go To Special, Find All, and Flash Fill) hindered its performance in this test. Below is a quick summary of the comparison:

Feature	Excel	Google Sheets
Go To Special for blank cells	✔ Available	✖ Not Available
Find All to manage sub-headers	✔ Available	✖ Only Find and Replace All
Flash Fill for data transformation	✔ Available	✖ Not Available