Best AI Tools for Excel in 2026: Copilot, Gemini, ChatGPT and Claude Compared

Short answer: If you already pay for Microsoft 365, start with Copilot in Excel, because it is built in. If you want something free that works inside your workbook, try the ChatGPT for Excel add-in, which has limited free use. For long, messy workbooks you need to understand or fix, Claude for Excel is the strongest fit, but it needs a paid Claude plan. If you work in Google Sheets, Gemini in Sheets comes with Google AI Pro or a Google Workspace business plan.

All four can write formulas. The real differences are where they run, what they cost, and how well they handle a big file someone else built.

All facts below were checked on each company's own pricing and help pages in October 2026. Prices are US dollars. Plans change often, so check before you pay.

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Quick Pick Table

Tool	Works in	Free option	Cheapest way to get it	Best for
Copilot in Excel	Excel on Windows, Mac and web	No	Microsoft 365 Personal or Family (60 AI credits a month)	People already on Microsoft 365
Gemini in Sheets	Google Sheets	No	Personal account: Google AI Pro, $19.99/mo. Work: Google Workspace Business Standard, $14/user/mo	Google Sheets users
ChatGPT for Excel and Google Sheets	Excel and Google Sheets (add-in)	Yes, limited use	Free, or ChatGPT Plus at $20/mo for more	A free start inside your workbook
Claude for Excel	Excel on web, Mac and Windows with Microsoft 365 (add-in; not Excel 2016 or 2019)	No	Claude Pro, $20/mo ($17/mo billed yearly)	Explaining and fixing complex workbooks
ChatGPT or Claude chat (file upload)	Browser or app, outside Excel	Yes, with lower limits	Free	One-off questions about an exported file

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Pick by What You Need to Do

Writing formulas

Every tool here can turn a plain request like "sum sales by region when the status is Paid" into a formula. The question is whether you want to copy and paste it, or have it go straight into the right cell.

• Inside the sheet: Copilot, Gemini in Sheets, ChatGPT for Excel and Claude for Excel can all add formulas where you need them.
• Free: the ChatGPT add-in, or pasting your column headers into free ChatGPT or Claude and asking for the formula.

Always test a new formula on a few rows where you already know the answer. AI tools sometimes pick the wrong range or miss blank cells.

If you want to get good at this, our free AI-Powered Excel Formulas course shows how to ask for formulas, check them and fix them.

Cleaning data

Cleaning means things like splitting names, fixing dates stored as text, removing duplicates and making categories consistent. The in-sheet tools are better here, because they can see the data and apply the change in place.

• Gemini in Sheets can do spreadsheet actions directly, including sorting, filtering, find and replace, number formats and filling ranges, according to Google's help page.
• Claude for Excel can sort, filter, apply conditional formatting and add data validation dropdowns.
• Chat with file upload works for one-off cleanups, but you get a new file back, not a change to your original. Check that no rows went missing.

Analysis and charts

For "what changed this month and why" questions, you want a tool that can read the whole table and build a chart or pivot table.

• Gemini in Sheets lists data analysis, charts and pivot tables among its features.
• Copilot in Excel works with Excel tables of up to two million cells, per Microsoft's FAQ.
• Claude for Excel can edit pivot tables and works across multi-tab workbooks.
• ChatGPT and Claude chat can run code on an uploaded file and make charts, which is handy when you don't have a paid in-sheet tool.

Explaining a messy workbook

This is the hardest job: a file with many tabs, linked formulas and no notes. Here Claude for Excel stands out. Anthropic's docs say it answers questions about the open workbook with cell-level citations you can click, finds errors and their root causes, and can change assumptions while keeping formula links intact.

Copilot and the ChatGPT add-in can also explain formulas and sheets. For a large financial model, though, clickable citations make it much easier to check what the AI is telling you.

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The Tools in Detail

Copilot in Excel: built in for Microsoft 365 users

Microsoft includes Copilot in the Microsoft 365 Personal, Family and Premium plans. On Personal and Family, Microsoft's AI credits page lists 60 credits a month for Copilot in the apps. Premium gives you much more. We explain the plans and credits in Is Copilot Pro worth it?, so we won't repeat the prices here.

Good at: working in place, inside the app you already use. No add-in to install, no copy and paste.

Watch out for: Copilot in Excel has long needed files saved to OneDrive or SharePoint with AutoSave turned on. Microsoft has been changing this, so if the Copilot button is greyed out, check where the file is saved first. On Family plans, Microsoft says the AI features are for the subscription owner only.

Best for: people who already pay for Microsoft 365 and use Excel every week.

Gemini in Google Sheets: for Sheets users

For personal Google accounts, Google's plans page says Google AI Pro ($19.99/month) and Ultra include Gemini in Gmail, Docs and Sheets. For work accounts, Google Workspace Business Standard ($14 per user a month) includes Gemini in Gmail, Docs, Sheets and the other apps. Google's help page says it can create tables and formulas, analyze data, build charts, summarize files and do many spreadsheet actions, such as pivot tables, conditional formatting, dropdowns and filters.

Good at: acting on your sheet directly from a side panel. Google says it works best with native Google Sheets files.

Watch out for: it isn't on the free plan, and for personal accounts Google's plans page lists Gmail and Vids, not Docs or Sheets, for the cheaper AI Plus tier. It is for Google Sheets, not Excel. You can open an Excel file in Sheets, but some features may not carry over.

Best for: students and teams who already work in Google Drive. For step by step use, see how to use Gemini in Docs and Sheets.

ChatGPT for Excel and Google Sheets: the free in-sheet option

OpenAI made its spreadsheet add-in generally available on May 5, 2026. OpenAI's help center says it works on every ChatGPT plan, including Free, with limited use on Free and Go. On Plus and Pro it counts against your plan's agent usage limit. You install it from the Microsoft Marketplace for Excel or the Google Workspace Marketplace for Sheets, then sign in with your ChatGPT account.

Good at: working in both Excel and Google Sheets, and being free to try.

Watch out for: bigger workbooks and multi-step edits use more of your limit, according to OpenAI. On the free plan you may run out partway through a large job.

Best for: anyone who wants AI inside the spreadsheet without paying first.

Claude for Excel: for complex models

Anthropic's docs say Claude for Excel is generally available on the Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise plans. Claude Pro costs $20 a month, or $17 a month billed yearly. It works in Excel on the web, on Windows with a Microsoft 365 subscription, and on Mac. You install it from Microsoft's add-in store.

Good at: reading multi-tab workbooks, explaining them with clickable cell citations, debugging errors, and building or filling in models.

Watch out for: it isn't on the free Claude plan. It doesn't support Excel's data tables or macros and VBA. It doesn't work in Excel 2016 or 2019, or on iPad or Android. Anthropic also warns that spreadsheets from outside sources can contain hidden instructions, so only use it on files you trust.

Best for: finance students, analysts and anyone who inherits a big model and needs to understand it fast.

ChatGPT or Claude chat with a file upload

You don't need an add-in for every task. Free ChatGPT lets you upload files and analyze data, with limits. Free Claude can run code and create files. Export a sheet, upload it, and ask your question.

Good at: one-off analysis, quick charts and "what formula do I need" questions. Free.

Watch out for: the AI works on a copy. Changes don't go back into your workbook, and you have to check the output yourself. See our ChatGPT plans comparison and Claude plans comparison for limits.

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A Note on Privacy and Company Data

Before you upload a work spreadsheet, check two things.

1. Is it a personal or a work account? Work versions of these tools (Microsoft 365 Copilot for business, Gemini for Google Workspace, ChatGPT Business or Enterprise, Claude Team or Enterprise) come with admin controls and business data terms. Personal plans have different terms.
2. Does your employer allow it? Many companies only allow AI tools they have approved. Customer lists, salaries and financial results are the kind of data that should stay in approved tools.

On Claude for Excel, Anthropic says inputs and outputs are deleted from its servers within 30 days (with some exceptions), and chat history stays in your browser. It also says the add-in is not recommended for highly sensitive or regulated data without proper controls.

If you're not sure, remove names and IDs before you upload, or use made-up sample data to work out the formula, then apply it to the real file yourself.

Our free Using AI Safely at Work course walks through these checks step by step.

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How to Choose

• You pay for Microsoft 365 already: use Copilot in Excel. Add ChatGPT for Excel if you run out of AI credits.
• You want free and in Excel: install the ChatGPT for Excel add-in.
• You work in Google Sheets: Gemini in Sheets with Google AI Pro (or your company's Google Workspace plan), or the free ChatGPT add-in for Sheets.
• You inherited a complex model: Claude for Excel on Claude Pro.
• You only need a formula now and then: free ChatGPT or Claude chat is enough.

Whichever tool you pick, the skill that matters most is the same: describe the task clearly and check the result. Our free AI for Google Sheets & Docs course covers this for Sheets, and the Google Sheets formulas cheat sheet is a handy reference for checking what the AI writes. For more free learning options, see our list of the best free AI spreadsheet courses.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best AI tool for Excel?

It depends on what you already pay for. Copilot in Excel is the easiest pick if you have Microsoft 365 Personal, Family or Premium. The ChatGPT for Excel add-in is the best free option. Claude for Excel is strongest for understanding and fixing complex, multi-tab workbooks, but needs a paid Claude plan.

Is there a free AI tool for Excel?

Yes. OpenAI's ChatGPT for Excel add-in works on the free ChatGPT plan with limited use. You can also upload a spreadsheet to free ChatGPT or free Claude and ask for formulas or analysis, though the changes won't go back into your original file.

Is Copilot in Excel free?

No. Copilot in Excel comes with Microsoft 365 Personal, Family and Premium plans. Personal and Family include 60 AI credits a month, and Premium gives much more use. If Copilot is greyed out, a common fix is to save the file to OneDrive or SharePoint and turn on AutoSave.

Can ChatGPT or Claude work directly inside Excel?

Yes. Both have Excel add-ins. ChatGPT for Excel works on all ChatGPT plans, including Free with limited use. Claude for Excel works on the paid Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise plans. In Excel, you install both from Microsoft's add-in store and sign in with your account. The ChatGPT add-in for Google Sheets comes from the Google Workspace Marketplace.

Can AI write Excel formulas for me?

Yes. Describe what you want in plain words, such as "count orders over $100 in March," and any of these tools will write the formula. Always test it on a few rows where you know the right answer, because AI can pick the wrong range or miss blank cells.

Is it safe to upload company spreadsheets to AI tools?

Only if your employer allows it. Work versions of Copilot, Gemini, ChatGPT and Claude come with admin controls and business data terms, while personal plans don't. If you're unsure, remove names and IDs first, or use sample data to build the formula and apply it to the real file yourself.

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Learn to Use AI in Your Spreadsheets

• AI-Powered Excel Formulas: ask AI for the right formula, check it and fix it
• AI for Google Sheets & Docs: use Gemini in the Google tools you already have
• AI for Data Cleaning: tidy messy data faster with AI

All three courses are free, with a certificate when you finish.

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Facts checked on each company's own pricing and help pages in October 2026. Plans, limits and features change often.