The spreadsheet wars have been raging for years. But when it comes to powering live dashboards, the choice depends on your specific situation.

Google Sheets: The Collaboration Champion

Best for:

• Teams that need real-time collaboration
• Data that changes frequently throughout the day
• Organizations already using Google Workspace

Strengths:

• Instant syncing — changes appear immediately
• Easy sharing with granular permissions
• Works anywhere with a browser
• Native integrations with Google’s ecosystem

Limitations:

• Performance degrades with very large datasets (100k+ rows)
• Fewer advanced formula options than Excel
• Requires internet connection

Excel (Microsoft 365): The Power User’s Choice

Best for:

• Complex calculations and data modeling
• Large datasets that need local processing
• Organizations standardized on Microsoft 365

Strengths:

• Handles millions of rows without breaking a sweat
• Superior formula library and calculation engine
• Power Query for advanced data transformation
• Works offline with cloud sync

Limitations:

• Real-time collaboration can feel laggy
• File-based sharing is messier than link sharing
• Mobile experience isn’t as smooth

For Dashboard Purposes

When connecting to a dashboard tool like Infograph, both work equally well. The connection is direct — your dashboard pulls fresh data regardless of whether it lives in Sheets or Excel.

Our recommendation: Use whatever your team already uses. The best data source is the one your team will actually keep updated.

The Hybrid Approach

Many teams use both:

• Google Sheets for collaborative input and data collection
• Excel for heavy analysis and modeling
• Dashboards for sharing insights with stakeholders

The key is having a single source of truth for each dataset. Don’t duplicate data across platforms — that’s where things get messy.