7 reasons Excel is better than Notion, when you use it right

With its sleek interface, all-in-one approach, and flexible structure, Notion has surely grabbed everyone’s attention these days. While it excels (no pun intended) in certain areas, Microsoft Excel still remains the ultimate powerhouse for data management, automation, and data analysis. Before you jump on the Notion trend and throw Excel into a digital dustbin, check out the top reasons why Microsoft’s spreadsheet tool still outshines Notion in crucial areas.

Although Excel might appear old-school initially, when used efficiently, it can be much more productive and powerful than Notion.

7 Pivot tables and interactive dashboards

Although Notion has recently introduced various chart types (vertical, horizontal, line, and donut) for databases and allows you to place multiple charts on one page, it still doesn’t rival Excel’s extensive array of charts and pivot tables. The latter, in particular, is especially powerful at summarizing, analyzing, and deriving meaningful insights from large datasets in Excel.

You can even create an ultimate cover sheet with an interactive dashboard in Excel that combines charts, slicers, and other dynamic elements to view important data in real time. Notion definitely falls short in the area of interactive reporting and advanced data visualization.

Check out the post below if you want to learn about making interactive dashboards in Microsoft Excel.

6 Advanced formulas and functions

Notion’s basic formulas can get the job done to help you create an expense manager, habit tracker, subscription tracker, and other simple databases. However, when you want to perform complex calculations and data transformations, you really need to utilize Excel’s extensive library of advanced formulas and functions to complete such tasks.

These Excel functions offer unparalleled flexibility and automation capabilities, letting you extract meaningful insights in seconds. This level of precision, control, and speed is simply not possible with Notion, which feels limited when you deal with a large database. For example, in Excel, you can use the INDEX & MATCH function when you want to extract information about a specific item or product from a large database. The possibilities are endless here.

5 Robust collaborative features

While both Notion and Excel offer real-time collaboration, the latter is actually a step ahead with several privacy features. When you generate a sharing link, Excel offers an option to password-protect it. You can even set an expiry to make the link invalid after a specific date and time. Excel also offers the flexibility to encrypt a confidential spreadsheet with a password.

4 Flexibility and customization

Unlike Notion, you can use all Microsoft Excel features offline. This significantly enhances productivity when you’re working from remote locations or while on the move with an unreliable internet connection. With Notion, you can’t even open your workspace without internet connectivity.

While Notion has several automation tools like buttons, synced blocks, and integration with third-party apps, Excel marches ahead with advanced options like macros and VBA. Macros let you record actions in a specific language, which you can reuse with a single click. VBA is designed to give programmers the ability to write instructions to automate tasks and create personalized solutions. Basically, you can set Excel on autopilot and create your repetitive complex spreadsheets in no time.

Excel is quite customizable, too. You can change every part of your chart, dashboard, table, and more. Notion’s options are quite limited here. Another perk of Excel is the option to extend its functionality with a rich add-on store.

3 Microsoft Copilot integration

For those who frequently use Microsoft Excel, I strongly suggest looking into the Copilot Pro subscription to gain access to the company’s AI bot in Excel. It essentially acts as your personal assistant, understands your spreadsheets as thoroughly as you do (or more), and allows you to execute specific tasks and gain valuable insights using only text prompts instead of complex formulas.

Notion also offers an AI assistant, but its features are mostly limited to generating text, translating languages, and summarizing long pages. Notion AI’s integration with databases is limited.

2 Performance and scalability

When your large database carries hundreds of columns and rows, Notion’s performance definitely takes a hit. Excel handles massive amounts of data efficiently. Since Excel now supports Python, you can also execute Python commands, process data, and get real-time results in just a single click. It’s up to your Python knowledge to supercharge your spreadsheets however you wish.

1 Learning curve and familiarity

Microsoft Excel has been around for decades. It has a familiar spreadsheet interface that you have known for years. Getting started with Excel is quite easy, and if you encounter any difficulties, there are plenty of online tutorials available to help you out.

Notion, in comparison, often feels confusing to new users and does require some time to understand its functions and hidden menus.

Excel is still the king of data management

While Notion surely has the upper hand in personal knowledge management overall, and offers diverse use cases, it’s Microsoft Excel that gets my vote when dealing with large databases and advanced analysis. Its flexibility and performance remain unrivaled, and I just can’t see Notion competing with Excel in this area.

With the right approach and sufficient knowledge, you can enhance your Excel setup with interesting projects. Visit our dedicated post to discover the best cool projects you can create using only Excel.