Excel Online offers a fast, free, and modern way to work with spreadsheets.

Unlike Excel Desktop, you don’t need to install anything. It runs directly in your browser and saves your files automatically to the cloud. That means you can access your work from any device, anywhere, anytime. No USB stick, no software update, no lost file.

Excel Online also lets you collaborate in real time with others, which is harder to manage on the desktop version. It's a great alternative if you want a light, flexible tool with powerful features.

How to Access Excel Online Free

Follow these simple steps to open and use Excel Online for free in your browser.

1. Go to www.office.com or www.onedrive.com. 🤞Tips! you can also go to excel.new to open Excel Online directly
2. Sign in using your Microsoft account. You can use personal or work accounts.
3. Click the Excel icon on the left panel. It will open a new workbook.

4. You are now using Excel Online free in your browser. All features are ready.

How to Check if It’s Free

Look at the top-right corner.

• If you see "Buy Microsoft 365", you're using the free version.
• No message? Then you use a paid version with more features than Excel Online free.

Main Features of Excel Online

Excel Online offers many of the tools you already know from Excel Desktop. Here’s what you can do for free:

• Use over 520 Excel formulas (except WEBSERVICE and CELL)
• Create and manage tables
• Insert PivotTables for data analysis
• Create charts, including advanced ones like sunburst and funnel charts
• Use conditional formatting to highlight important data
• Sort and filter data easily
• Use Flash Fill and AutoFill to complete patterns quickly
• Collaborate in real time with others
• Comment and reply on specific cells
• Save and access files from OneDrive automatically

Saving Your Files

Excel Online saves your file automatically while you work. You don’t need to click Save.

• Changes are saved in real time to OneDrive.
• You can rename the file or move it to another folder.
• Files are saved in your OneDrive root folder by default.

Sharing and Collaborating

Working with others is easy in Excel Online free. You can share and edit files together.

• Click ‘Share’ and enter your teammate’s email address.
• They can edit in real time. You see all changes instantly.

Exclusive Excel Online Features

Some features appear first in Excel Online. Then they are added to desktop Excel.

For example, the new user interface is only available in Excel Online today.

Or also Excel Online is the only way to have a Date Picker to easily insert a date in a cell.