Feature

Excel (Desktop)

Sheet (Desktop)

Notes - Desktop / Web Differences

Navigation & View Controls

Grid painting, action, color

✓

✓

-

Grid direction and spacing

✓

✓

-

Hide / Unhide gridlines

✓

✓

-

Zoom to selection / Freeze panes

✓

✓

-

Dark / Light mode

✓

✗

Available on Sheet web 

Rows, Columns & Sheet Management

Insert / Delete rows and columns

✓

✓

-

Hide / Unhide rows, columns, sheets

✓

✓

-

Sheet tab actions

✓

✓

-

Grouping & ungrouping

✓

✓

-

Editing & Cell Operations

Cut / Copy / Paste / Paste Special

✓

✓

-

Undo / Redo / Clear

✓

✓

-

Shift cells / Merge cells

✓

✓

-

Single and multi-selection

✓

✓

-

File Management

Save / Save As

✓

✓

-

Document listing / Move to trash

✓

✓

-

Export / Download

✓

✓

-

Import from cloud storage

✓

✓

-

Device document access

✓

✓

-

Formatting & Styling

Number formats (accounting, %, currency, date, time, custom)

✓

✓

-

Cell styles / Rich text

✓

✓

-

Conditional formatting

✓

✓

-

Format painter / Indentation / Web fonts / Themes

✓

✓

-

Table

Table

✓

✓

-

Slicer

✓

✗

Available on Sheet web 

Timeline

✓

✗

Available on Sheet web

Data Entry & Management

Data validation

✓

✓

-

Highlight invalid data

✓

≈

Sheet web and desktop (online): Yes. Sheet desktop (offline): No

Named ranges

✓

✓

-

Picklist

✓

≈

Sheet web and desktop (online): Yes. Sheet desktop (offline): No

Checkbox / Button

✓

✓

-

Text to columns

✓

✓

-

Data from picture

✓

✓

-

Data cleaning

✓

≈

Sheet web and desktop (online): Yes. Sheet desktop (offline): No

Image in cell / Screenshot

✓

✓

-

Queries & connections

✓

≈

Data connections are available on Sheet web

Calculation

400+ predefined functions

✓

✓

-

Custom functions

✓

≈

Excel: VBA. Sheet web: Deluge (drag-and-drop, more accessible for non-programmers) 
Desktop: Custom functions can't be created. However, the ones created on the web app can be used.

Recalculate

✓

✓

-

Collaboration

Version history / Audit trail

✓

≈

Sheet desktop (online): Yes. Sheet web and desktop (offline): managed server-side

User presence / Share / Publish

✓

≈

Sheet web and desktop (online): Yes. Sheet desktop (offline): not applicable in that mode

Cell-level locks per user

✗

✓

Sheet only - Excel applies protection to all users uniformly

Protect sheet

✓

✓

-

Comments / Highlight comments

✓

✓

Sheet: cell-level and range-level with @mentions. Excel: single-cell only

Group chat

✓

✓

Only on Sheet web 

Notes / Show all notes

✓

✓

-

Check In / Check Out

✓

≈

Sheet web and desktop (online): Yes. Sheet desktop (offline): No

Analysis

Pivot table 

✓

≈

Sheet web: Yes. Sheet 

Windows online: Yes; Windows offline: No
macOS online: Yes; macOS offline: Yes

Pivot chart

✓

≈

Sheet web and desktop (online): Yes. Sheet desktop (offline): No

Sort / Custom sort

✓

✓

-

Filter / Highlight filter

✓

✓

-

Visualization

Charts (all types except Sunburst, Box & Whisker, Map)

✓

✓

-

AI-powered charts (Zia / Recommended)

✓

≈

Sheet web and desktop (online): Yes. Sheet desktop (offline): No. Excel: Ideas (M365 subscription required)

Sparklines

✓

≈

Sheet web and desktop (online): Yes. Sheet desktop (offline): No

Race / Animated charts

✗

✓

Sheet only - not available in Excel

Illustration

Object / WordArt / Shapes

✓

≈

Shapes is available on Sheet web only. 

What-if Analysis

Goal Seek / Solver

✓

✓

-

Automation

VBA macros

✓

≈

Sheet web and desktop (online): Yes. Sheet desktop (offline): No. Excel: full VBA support across all modes

Search & Productivity

Find & replace

✓

✓

Sheet desktop (online and offline): Yes. Sheet web: Yes

Auto complete

✓

✓

Go To / Keyboard shortcuts

✓

✓

-

Language & Proofing

Spell check / Personal dictionary

✓

≈

Sheet web and desktop (online): Yes. Sheet web desktop (offline): No

Print

Print

✓

✓

-

Header & footer

✓

≈

Sheet web: Yes. Sheet desktop (Windows online and offline): No

Sheet desktop (macOS online and offline): Yes