Sheetem vs Excel for project management
Excel is a powerful calculation tool, but projects outgrow it quickly: Gantt charts are built by hand and break when rows move, formulas reference fixed row numbers, sharing is by file, and there is no way to take requests through a form. Sheetem gives you a familiar grid with all of that built in from the start.
| Sheetem | Excel | |
|---|---|---|
| Built-in Gantt chart | Yes | No |
| Auto-scheduling (tasks move when dates change) | Yes | No |
| Predecessors and critical path | Yes | No |
| Formulas | Yes | Yes (but break when rows are added or moved) |
| Real-time collaboration | Yes | Yes (requires Microsoft 365 subscription) |
| Row hierarchy (phases / subtasks) | Yes | Manual indenting only |
| Dropdown and date column types | Yes | Manual data validation setup |
| Forms that fill the sheet | Yes | No |
| Dashboards | Yes | Manual chart creation |
| Comments and @mentions | Yes | Comments only |
| Permission control per sheet | Yes | File-level sharing only |
| 30-day trash and row history | Yes | Version history (365 only) |
| Ready-made project templates | Yes (27 templates) | Template gallery |
| Purpose-built for project management | Yes | No |
Excel features described are for Microsoft 365 desktop/web. Microsoft Excel is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation; Sheetem is not affiliated with it.
When to switch to Sheetem
- Your Gantt chart is manually coloured cells that break every time a task moves
- Formulas reference fixed row numbers and break when rows are added
- You share the file by email and cannot tell which version is current
- You want clients or external teams to fill in a form without touching the spreadsheet
Stay with Excel if…
- Your work is financial modelling, data analysis or reporting — Excel’s calculation engine is unmatched
- You use pivot tables, Power Query or macros as a core part of your work
- You just need a simple list and already have a Microsoft 365 licence
Bring your Excel data across
Use Import Excel in Sheetem to upload your .xlsx file; each sheet becomes a Sheetem sheet with its rows and columns intact. You can then set proper column types, add Gantt settings and connect sheets with formulas. Or start from one of the 27 ready-made templates and paste your data in.
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