75 Excel Add-ins Plugins and Apps for Microsoft 365
13 minutes read
Excel is by far the most used application for data analysis, and mastering it is a must-have skill in many companies.
It can also be a huge time-saver: an Excel master can be tens or hundreds of times more productive than a beginner. Add-ins play a significant role in improving your efficiency with Excel, bringing you the tools you need to perform well.
Understanding Excel Add-ins
Excel add-ins are small programs that enhance the capabilities of Microsoft Excel by adding new custom features. With hundreds of Microsoft 365 Excel add-ins available, they cover a wide range of functions that can help you become more productive.
In this article, we list and describe 75 add-ins, plugins, and apps that complement Microsoft Excel, enhancing its features and capabilities. Some of these tools are free, while others require a purchase, but each one can help you elevate your Excel skills.
Featured Excel Add-ins
1. Power-user
Power-user is an add-in for Excel, PowerPoint, and Word, boasting a suite of impressive features tailored for frequent Office Suite users:
- Create new chart types like Mekko and Sankey charts
- Establish robust Excel-PowerPoint links
- Utilize powerful functions such as SumColor, CountColor, and more
- Copy and paste visible cells only
- UnPivot crosstab tables into databases
- Quickly format numbers, currencies, and dates
- Tools for cleaning data, managing merged cells, and formatting tables
- And much more!
Power-user also enhances PowerPoint and Word with:
- A library of 700 beautiful PowerPoint templates
- 350 editable maps
- 7,000 vector icons and flags
- Over 1 million high-quality images
- Dashboard tools and automatic Agenda builder
- Advanced formatting tools
2. Tableau Desktop
Tableau Desktop is a powerful data visualization add-in. You can connect Tableau to your data sources, including Excel spreadsheets, to create reports and dashboards with a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface. Tableau is known for its speed, allowing for quick filtering and zooming on data points to derive insights. Available for both Windows and iOS.
3. F9
F9 is designed for accounting data management, enabling users to prepare and distribute financial reports within their organization. It allows for data linking between Excel and accounting systems. F9 is available for PC users with versions ranging from 2003 to 2019, but it is not compatible with Mac iOS.
4. SQL Spreads
SQL Spreads helps non-technical users interact with SQL Server data right from Excel. This add-in provides a user-friendly interface for updating, inserting, and deleting data securely. Users can download a free 14-day trial from their website.
5. Kutools
Kutools offers a vast array of tools and functions designed to save time in various situations. While it has many features that may not be frequently used, it includes useful tools like pasting data to visible cells only and combining sheets. Kutools is compatible with Excel 2007 to 2019 on PC.
6. Advanced Formula Environment - Free
Provided by Microsoft, this add-in modernizes the environment for writing named formulas and Lambda functions. It includes syntax highlighting, inline error display, and comments. It works with Microsoft Excel 2013 and later on PC, Mac, or the web.
7. PowerPivot
PowerPivot transforms Excel into a business intelligence tool. It enables users to build relationships between tables, offering faster performance compared to traditional VLOOKUP. PowerPivot is built into Excel 2013 and later, while earlier versions require a separate download.
8. XLGL
XLGL is an accounting tool that retrieves data from Sage accounting software, updating Excel spreadsheets with customer orders, employee hours, and inventories. It is compatible with Excel 2007 to 2019 on PC.
9. ASAP Utilities
ASAP Utilities is an add-in designed to save time in Excel. It includes features such as sorting tabs and inserting cells. It’s compatible with Excel 2000 and later versions on PC.
10. MonteCarlito - Free
MonteCarlito allows users to run Monte Carlo simulations and perform statistical analyses. This simple add-in is available for both Windows and Mac iOS versions of Excel.
11. Intis Telecom - FREE
The Intis Telecom plugin enables users to send SMS directly from Excel. While the plugin is free, it requires purchasing credits for sending messages. It is not available for Mac.
12. Analystix Tools - Free
Analystix Tools is a free add-in aimed at financial analysis, offering functions for CAGR, WACC calculation, and histogram creation. It works with Excel 2010 and later on PC.
13. People Graph - Free
This add-in allows users to create and update people graphs, useful for infographics. It is compatible with Excel 2013 to 2019 on PC, Excel 2016 for Mac, Excel Online, and Excel for iPad.
14. Analysis ToolPack - Free
The Analysis ToolPack is a Microsoft add-in that facilitates statistical analyses, such as correlation analysis and histograms. It is available on all Excel installations from 2007 onwards, for both Mac and PC.
15. Solver - Free
Solver is a powerful tool for what-if analysis, helping users find optimal solutions under specific constraints. It is included in Excel from 2007 onwards.
16. Power Query - Free
Power Query is a Microsoft add-in designed to enhance data import and transformation capabilities in Excel. It works with Excel 2010 and 2013 on Windows.
17. StatPlus:mac
StatPlus:mac is an exceptional statistical analysis package compatible with both PC and Mac (2004 to 2016). It supports various analyses such as correlations and regressions.
18. FRED - Free
FRED, from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, provides access to macroeconomic data. Users can insert time series data into Excel easily and refresh their spreadsheets with up-to-date information. It works with Excel 2010 and 2013.
19. Simtools - Free
Simtools adds statistical functions for Monte Carlo simulations and risk analysis. It works with Excel 2003 and later on PC.
20. Formlist - Free
Formlist is a simple auditing tool that displays formulas in a selected range of cells. It’s free to use and compatible with Excel 2003 and later on PC.
21. NXPowerLite Desktop 8
NXPowerLite is a versatile tool that compresses files for Excel, PowerPoint, and Word. It optimizes files for different platforms, but it is not available on Mac.
22. Jensen - Free
Jensen offers several add-ins focused on statistical analysis, including tools for Markov analysis and decision-making.
23. Anomaly Server - Free
Anomaly Server helps identify outliers in data sets, leveraging data from data.gov. It is compatible with Excel 2016 and later on both PC and Mac, as well as Excel Online.
24. XLSTAT
XLSTAT offers over 100 features for advanced statistical analysis, working with Excel from version 97 to 2019 on PC and Excel 2011 and 2016 on Mac.
25. Operis Analysis Toolkit (OAK)
OAK is designed to help users understand complex spreadsheets and reduce errors, offering features such as workbook summaries and formula walkers. It works on Windows but is not available on Mac.
26. Table Analysis Tools and Data Mining Client
These Microsoft-provided add-ins facilitate data mining, requiring Excel 2010 or 2013 on Windows.
27. Dose
Dose is a comprehensive collection of tools for Excel, offering features like date pickers, data cleaning, and backup solutions. It is compatible with Excel 2007 to 2019 on PC.
28. Supply Chain add-in - Free but requires subscription
This add-in assists in creating geographical visualizations and optimizing warehouse locations. It works with Excel 2016 and later on Windows, Mac, and the web.
29. Office Tabs - Free
Office Tabs creates a tabbed interface for switching between documents in Microsoft Office applications, improving workflow efficiency. It is compatible with Office 365 and versions above 2003, but not on Mac.
30. ParallelDots - Free for limited use
This add-in provides access to an AI for text analysis, including sentiment analysis and content classification. It works with Excel 2010, 2013, 2016, or 2019 (64-bit only) on Windows.
31. vIcons - $99
vIcons offers a library of 600 icons for use in Excel, Word, or PowerPoint. It is available for Office versions 2007, 2010, and 2013 on Windows, but not on Mac.
32. Random Number Generator - $29.95
This add-in generates random numbers in various formats, including dates and strings. It is compatible with Excel 2007 to 2019 on Windows, but not on Mac.
33. Random Sorter - $29.95
Random Sorter allows users to shuffle data randomly, useful for polling and sampling purposes. It works on Windows with Excel 2007 to 2019.
34. Audit Tickmark Toolbar - $25
This toolbar is designed for audit and accounting purposes, enabling users to add tick marks for reference. It works with Excel 96 to 2019 on PC.
35. QR4Office - Free
QR4Office creates QR codes linked to predefined URLs, enhancing interactivity in Excel documents. It is available for Excel 2013 and later on Windows and Excel 2016 on Mac.
36. Geographic Heat Map - Free
The Heat Map app allows users to visualize data on maps of the USA or the world, enhancing data presentation. It works with Excel 2013 and later on PC and 2016 on Mac.
37. Password Recovery
This plugin aims to help recover lost passwords for Excel files. While recovery is not guaranteed, it is compatible with Excel 2003 to 2010 on Windows, but not on Mac.
38. Ultimate Suite
The Ultimate Suite features various tools from the office-addins website, including those for data cleaning, duplicate finding, and random number generation. It is available for Excel 2003 to 2010 on Windows but not on Mac.
39. Lucidchart - Subscription required
Lucidchart enables users to create diagrams such as flowcharts and org charts within Excel. It is compatible with Excel 2013 and later on Windows and 2016 on Mac.
40. Supermetrics
Supermetrics is ideal for digital marketing analysis, connecting to various data sources to analyze traffic and conversions directly within Excel. It is available for Excel 2016 and 365.
41. GIGRAPH Network Visualization - Free
GIGRAPH facilitates the creation of network diagrams to visualize relationships between entities, compatible with Excel 2013 Service Pack 1 and later on both PC and Excel Online.
42. Selection Diff Tool
This tool compares two strings of text to identify differences. It works in both Excel and Word, supporting versions 2013 and later.
43. XY Chart Labeler - Free
The XY Chart Labeler adds control over chart labels in Excel, allowing users to customize labels for data points in XY charts. It is compatible with Windows and Mac 2011.
44. Hoadley Finance
The Hoadley Finance add-in is tailored for finance professionals, providing tools for portfolio analysis, option pricing, and real-time quotes. It is available for Excel 2003 to 2019 on Windows.
45. ModernCharts
ModernCharts allows users to create various charts in Excel, enhancing data visualization capabilities. It is compatible with all versions above 2013, including Mac.
46. Microsoft Dynamics - Free
This add-in connects Excel to Microsoft Dynamics data, facilitating analysis and report generation. It is available for Excel and Word 2016 and later.
47. Risk Analyzer
Risk Analyzer supports Monte Carlo simulations and what-if analyses, compatible with Excel 2007 and above on Windows, but not on Mac.
48. Panel Chart
The Panel Chart add-in enhances readability in line charts by separating lines into categories, working with Excel 2007 and later on Windows.
49. BulkQuotesXL Pro
BulkQuotesXL enables users to download financial quotes directly into Excel from various data sources, suitable for Excel 2010 and later on Windows.
50. Vertex42 Templates Gallery - Free
Vertex42 provides a collection of over 150 professional templates for Excel and Word, covering budgeting, invoicing, and more. It works with Excel 2013 and later for Windows.
51. Model Analyzer
The Model Analyzer add-in offers several solutions for Excel modeling, including scenario analysis and Monte Carlo simulations. It is only available for the 32-bit version of Excel 2007 and 2010.
52. Weather by Visual Crossing
This add-in brings weather and climate data directly into Excel, including geocoding features.
53. Spreadsheet123 - Free
Spreadsheet123 offers a library of templates for financial statements and budgeting, compatible with Excel and Word 2013 Service Pack 1 or later but not on Mac.
54. Capital Budgeting - Free
This Jensen add-in helps identify optimized portfolios based on investment parameters.
55. Inventory - Free
The Inventory add-in computes inventory levels, factoring in various conditions for optimization.
56. Bubbles - Free
Bubbles allow users to create colorful charts that display multi-dimensional data in an easy-to-understand format. It is compatible with Excel 2013 and later on Windows and Excel 2016 for Mac.
57. Excellent Analytics - Free
Excellent Analytics provides a streamlined way to analyze Google Analytics data directly from Excel.
58. SEOTools
SEOTools integrates data from various SEO platforms, enabling users to analyze and optimize their websites within Excel.
59. SEOGadget - Free
SEOGadget helps users analyze their web analytics data and identify trends using Excel. It works with Excel 2010 and above on Windows.
60. Checkbook Assistant - Free
This add-in assists in managing personal finances, allowing for easy alignment of checkbooks with bank statements. It is compatible with Excel 2007 and later on Windows.
61. Loan Assistant
The Loan Assistant plugin simplifies loan calculations, providing detailed payment schedules and interest calculations. It works with Excel 2007 and later on Windows.
62. Flash Card Assistant - Free
Turn Excel into a Q&A tool with this add-in that supports flash card-style quizzes. It is compatible with Excel 2007 and later, but not on Mac.
63. ActiveData
ActiveData enhances data analytics and management in Excel, offering features for summarizing and querying data. It works with Excel 2007 and later on Windows.
64. Mekko Chart Creator
This add-in allows users to create Marimekko charts for displaying multi-dimensional data. It is compatible with Excel 2007 and later on Windows.
65. Conditional Row Delete - Free
This add-in simplifies the process of deleting rows based on specific conditions.
66. Power Utility Pack - Free
Created by Ron de Bruin, this add-in includes utility tools that save time for Mac users.
67. Exchange rates
This plugin provides real-time currency conversion capabilities within Excel, accessible for Windows users with any version above 2000.
68. Mini Calendar and Date Picker - Free
This app allows users to select dates from a calendar, reducing errors in date entry. It works with Excel 2013 and later on Windows and Excel 2016 on Mac.
69. Favorite Bookmarks - Free
This add-in lets you bookmark your favorite workbooks or sheets for easy access across Excel sessions. It is compatible with Windows for Excel 2007 and later.
70. Functions Translator - Free
The Functions Translator helps users translate Excel functions between different languages, supporting Excel 2013 and later on Windows, Mac, and Excel Online.
71. RDBmail - Free
RDBmail automates the process of sending Excel data via Outlook, offering various sending options. It works with Excel 2007 to 2019 on Windows.
72. Intrinio - Free
Intrinio allows users to screen US equities using filters across multiple parameters. It is compatible with Windows and works with Excel 2013 and later.
73. Excel training and tips - Free
This app offers resources for learning Excel, including a list of useful formulas and Q&A. It works with Excel 2013 and later on Windows and Excel 2016 for Mac.
74. Power Reconcile
This add-in streamlines the reconciliation process between vendor and accounts payable reports, available for Excel 2013 and later on both PC and Mac.
75. Microsoft Flow for Excel - Free
Microsoft Flow enables users to create workflows between various applications, compatible with Excel 2013 and later on PC, Mac, or the web.
Conclusion
Excel is one of the most widely used software applications globally and a critical tool for businesses. While Excel is rich and complex, the variety of available add-ins can significantly enhance its functionality. By leveraging these powerful tools, you can improve your productivity, streamline workflows, and unlock new capabilities. Whether you are a finance professional, data analyst, or casual user, there is likely an add-in on this list that can help you work more efficiently and effectively.