Spreadsheet software, a useful tool for financial and other types of calculations, is offered by a number of different software manufacturers, both as a part of application “suites” and as stand-alone programs. Prices, data compatibility, and system requirements vary greatly, making it necessary for businesses and individuals to carefully determine which spreadsheet application is best for their purposes.
Microsoft Works: The Microsoft Works suite of Windows applications includes a spreadsheet program, among others. It is included with some new computers, and is available for purchase at about $50 retail – less than most other commercial software packages of this type. Wikipedia.org indicates that Works uses a proprietary spreadsheet format with a .WKS filename extension. In the past, some versions of Works for the MS-DOS operating system were produced.
Microsoft Excel: This spreadsheet program can be purchased as part of the Microsoft Office application suite or as a stand-alone. The Microsoft website indicates a price of $399 for the Office standard edition, or $229 for Excel 2003 itself (also: $239 for Office upgrade, $109 for Excel upgrade). Excel 2003 requires a relatively new computer; the system requirements are: 128MB of memory/RAM, 233MHz or faster processor, 800×600 or higher display resolution, and Windows 2003/SP3 (needs Service Pack 3) or Windows XP.
Lotus 1-2-3: A well-known piece of software which has existed for many years, Lotus 1-2-3 can be purchased as a part of Lotus SmartSuite or by itself. According to the IBM (which owns Lotus) website, Lotus 1-2-3 is compatible with Microsoft Excel and available for Windows 95, 98, NT, 2000, and XP (older versions were also made for earlier operating systems). The IBM price for Lotus SmartSuite (including word processing, database, presentation, and other applications) is $281.
OpenOffice Calc: Part of the free OpenOffice suite, Calc is included with some Linux distributions and available for free download (this could be lengthy on some internet connections). According to OpenOffice.org, it is compatible with Microsoft Excel and can convert spreadsheets to PDF format.
KSpread: This spreadsheet program is part of the KOffice suite for the Linux KDE desktop/GUI, and it also has a Mac OS version. KSpread is capable of transferring data between some different spreadsheet formats. It is free and open-source.
Worksheet: Part of the Tandy DeskMate GUI, Worksheet has fewer features but is adequate for many purposes and works well on older computers. It is no longer being sold by Tandy, but the original disks can occasionally be purchased on eBay.com. Uses a “.WKS” filename extension. It can be run from a disk and doesn’t require a hard drive or extended memory. Some versions only work on older Tandy computers, while newer versions function on any IBM-compatible. Not all versions of DeskMate include Worksheet.
Quattro Pro: This is part of the Corel WordPerfect office suite and is no longer sold as a stand-alone program (according to answers.com). It costs about $250 retail for the standard suite, or less for an upgrade. The suite also includes a word processor, PDF creation/editing/viewing (including the ability to turn Quattro Pro spreadsheets into PDF files) abilities, and other applications.
Some smaller companies also offer spreadsheet software for free or for payment, and a few websites are offering internet-based business applications like spreadsheets. All prices and specifications referred to in this article were as of December, 2006.
