Google Sheets is a free, cloud-based spreadsheet application created by Google that allows users to create, update and share spreadsheets in real time.
It’s available as part of the Google Workspace group of productivity apps, which also includes Google Calendar, Gmail, Drive, Google Meet, Google Docs, and more.
Google Workspace, also known as G Suite, has over 3 billion users worldwide. Google recently announced that it is unveiling more AI features and tools in Google Workspace, including Google Sheets. Users can already use Gemini, Google’s generative AI chatbot, to create and manage tables.
Google Sheets can be used to manage business or personal projects, create charts, perform calculations, or perform statistical analysis.
What is Google Sheets?
Google Sheets is a cloud-based spreadsheet. Users can create, share and update spreadsheets in real time. The program also connects to other Google Workspace apps, like Google Slides, Google Docs, and Gmail.
What is Google Sheets for?
Google Sheets can be used for any purpose that typically involves a spreadsheet. This may include creating budgets, performing calculations, performing analysis, writing charts, or managing projects or tasks. It can be used for professional or personal projects.
You probably don’t need to worry about whether Google Sheets has the bandwidth for your dataset. Google Sheets can handle up to 10 million cells or 18,287 columns, which is way more than most users will need.
What is the difference between Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel?
Google Sheets is part of Google Workspace, while Microsoft Excel is part of Microsoft 365. Both let you create spreadsheets for various purposes, such as accounting or planning, and share similar features, such as Writing equations and presenting data in an organized, easy-to-understand manner.
Google Sheets is free and easily allows multiple users to collaborate in a spreadsheet in real time, but it’s also quite simplistic. Microsoft Excel is a more complex program that is more difficult to collaborate in, partly because it reserves all of its features for paying users (although it has a limited free version).
You can also convert Google Sheets to Excel files using Sheets’ download features.
How to download Google Sheets
To access Google Sheets, visit sheet.google.com. Or, in Gmail or Google Chrome, click the Google Apps icon in the upper right corner (it’s a series of three rows of dots) and select Sheets.
You can access Google Sheets from the Google home page on your computer browser. Michelle Mark/Business Insider
There is also a Google Sheets app for Apple and Android devices. Visit the Apple App Store or Google Play Store and search for Google Sheets. Follow the prompts to download the app to your device.
What models are available?
Google Sheets offers dozens of templates for creating calendars, schedules, letters, calculators, budgets, and more. To browse the different templates, open Google Sheets, then click Template Gallery in the upper right corner.
Google Sheets has templates for budgets, trackers, lists, calendars, planners, and more. Michelle Mark/Business Insider
You can also create your own Google Sheets templates, which you can use again and again. Once you’ve created a new spreadsheet and customized it to suit your needs, include “template” in the file name so you can easily find it. The next time you want to use the template, open it, click File in the top menu and select “Make a Copy.” Give it a new name and start working.
Where to learn how to use Google Sheets
Google offers several online quickstarts and cheat sheets to help you learn how to use Google Sheets. The company also offers a free three-hour Google Sheets online course to teach the program.
Other educational websites, like Udemy, offer Google Sheets courses. There are also many YouTube videos featuring Google Sheets instructions and tutorials.
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