Claude for Excel
Hacker ApprovedThe most recommended of 3 spreadsheet add-ins
People recommend it for handling tedious Excel work, including formatting and filling cells. Critics say it needs work on financial models, which can contain errors.
People recommend it for handling tedious Excel work, including formatting and filling cells. Critics say it needs work on financial models, which can contain errors.
15 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 11
- criticize it
- 4
- approval share
- 73%
Recommended in 8 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 11 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 2.8 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 8 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Automates tedious spreadsheet work
“Claude just transferred the numbers to the correct cells and Excel did the calculations.”
Comment from 28 Mar 2026 in “Improving personal tax filing with Claude CLI and Obsidian” “an incredible tool to take care of the menial work”
Comment from 27 Oct 2026 in “AI promised less work. I've never worked more” Good formatting and spreadsheet control
“Claude for excel is already amazing. Fully capable of doing junior work. Formatting is great.”
Comment from 15 Apr 2026 in “ChatGPT for Excel” “Claude has an excel addon that is really good it can control everything in excel.”
Comment from 14 May 2026 in “Claude for Small Business” Preferred over other spreadsheet tools
“Compare Anthropic's "Claude in Excel" and "Claude in PowerPoint" instead of in Google Docs or Sheets”
Comment from 23 Mar 2026 in “OpenClaw Is a Security Nightmare Dressed Up as a Daydream” “There aren't good alternatives for Claude Design, Cowork, Claude for Excel”
Comment from 24 Jun 2026 in “AI's Affordability Crisis”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Needs work on financial models
“Claude for Excel needs a lot of work (as does any tool working with financial models)”
Comment from 2 Feb 2026 in “Two kinds of AI users are emerging. The gap between them is astonishing” “Claude in finance results in models with errors that an analyst won’t make.”
Comment from 16 Apr 2026 in “ChatGPT for Excel”
Other spreadsheet add-ins people recommend
The two most recommended other spreadsheet add-ins, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude for ExcelThis page | 11 | 4 | 73% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Microsoft Copilot in Excel | 7 | 36 | 16% | 3 | — | — |
| ChatGPT for Excel | 7 | 14 | 33% | 1 | — | — |
What people said
15 of the 16 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“an incredible tool to take care of the menial work”
“With Codex, Claude for Excel, Copilot, and other spreadsheet agents improving quickly”
“There aren't good alternatives for Claude Design, Cowork, Claude for Excel”
“Claude has an excel addon that is really good it can control everything in excel.”
“We make heavy use of Claude for Excel”
“Claude in finance results in models with errors that an analyst won’t make.”
“Claude for excel is already amazing. Fully capable of doing junior work. Formatting is great.”
“This happens in all their UIs, including, say, Claude in Excel, as well.”
“Claude just transferred the numbers to the correct cells and Excel did the calculations.”
“Compare Anthropic's "Claude in Excel" and "Claude in PowerPoint" instead of in Google Docs or Sheets”
“I've tried adding it to our (very small) Office365 org and it just fails. Been failing for months.”
“especially Claude for Excel. The revenue growth they've announced has been extremely impressive”
“Claude for Excel needs a lot of work (as does any tool working with financial models)”
“Install "Claude for Excel" addon directly in the Excel itself. Works well.”
“I was shocked at how useful the latter is.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.