Life & fun · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to The excel file I use to manage side projects

Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. The excel file I use to manage side projects launched in 2015; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

1. 1
   I've built a C# IDE, Runtime, and AppStore inside Excel▲670

   The project is called QueryStorm. It uses Roslyn to offer C# (and VB.NET) support in Excel, as an alternative to VBA. I've posted about it before, but a lot has changed since then so figured I'd share an update. The current version includes a host of new features, namely a C# debugger, support for NuGet packages, and the ability to publish Excel extensions to an "AppStore" (which is essentially a NuGet repository). The AppStore can be used by anyone with the (free) runtime component. Another great addition is the community license, which is a free license for individuals and small companies…

   2023 · querystorm.com · its alternatives →

2. 2E2
   Excel 2013▲20

   Not exactly a side project but my work for the last 2.5 years. As an avid HN lurker would love to hear feedback. Background: I am a PM on the Excel team in charge of the advanced data analysis tools (http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/bi/Products/OfficePreview.aspx) To download: http://www.microsoft.com/office/preview/en

   2012 · microsoft.com · its alternatives →

3. 3
   Microsoft Planner▲198

   The project management tool for Office

   2016 · its alternatives →

4. 4
   Slate▲109

   Making Spreadsheets Understandable.

   2014 · useslate.com · its alternatives →

5. 5
   QuickSheet▲127

   Instantly create and edit spreadsheets from your menu bar

   2025 · apps.apple.com · its alternatives →

6. 6
   SimpleSpread▲84

   Native, open source Mac spreadsheet

   15d ago · github.com · its alternatives →

7. 7
   OpenSheet▲86

   Hi folks. I've been doing some experiments on how LLMs could get more handy in the day to day of working with files (CSV, Parquet, etc). Earlier last year, I built https://datakit.page and evolved it over and over into an all in-browser experience with help of duckdb-wasm. Got loads of feedbacks and I think it turned into a good shape with being an adhoc local data studio, but I kept hearing two main things/issues: Why can't the AI also change cells in the file we give to it? Why can't we modify this grid ourselves? So besides the whole READ and text-to-SQL flows, what seemed…

   Feb 2026 · opensheet.app · its alternatives →

8. 8
   Google Sheets▲84

   Excel in the cloud

   2013 · accounts.google.com · its alternatives →

9. 9
   spreadgit▲58

   Version control for excel spreadsheets.

   2014 · spreadgit.com · its alternatives →

10. 10
    OOP Excel Library▲18

    Object-oriented java Excel library . Contribute to Vatavuk/excel-io development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2019 · github.com · its alternatives →

11. 11
    5 Kb Spreadsheet for the Web with copy paste▲23

    Let your users import their data in your SAAS with a familiar excel like UI.

    2020 · renanlecaro.github.io · its alternatives →

12. 12
    SplenSheet▲7

    Free online spreadsheet editor

    2025 · splensheet.com · its alternatives →

13. 13
    MySheet.ai▲10

    Hi HN, I've been tinkering/building AI applications that require interaction with spreadsheets (Excel / Google Sheets). Realized that LLMs don't work off-the-shelf when it comes to producing correct, reliable output for spreadsheets, regardless of how you wish to encode it (JSON, markdown, XML, etc.) After prompting, fine-tuning LLMs to work for my applications, decided to expose the functionality as an API to this community. Eager to see if it is helpful/of interest to others. Let me know if you need an invite.

    2025 · parseclabs.ai · its alternatives →

14. 14
    BL Sheet▲10

    Simplifying project management

    2024 · blsheet.com · its alternatives →

15. 15BW
    Build web apps from your spreadsheets▲9

    2014 · numeratr.com · its alternatives →

16. 16DM
    Document Merge – Merge Excel Data into Word Templates▲5

    2016 · document-merge.com · its alternatives →

17. 17MS
    My self hosted project management and billing app (Trello alternative)▲6

    2020 · duetapp.com · its alternatives →

18. 186S
    6gunz – spreadsheet / programming language / microservices framework▲9

    2018 · 6gu.nz · its alternatives →

19. 19AR
    Add Real-Time Collaboration to Excel 2013, 2016 and Online▲5

    2016 · quant.cloud · its alternatives →

20. 20
    I launched my first solo side project▲14

    Sysadmin is my bread and butter, but I taught myself PHP and have been coding on and off for the past 6 years. I've worked on numerous freelance gigs, but mainly internal apps that I use for my real job. I worked on this project (on and off) for the past year and I'm happy to finally release it to the public. Even if it doesn't succeed, I'm happy that I was able to "scratch an itch" I've had for the past couple of years. I wanted to make something and prove to myself that I can program. I'm not the greatest, but I'm proud of what I've achieved. http://www.ikeepm.com

    2011 · ikeepm.com · its alternatives →

21. 21
    I made an extension that turns Google Sheets into Google Slides▲8

    2025 · workspace.google.com · its alternatives →

22. 22
    SigmaSheets Project Management Template▲2

    All-in-one Excel PM template — no subscription, no bloat

    Aug 2026 · puneet33.gumroad.com · its alternatives →

23. 23CW
    Create Web Calculators and APIs with Excel Spreadsheets▲9

    2020 · lambdaxl.com · its alternatives →

24. 24
    SheetSprint▲11

    Run a SaaS sprint without Jira, in one spreadsheet

    Jul 2026 · shorturl.at · its alternatives →

Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →