SharePoint Lists and Excel are both proven tools for data management in Microsoft 365. However, they fundamentally differ in their strengths. In this article, we help you make the right choice for your use case – with concrete recommendations for Swiss companies.
SharePoint Lists
Advantages
SharePoint Lists are web-based databases that allow multiple users to work simultaneously – without file conflicts. They offer granular permissions at the list, view, and even item level. The integrated versioning automatically logs every change. With Power Automate, workflows can be directly tied to list events, such as approval processes or notifications. Lists support up to 30 million entries, scaling far beyond Excel.
Disadvantages
SharePoint Lists do not offer native calculation functions like Excel formulas. Complex pivot analyses or ad-hoc calculations are not directly possible. Additionally, setting up custom views and forms requires more onboarding time. For purely personal data analyses, the overhead of a SharePoint List can be too high.
Best Use Cases
Lists are excellent for structured business data: project lists, inventory, ticket systems, contact databases, or task management. Wherever multiple people need to work on the same data simultaneously and workflows are required, Lists are the better choice.
Excel
Advantages
Excel is unmatched for ad-hoc analyses, complex calculations, and pivot tables. The flexibility of formulas, charts, and conditional formatting makes Excel the ideal tool for financial models, budget planning, and data exploration. Every employee knows Excel – the training effort is minimal.
Disadvantages
As soon as multiple people edit the same Excel file simultaneously, conflicts often arise despite co-authoring. Excel files have a limit of about 1 million rows. Permissions can only be managed at the file level, not at the cell level. Additionally, native workflow functions for automated business processes are lacking.
Best Use Cases
Excel is ideal for financial analyses, budget calculations, one-time data evaluations, and personal workbooks. If you primarily need to calculate, model, or visualize, Excel is the right choice.
Conclusion
As a rule of thumb: Use SharePoint Lists for structured, shared business data with workflows. Use Excel for analyses, calculations, and individual evaluations. Many Swiss companies benefit from a combination: SharePoint Lists as a data source, Excel for analysis via Power Query. Migrating from Excel to SharePoint Lists is straightforward – simply export your Excel table directly as a list.
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