Excel is an indispensable tool—anyone who has worked with data knows that. It’s versatile, powerful, and can help you in many ways. However, as data becomes more complex and tasks more demanding, the need for automation and advanced analysis capabilities becomes apparent. This is where AI plugins for Excel come into play.
Top 11 AI Plugins for Excel
In this blog post, we’ll explore some of the top AI plugins for Excel that can help you supercharge your spreadsheet tasks, saving you precious time and effort. We’ll break them down by their key features, pricing, and who each tool is best for to give you the information you need to choose the right one for your needs.
1. Datarails
Datarails offers an AI-powered FP&A platform that seamlessly integrates with Excel. It allows you to keep your existing financial models and spreadsheets while harnessing AI to automate repetitive processes, reduce errors, and gain actionable insights from your data.
With impressive G2 and Capterra ratings, you can trust Datarails will meet all of your AI FP&A needs, including data consolidation, financial reports, data planning and analysis, scenario analysis, and sales commission. We also help you integrate with the most popular accounting software, ERPs, and CRMs, consolidating your data in one convenient place.
When it comes to AI plugins for Excel in particular, we’re proud to offer the flexibility of Excel with the power of Datarails. Our FinanceOS lets you keep working in your Excel environment with 100% functionality. Further, our automated consolidation and reporting saves you time, so you can put all of your focus on the strategic insights that drive your business growth.
Price Range: All of our pricing is custom. This allows us to create the perfect solution for each client based on their unique needs and use cases. Request a quote for a fast response.
Best For: Finance professionals, data analysts, and anyone looking to automate financial modeling (including corporate budgeting) and analysis in Excel.
Website: Datarails
2. MonkeyLearn
MonkeyLearn offers Excel users the power of text analysis. With MonkeyLearn, you can extract valuable insights from textual data in your spreadsheets, such as customer feedback, social media comments, or survey responses, enabling you to make data-driven decisions more efficiently. In seconds, you can analyze the texts from thousands of Excel spreadsheets backed by the power of machine learning.
Price Range: Free trial. Contact for pricing and plans.
Best For: Data extraction and analysis within Excel, ideal for data-driven decision-makers.
Website: MonkeyLearn
Wondering if AI will replace financial analysts? Head to this post next to find out.
3. Tableau
Tableau has introduced a user-friendly drag-and-drop approach to visual data analysis for a new way to explore Excel data. With Tableau for Excel, you can seamlessly ask and answer questions in real-time. This eliminates the need for generating separate reports or cross-tabs for every query. Tableau’s visualizations are interactive and highly shareable, making it easier for every member of your organization to access crucial insights.
Even more remarkable is that Tableau seamlessly integrates with Excel spreadsheets, streamlining the data analysis process. Excel users can retain familiar spreadsheets while significantly enhancing their data analysis capabilities. Tableau empowers users to create clear, easy-to-understand visualizations that effectively convey information, all while keeping data analysis fast and straightforward.
One of Tableau’s strengths is the resources it offers for users when it comes to moving to Tableau and, in their words, “overcoming Excel’s hurdles.”
Price Range: Free trial, and students and teachers get one year of Tableau Desktop, Prep, and eLearning for free. Individual paid plans begin at $75 per month, Duo plans for $150 per month, and users can contact them for custom pricing for more users.
Best For: Data visualization and interactive reporting, suitable for analysts and data enthusiasts.
Website: Tableau
4. Kutools for Excel
Kutools for Excel is a comprehensive Excel add-in with a vast collection of tools and features from ExtendOffice. While not strictly AI-driven, it enhances your productivity in Excel with various shortcuts and utilities, making your work faster and more efficient.
Some of its features and benefits include:
- 30-day free trial with full features
- Two years of free upgrades
- Lifetime access once you buy it
- 60-day Money Back Guarantee
- Supports 44 languages
Price Range: $49 per user. As you add more users, the cost per user goes down.
Best For: Excel users who want to simplify their workflows and access various Excel tools and utilities.
Website: Kutools for Excel
5. XLSTAT
XLSTAT by Lumivero is an Excel add-in that brings advanced statistical analysis tools to your spreadsheets. As they explain, 150,000+ users in over 120 countries use it! It offers a wide range of data analysis methods, including machine learning algorithms, allowing them to tackle complex analytical tasks effortlessly.
Notable features include:
- Seamless integration with Microsoft Excel, requiring no coding
- Streamlined data preparation and processing within Excel
- Access to comprehensive data reports
- Customizable Excel charts to suit your needs
- Responsive customer support and access to free online tutorials
- Special discounts are available for students and academics
- Directly integrated into Microsoft Excel for user convenience
Price Range: Free two-week trial with paid plans ranging from $55 to $1775 per year.
Best For: Statistical analysis and data modeling in Excel, ideal for researchers and analysts.
Website: XLSTAT
6. Power Query
Power Query is a built-in Excel tool for data acquisition, transformation, and integration. It helps users connect, merge, and reshape data from various sources. Ultimately, it’s a valuable asset for data professionals in multiple industries.
Price Range: Free (built into Excel)
Best For: Data transformation and integration tasks in Excel, suitable for data professionals.
Website: Microsoft Power Query
7. Zapier
Zapier is an automation platform that lets users create “Zaps” to connect with thousands of apps and services, including Excel, Slack, and PowerPoint. It allows them to automate data transfers, notifications, and various other tasks, enhancing Excel’s already impressive capabilities.
In their words: “Zapier lets you send info between Microsoft Excel and AI by Zapier automatically—no code required. With 5,000+ supported apps, the possibilities are endless.”
Price Range: Free for individual plans. Monthly plans (billed annually) range include: Starter $19.99, Professional $49, Team $69. Contact Zapier for custom company pricing.
Best For: Automating workflows and connecting Excel with other apps and tools.
Website: Zapier
8.DataRobot
DataRobot is an AutoML platform that allows users to build, deploy, and manage machine learning models. It can be integrated with Excel to automate building predictive models and making data-driven decisions.
(We also explore how AI helps CFOs make data-driven decisions in this article.)
Its AI features boast incredible capabilities when it comes to AI experimentation and production. In their words, they “close the generative AI confidence gap.”
Their website features several resources for users, including an AI Accelerators Library, which provides AI solutions for many industries, including healthcare, finance, and retail.
Price Range: Contact for pricing.
Best For: Automated machine learning (AutoML) for predictive analytics in Excel.
Website: DataRobot
9. Alteryx
Alteryx is a data analytics platform that streamlines data preparation and blending tasks. It can connect to Excel and help you cleanse, transform, and analyze data efficiently, making it a valuable asset for data professionals.
It was built to help business owners make faster, data-driven decisions, giving them confidence in their choices. Alteryx also offers predictive analytics capabilities for forecasting and simulation.
Price Range: They offer free trials for cloud and desktop users. Contact for pricing beyond the free trial.
Best For: Data preparation, blending, and advanced analytics for Excel users.
Website: Alteryx
10. Nintex RPA
Nintex RPA is an automation platform that includes features for Excel automation. It allows you to create bots to handle repetitive tasks, data entry, and report generation in Excel, enhancing productivity.
Some of its key features include process identification, process management, workflow management, application development, analytics, and document generation. It’s also known for being a flexible AI plugin for Excel that lets users put it to work for them in the way that suits them best.
Price Range: Their Pro Plan starts at $25,000 per year, and their Premium plan starts at $50,000 per year. They offer custom pricing plans as well, for which users can contact them for a quote.
Best For: Robotic Process Automation (RPA) tasks in Excel and other applications.
Website: Nintex RPA
11. KNIME
KNIME is an open-source platform for data analytics, reporting, and integration. Dubbed a “complete platform for data science,” KNIME combines data analytics and machine learning workflows in Excel. It can be integrated with Excel and provides a visual workflow editor for building data processing and machine learning pipelines.
It breaks down its capabilities regarding data users and how they hope to use the tool.
For example, KNIME explains that data experts can:
- “Access all popular AI/ML libraries through an open ecosystem
- Script in a language of your choice through pre-built integrations
- Collaborate, share, and re-use with ease, capture domain expertise
- Create custom KNIME nodes & extend your platform.”
Price Range: Individual plans are free, but KNIME offers several paid plans for which users must contact them to get pricing details.
Best For: It’s ideal for those with limited programming experience, as no coding is required. KNIME markets its solutions to various industries, including retail, marketing, energy and utilities, manufacturing, HR, and supply chain.
Website: KNIME
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) About AI Plugins for Excel
If you have questions about AI plugins for Excel, we’ve covered much more about them in our FAQ section.
Is there any AI tool for Excel?
Yes, several AI-powered tools can enhance your Excel experience. These tools utilize artificial intelligence to automate tasks, extract insights, and perform advanced data analysis within Excel. Along with the 11 tools we discussed today, there are AI tools for Excel for virtually any job you may need to perform.
Which AI is best for Excel?
The best AI tool for Excel depends on your specific needs. Datarails is an excellent choice for automating financial modeling and analysis. MonkeyLearn is ideal for text analysis, while MacroDroid excels at task automation. Consider your requirements for AI tools for Excel and choose the one that best fits your workflow.
What is the GPT extension for Excel?
Microsoft offers a GPT for Excel app to help users apply AI inside Excel. Some of the features it assists with include:
- Create whole paragraphs or procedures
- Organize lists of names, addresses, and emails
- Generate images in bulk using AI inside Excel sheets
- Draft responses to online comments
- Rapidly experiment with different versions of a prompt
- Create ad copy (PPC, Google Ads, Facebook Ads)
- Optimize SEO metadata (titles, descriptions)
- Enhance landing page copy
Final Thoughts: The Best AI Plugins for Excel
When you incorporate AI into your Excel tasks, you can increase efficiency and accuracy in your data analysis. And with the right tools, you can make an already robust platform virtually unstoppable.
With these top AI plugins for Excel, including Datarails—the best FP&A software—on your side, you can easily handle all your financial modeling and analysis needs. Request a demo today to find out what our FP&A solution and the best AI plugin for Excel can do for you.
Did you enjoy this article about the top AI plugins for Excel?
Here are three more to read next on the topic of AI: