Difference between MS Word and MS Excel: All Points Covered

Nilesh Kodag | Updated: Aug 6, 2021 11:21 IST

MS Word and MS Excel are both essential software programs and a part of the Microsoft Office suite which are significantly different from each other in terms of their uses and functioning. These two software programs are very common and extensively used in Windows operating systems.

Through this article, you will learn the difference between Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel in detail. In addition to the difference, the article would also help you pick suitable software to operate with when working on various office-related duties. Before heading towards differentiating the two software, let us first understand both by their definitions:

Word and Excel

MS Word is a word processing software that is used for writing essays, letters, notes, etc. It also makes text editing much easier and enables the users to take printouts, creating data that is more readable on paper. It is very useful for teachers, students, working professionals, freelancers etc. A document can be made more appealing through various tools like fonts, colours, designs etc.

Whereas, MS Excel is a spreadsheet software where a huge volume of data or information can be collected in a systematic tabular manner in numerical and alphabetical values. MS Excel is generally used to create document tables, figures, and computation formulas. It helps perform much important work for institutions and companies, such as listing documents of expense and income, preparing expenditures, design statements, preparing analytical results, etc.

Difference Between Word and Excel

Understanding the difference between Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel is not just important from a general perspective, but also significant from the examination point of view.

Microsoft Word Microsoft Excel
MS Word is a word processor launched by Microsoft that is generally used to make professional-quality documents, reports, letters, etc. MS Excel is a spreadsheet program where users can record data in the form of tables.
The file in Microsoft Word are saved with the extension ".doc" The file in Microsoft Excel are saved with the extension ".xls"
MS Word enables the users to check grammatical mistakes and fix them as well. In an Excel spreadsheet, grammatical mistakes are not recognised by themselves.
It is possible to include MS Excel tables in a Word doc. An MS doc file cannot be included in an Excel spreadsheet.
MS Word is commonly used for writing letters, essays, documents, creating a resume and much more. MS Word is a very useful tool for students, teachers as well as working professionals, authors and writers. MS Excel manages complex information like data of employees in an office, a list of students in a school or college, salary details of employees, medical records of patients in a hospital, etc.
In MS Word one can write a formula manually but automatic calculations cannot be done. Once a formula is inserted into an Excel spreadsheet, automatic calculations can be quickly done.
The user interface in MS word is easy to understand and the menu bar's tools can be simply learned and used by the users. The user interface in MS Excel appears quite easy; though, the menu bar tools need skills to understand and utilize by the users for performing tasks.
When a new document is opened in Microsoft Word it opens as a blank page where a user can add text, images, etc. When a new spreadsheet is opened in Microsoft Excel it opens as a tabulated page where rows and columns are present forming different cells, where the user can insert data.
Word is practised in preparing documents. Excel is practised in database activities, such as filtering the data and implementing other analyses.
Statistical analysis and division of data in MS Word are relatively difficult. Filtering and changing statistical data in MS excel is quite simple and a primary feature of MS excel.

Also, learn about Microsoft Windows here.

We hope that the above article on the Difference between MS Word and MS Excel is helpful for your knowledge and exam preparations. Stay tuned to the Testbook app for more updates on similar topics from Computer Awareness, and numerous such subjects. Also, access the test series available to test your knowledge regarding various exams.

Difference between MS Word and MS Excel FAQs

Q.1 What are the basic similarities between MS Word and MS Excel?

Ans.1
Both MS Word and Excel enable the users to type letters.
One can include letters and hyperlinks in both MS Word and Excel applications.
Both the applications are a part of the Microsoft Office suite.
Both applications possess formatting and toolbars.

Q.2 Which are easier: Excel or Word for managing formulas and mathematical calculations?

Ans.2
Excel is faster and more capable than Word with tables, making charts and sorting data because they are built into the design. However, if a user wants to create a document for printing or publication, he/she can use Word.

Q.3 What are some of the important features of Microsoft Word?

Ans.3
Some of the important features of Microsoft Word are:
Home; options like alignment, font colour, font style, font size, bullets, line spacing, etc are available here.
Insert; tables, graphs, images, shapes, charts, header, footer, page number, etc can be inserted.
Design; various templates or the design can be used.
Page Layout; margins, lines, columns, orientation, indentation, spacing, etc can be added.
Review; Features like grammar, spell check, word count, language, comments, etc are present.

Q.4 What are the advantages of MS Excel?

Ans.4
Some of the advantages of MS Excel are; a user can perform various types of mathematical calculations, can store data or information with millions of rows, multiple tools for data analysis are available, One can also operate Excel with the mobile application.

Q.5 What are the regularly used formulas in Excel?

Ans.5
Some of the most used formulas in Excel are SUM, COUNT, AVERAGE, CONCATENATE, MAX & MIN functions.

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