Craft Apps GuideGridCraft vs Excel: decide at the handoff
If the workbook ends with you, GridCraft is worth a trial. If it ends on a colleague's desk in Excel, keep Excel in the loop until that colleague has opened the exported file. The .xlsx extension alone is not the result.
The site's small GridCraft XLSX test used GridCraft CLI 0.8.0 on macOS. It checked selected formulas and cross-sheet references in that sample and reopened the output in GridCraft. It did not open the output in Microsoft Excel. That missing recipient step is the most important limit for anyone who has to deliver an editable spreadsheet to an Excel user.
| Your workbook depends on | My recommendation | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A small local table with ordinary formulas | Try → GridCraft on a duplicate. | The named test offers a starting point, though your formulas may differ. |
| A client or teammate editing the delivered XLSX in Excel | Open the exported copy in that person's Excel before switching your workflow. | Our GridCraft test did not cover Excel as the receiving app. |
| VBA macros or an Excel add-in | Stay with the established Excel workflow for that dependency. | Microsoft distinguishes macro-enabled .xlsm from .xlsx; we have no GridCraft macro-execution result. |
| Charts, print layout, external links or a shared Microsoft 365 file | Test each feature your team actually uses. | A correct cell value does not prove the chart, layout, link or collaboration behavior survived. |
A quick handoff rehearsal
Duplicate a permitted workbook. Include one formula whose answer you know, a cross-sheet reference, a formatted cell and a chart if your real work uses one. Change one input in GridCraft, save under a new .xlsx filename, close it and reopen it there. Then open that exported file in the recipient's Excel version. Record repair warnings, recalculated values, font or chart differences, and whether the colleague can make the next edit. If the work uses VBA, test the actual .xlsm workflow separately; turning it into .xlsx cannot preserve VBA macros under Microsoft's format rules ↗.
There is no single “compatible with Excel” score here. The named XLSX test reports the steps this site completed; Excel reopening remains unverified. The GridCraft app guide covers the product itself, while Office alternatives helps decide whether you need WordCraft, GridCraft or DeckCraft at all.
Evidence reviewed 2026-10-29: GridCraft repository ↗, our limited XLSX sample and Microsoft's macro format guidance ↗.