15 Best Excel Add-ins in 2026 (AI and Productivity)

An Excel add-in is a program you turn on inside Excel, from File, Options, Add-ins, from Microsoft AppSource, or from the publisher’s installer. Some ship with Excel. Others you install. This list mixes AI and productivity. Elyx is first. If you are looking for a Kutools alternative, the split is the kind of work: Kutools adds commands you click, Elyx applies a task you describe.

1. Elyx

   Elyx is an AI agent add-in for Excel. You describe the task. Elyx applies it in the workbook: formulas, cleanup, pivot tables, charts, and formatting.

   Strengths

   • It works in the file, so the result is not a chat you paste back.
   • One instruction can cover several steps.
   • You can try it for 7 days, with no credit card.

   Limit. There is no permanent free plan. When the 7 days end, Elyx is blocked until you subscribe. Elyx does not run in Google Sheets.

   Price. 7-day trial, no card. Then Plus at €12/month or Pro at €29/month.

   Start the 7-day trialSee Plus and Pro

2. Kutools for Excel

   Kutools for Excel is a Windows add-in from ExtendOffice. It adds a large set of commands for sheets, ranges, and text. You click a command instead of describing the outcome.

   Strengths

   • ExtendOffice publishes more than 300 features.
   • The download page offers a 30-day trial, with no credit card.
   • It is a direct answer if you want a menu of utilities.

   Limit. ExtendOffice says it is not compatible with Mac. After the trial, you need a license. It does not replace an agent you instruct in a sentence. If you want that, Elyx is the alternative on this list.

   Price. 30-day trial, then a paid license.

3. ASAP Utilities

   ASAP Utilities adds tools for text, dates, selection, and sheet operations. The publisher says it runs locally in Excel.

   Strengths

   • The Professional edition has a 90-day trial with full functionality, with no sign-up.
   • A Home and Charity edition is free for personal use and non-commercial charitable use.
   • It works with Microsoft 365 and Excel 2010 to 2024 on Windows.

   Limit. It does not run in Excel for the web, Excel for Mac, Google Sheets, or LibreOffice. Business use needs the paid Professional license after the trial.

   Price. 90-day Professional trial, then a paid license. Home and Charity edition is free for personal use.

4. Ablebits Ultimate Suite

   Ablebits Ultimate Suite is a Windows add-in for duplicates, merges, splits, and text cleanup.

   Strengths

   • The commands sit in desktop Excel.
   • Ablebits publishes a free trial.
   • The license on the vendor page is paid and one-time.

   Limit. It does not run on Mac, and it is not an agent you instruct in a sentence.

   Price. Free trial, then a paid license.

5. Power Query

   Power Query, shown as Get and Transform, imports and shapes data. Excel 2016 or later for Windows, and Microsoft 365, include it on the Data tab.

   Strengths

   • The steps are saved. You refresh them when the source changes.
   • It connects to files, folders, and other sources Excel already supports.
   • It is included. It is not a separate purchase.

   Limit. It prepares data. It does not carry out a written instruction such as “build this monthly report”.

   Price. Included with Excel.

6. Power Pivot

   Power Pivot is the data model in Excel. You relate tables and write measures, then use them in PivotTables.

   Strengths

   • Microsoft includes it in Microsoft 365 desktop Excel for Windows.
   • It is also in several perpetual editions, including Office 2019, Office 2021, and Office 2016 Professional Plus.
   • It is for models that are too large or too related for one flat sheet.

   Limit. Microsoft’s support page says it is not included with Office for Mac. It is a data model, not a plain-language agent.

   Price. Included with the Excel editions Microsoft lists.

7. Solver

   Solver searches for input values that meet constraints, for example a budget that stays under a cap while a total is maximized.

   Strengths

   • It ships with Excel. You turn it on under Excel Add-ins.
   • You set the objective cell, the cells it can change, and the constraints.
   • It is the built-in choice for this kind of optimization.

   Limit. You define the model. Solver does not decide the business question for you.

   Price. Included with Excel.

8. Analysis ToolPak

   The Analysis ToolPak runs statistical and engineering tools such as descriptive statistics, histograms, regression, and ANOVA. Results land in an output table. Some tools also draw a chart.

   Strengths

   • Microsoft documents it for Excel on Windows and on Mac.
   • You turn it on under Excel Add-ins, then use Data Analysis on the Data tab.
   • It is included.

   Limit. Each run uses one worksheet. It does not clean a messy export or write a narrative report.

   Price. Included with Excel.

9. Spreadsheet Inquire

   Inquire analyzes a workbook: relationships between cells, links to other workbooks, and a comparison of two files.

   Strengths

   • You turn it on under COM Add-ins. An Inquire tab then appears.
   • Workbook Analysis and Compare Files are the main commands.
   • It is included with the editions that have it. It is not a separate store purchase.

   Limit. Microsoft says it is available in Excel for Windows with Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise and equivalent editions, such as Office Professional Plus. It is not in Home or Personal. It inspects the file. It does not run a plain-language task.

   Price. Included with the enterprise editions Microsoft lists.

10. Fuzzy Lookup Add-In

    The Fuzzy Lookup Add-In from Microsoft Research matches text that is close but not identical, inside one table or between two tables. It returns a similarity score.

    Strengths

    • The download from Microsoft is free.
    • It helps when names or addresses are spelled differently.
    • You install it, then use the Fuzzy Lookup tab.

    Limit. The Microsoft download page lists Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016 on Windows as the requirement. It is a matching tool, not an agent.

    Price. Free download from Microsoft.

11. Microsoft Copilot in Excel

    Copilot in Excel is Microsoft’s assistant in the workbook. On an eligible license, you can ask it to generate formulas, create charts and PivotTables, and change the sheet.

    Strengths

    • It is built in when the license includes it.
    • It can edit the workbook.
    • It is the Microsoft option if you already pay for an eligible plan.

    Limit. Without an eligible Microsoft 365 or Copilot license, the button is not there. A work account also depends on the organization’s settings.

    Price. Included with an eligible Microsoft 365 or Copilot license. The amount depends on the plan.

12. Claude for Excel

    Claude for Excel is Anthropic’s add-in. It can answer questions about the open workbook and edit it, including formulas, on the plans and Excel builds Anthropic lists.

    Strengths

    • Anthropic offers it on Claude Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise.
    • It runs in Excel on the web, Excel on Windows with Microsoft 365, and Excel on Mac, on the builds they publish.
    • The work stays in the workbook rather than in a separate chat upload.

    Limit. Anthropic says it does not run on Excel 2016 or 2019 perpetual licenses, or on Excel for Android. You still review the changes.

    Price. Included with Claude Pro, Max, Team, or Enterprise. The amount is the Claude plan.

13. ChatGPT in Excel

    ChatGPT can analyze a spreadsheet you upload. OpenAI also offers ChatGPT in a sidebar inside Excel and Google Sheets.

    Strengths

    • Spreadsheet upload and data analysis are on the free plan, with limits.
    • The sidebar can answer questions about the open file and apply updates.
    • Paid plans raise the usage limits.

    Limit. Spreadsheet chats stay separate from your main ChatGPT history. Review every change. It is still a general chatbot with an Excel door, not a workbook-only agent.

    Price. Free offer and paid plans.

14. Ajelix

    Ajelix generates and explains formulas and VBA from a sidebar in Excel, including an install from Microsoft AppSource.

    Strengths

    • It is installed as an Excel add-in.
    • It explains the formula or the script it returns.
    • A free offer is enough to try the generator.

    Limit. Heavy use of the generators requires a paid plan. It is aimed at formulas and scripts.

    Price. Free offer and paid plans.

15. 3D Maps

    3D Maps, formerly Power Map, plots geographic data on a map from columns already in the sheet. You open it from the Insert tab when your Excel version includes the command.

    Strengths

    • It uses the table you already have.
    • It is part of Excel, not a third-party install, when the command is present.
    • It is the built-in choice for a geographic view.

    Limit. It maps locations. It does not clean a sheet or write a report from a sentence. If the command is missing, your Excel version does not include it.

    Price. Included when your Excel version has the 3D Map command.

Summary

Questions

Go further

• The 10 best AI tools for Excel in 2026
• 7 ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude alternatives for Excel in 2026
• How to add add-ins in Excel
• Elyx, the Excel AI add-in