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Accounting · head to head

Microsoft Excel vs Modern Treasury

Microsoft Excel logo

Microsoft Excel

Accounting

Spreadsheet software for data analysis and visualization

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Modern Treasury logo

Modern Treasury

Accounting

Payment operations and ledger infrastructure that sits between your product and your own bank accounts

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Microsoft Excel has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Microsoft Excel free tier limited to 5 GB cloud storage and web-only access; Modern Treasury you must already have or be able to obtain your own bank accounts with the right connectivity, so early stage companies without a banking relationship cannot use it and are pushed towards a sponsor bank model instead.
  • They diverge on capability: Microsoft Excel covers Advanced formulas, Modern Treasury covers Multi-rail payment initiation.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Microsoft Excel and Modern Treasury actually diverge.

Attributes where Microsoft Excel and Modern Treasury differ
AttributeMicrosoft ExcelModern Treasury
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelfreemiumquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWindows, Macos, Web, Ios, AndroidWeb
Founded1975Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Accounting).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Microsoft Excel

  • Advanced formulas
  • Pivot tables
  • Data visualization
  • Charts and graphs
  • Conditional formatting
  • Data analysis tools
  • Macro automation
  • Collaboration features

Only in Modern Treasury

  • Multi-rail payment initiation
  • Bank connectivity
  • Ledgers
  • Automatic reconciliation
  • Approval workflows
  • Virtual accounts
  • Compliance tooling
  • Return and exception handling

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Microsoft Excel

  • Financial modelingnot Modern Treasury
  • Data analysisnot Modern Treasury
  • Budget planningnot Modern Treasury
  • Reportingnot Modern Treasury
  • Business intelligencenot Modern Treasury
  • Statistical analysisnot Modern Treasury

Modern Treasury

  • A marketplace paying out to thousands of sellers that needs a ledger its application can trust rather than reconciling a payments dashboard by handnot Microsoft Excel
  • A lender originating and servicing loans that must track disbursements, repayments and returns against its own bank accountsnot Microsoft Excel
  • A company that wants to move off a banking as a service provider and hold its own bank accounts after seeing sponsor banks offboard fintech programmesnot Microsoft Excel
  • An insurer handling premium collection and claims payment across several rails with approval controls and an auditable trailnot Microsoft Excel

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Microsoft Excel

  • Free tier limited to 5 GB cloud storage and web-only access
  • Paid plans have per-user costs increasing significantly with more users
  • AI features like Copilot limited or unavailable on lower-tier plans

Modern Treasury

  • You must already have or be able to obtain your own bank accounts with the right connectivity, so early stage companies without a banking relationship cannot use it and are pushed towards a sponsor bank model instead.
  • Pricing rests on an annual minimum commitment, and companies that miss their volume forecast pay the minimum regardless, which makes the headline per-transaction rate close to irrelevant in year one.
  • Supported bank connectivity is a finite list, so if your bank is not on it you are either waiting for an integration or changing banks, which is a far larger project than adopting the software.
  • It is software over banking, not banking, so it does not solve card issuing, deposit accounts or the licensing questions that a company embedding financial products still has to answer elsewhere.
  • The ledger is genuinely good but adopting it properly means making it the source of truth for balances in your product, which is a significant application change rather than a payments integration and is where implementations run long.

Pricing, plan by plan

Microsoft Excel

Free
  • Microsoft Excel (Free)Free
    • Excel for the web
    • Real-time collaboration
    • 5 GB cloud storage
  • Microsoft 365 Personal$9.99/month
    • Desktop Excel app
    • 1 TB cloud storage
    • Single user on up to 5 devices
  • Microsoft 365 Family$12.99/month
    • 1-6 users (AI features for subscription owner)
    • Up to 6 TB cloud storage (1 TB per person)
    • Each user up to 5 devices
  • Microsoft 365 Premium$19.99/month
    • 1-6 users
    • Extensive Copilot feature access
    • Exclusive advanced AI capabilities

Modern Treasury

On request
  • Modern Treasury Platform$undefined/year
    • Platform access fee covering API, dashboard, infrastructure and support
    • Usage-based fees across ACH, wires, RTP, FedNow, push to card, cheques and stablecoins
    • A single annual minimum commitment that both platform and usage fees count towards

Which should you pick?

Choose Microsoft Excel if

  • You need advanced formulas.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, Macos, Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want pivot tables.
Microsoft Excel review

Choose Modern Treasury if

  • You need multi-rail payment initiation.
  • You also want bank connectivity.
Modern Treasury review

Questions people ask

Is Microsoft Excel or Modern Treasury better?
Neither clearly leads. Microsoft Excel starts at Free and Modern Treasury at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Microsoft Excel or Modern Treasury?
Microsoft Excel has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Microsoft Excel and On request for Modern Treasury.
Does Microsoft Excel or Modern Treasury run on more platforms?
Microsoft Excel runs on Windows, Macos, Web, Ios, Android. Modern Treasury runs on Web.
Can I use Microsoft Excel for free?
Yes. Microsoft Excel has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Modern Treasury starts at On request.
What is Microsoft Excel best used for?
Microsoft Excel is most often used for financial modeling, data analysis, budget planning, reporting. Of those, financial modeling and data analysis are not what Modern Treasury is typically brought in for.
What can Microsoft Excel do that Modern Treasury cannot?
Microsoft Excel covers Advanced formulas, Pivot tables, Data visualization, Charts and graphs. Modern Treasury covers Multi-rail payment initiation, Bank connectivity, Ledgers, Automatic reconciliation.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Microsoft Excel: How much does Microsoft Excel cost?

Microsoft Excel is free as a web app with 5 GB storage. Paid options include Microsoft 365 Personal at $9.99/month for desktop apps and 1 TB storage, Family at $12.99/month for 1-6 users with 6 TB total storage, and Premium at $19.99/month with extended Copilot access.

Source
Modern Treasury: Is Modern Treasury a bank or a banking as a service provider?

Neither. You hold your own bank accounts and it is software over them. That avoids sponsor bank concentration risk but means you need the bank relationship yourself.

Microsoft Excel: Is there a free version of Excel?

Yes, Excel for the web is free and includes sharing, real-time collaboration, and 5 GB cloud storage accessible on web, iOS, and Android without subscription.

Source
Modern Treasury: What does it cost?

Not published. A platform access fee plus usage fees across rails, on an annual term with a single minimum commitment. Negotiate the minimum, not the per-transaction rate.

Microsoft Excel: What is the difference between Microsoft 365 Family and Premium tiers?

Family tier at $12.99/month supports 1-6 users with 6 TB total storage and standard features. Premium tier at $19.99/month allows extensive Copilot feature access and exclusive advanced AI capabilities including image creation and audio generation.

Source
Modern Treasury: Which rails are supported?

ACH, wires, RTP, FedNow, push to card, cheques and stablecoin payments, subject to what your bank supports.

Modern Treasury: Do we still need our own compliance programme?

Yes. KYB, KYC and transaction monitoring are included in the platform, but you are the one holding the accounts and the regulatory obligation sits with you and your bank.

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