Spreadsheets are computer programs whose primary purpose is to store and process data in the form of a matrix that has a rectangular shape. The main use of electronic spreadsheets is for various manual records and small data processing such as "what-if" analysis or scenario analysis. They are very often used as an auxiliary tool in accounting because they are organized in a similar way to traditional accounting documentation, and they allow for quick and easy insight into the state of business books and various auxiliary records.

Strictly speaking, electronic spreadsheets are not statistical packages, although they are often used for these purposes. Data is stored in the form of tables that are linked to workbooks. A table is a rectangular set of data on which it is possible to carry out predefined actions. Modern electronic spreadsheets also have macro languages ​​​​with which it is possible to create small programs. There are entire applications written in these script languages ​​​​that look and function as independent programs, and use the electronic spreadsheet as a medium for storing and manipulating data and solving technical problems related to creating standalone applications.

The most famous spreadsheet is Microsoft Excel, and there are also open-source alternatives to it.

Microsoft Excel

Today, Microsoft Excel is primarily distributed through the cloud-based Microsoft 365 subscription model, which includes tiered pricing for students, personal users, and enterprise volume licensing, alongside a free web-based version.

The advantages of using Microsoft Excel in statistics are its ubiquity on every computer with a Windows operating system, its pleasant user interface, and its excellent quality for basic descriptive statistics and graphs. However, it is relatively expensive compared to other solutions and is not sufficient for anything other than basic statistical analysis.

For more serious statistical analysis, add-ins are used that are programmed for specific purposes. There are many partial add-ins that perform individual statistical techniques, as well as more comprehensive add-ins that implement a whole set of statistical techniques and methods, similar to professional statistical packages.

XLSTAT is the most famous add-in for Microsoft Excel, which allows you to perform numerous statistical analyses. The license price for students is $50, for academic researchers $165, and for others $275, which makes it attractive compared to many other statistical programs, including SPSS, SAS, and similar license packages.

In the basic version, XLStat offers:

  • data preparation - ranking, coding, variable transformation, creation of contingency tables, etc.
  • descriptive statistics - correlation, quantiles, box plots and scatter plots, normality tests, pivot tables, etc.
  • data analysis - PCA, factor analysis, cluster analysis, etc.
  • data visualization through various types of diagrams
  • data modeling - ANOVA, MANOVA, discriminant analysis, ANCOVA, regression (linear, logistic binary, ordinal, multinomial, nonlinear, etc.)
  • correlation analysis
  • parametric and nonparametric tests, etc.

XLSTAT allows exporting diagrams to various graphic formats, data and menu management.

In addition, there are various specialized variants that, in addition to the basic ones, also offer analyses specific to the selected area:

  • marketing - sensory analysis, conjoint analysis, Monte Carlo simulations, modeling trajectories
  • forecasting - time series analysis, Monte Carlo simulations
  • biomedicine - power analysis, survival analysis, method validation, OMICS data analysis, dose effect analysis
  • ecology - survival analysis, OMICS data analysis, multiblock data analysis, dose effect analysis
  • psychology - multiblock data analysis, trajectory modeling
  • quality management - statistical process control, power analysis, Monte Carlo simulations, experimental design.

OpenOffice Calc and LibreOffice Calc

OpenOffice Calc and LibreOffice Calc are free software packages developed by OpenOffice.org and The Document Foundation, which spun off from the OpenOffice.org community in 2010.

They are very similar to Excel, and their capabilities are similar: they have a high-quality user interface, are very good for descriptive statistics and graphs, can read various file formats, including Microsoft Excel files, but are insufficient for anything other than basic statistical analysis.

While LibreOffice Calc lacks a direct equivalent to XLSTAT, modern versions feature a built-in Statistics toolset that natively handles intermediate procedures like ANOVA, regression, and parametric testing. Still, some of the program's options lag behind similar options offered by Microsoft Excel in quality, even when it comes to the basic version of the program.