Problem solved by Diff Anything macOSWindows

Compare Excel, ODS, and Numbers workbooks without converting first

Compare workbooks across different spreadsheet formats locally, row by row, including XLSX with ODS or Apple Numbers.

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A focused workflow, on your computer.

No accounts, cloud comparison service, analytics, or telemetry.

Diff Anything 1.3 comparing an XLSX workbook with an ODS workbook in a sheet-aware grid — Diff AnythingCompare stored values directly across formats; this real XLSX ↔ ODS result keeps changed cells and their coordinates visible.

The problem

Why the usual workflow gets in the way.

A workbook can move between Excel, LibreOffice, and Apple Numbers during a handoff or migration. Converting both files to one format adds another transformation and a line diff exposes container noise instead of answering whether the stored data changed.

The solution

How Diff Anything handles it.

Diff Anything pairs sheets by name and compares rows by their stored values across XLS/XLA, XLSX/XLSM/XLAM, XLSB, ODS, and Apple Numbers workbooks. The two formats can differ. Rows are matched by content or by key columns, and each changed row names its changed cells, while the files remain on the computer.

Spreadsheet walkthrough

See a complete workbook review

Start with two Excel versions of a budget to learn the cell grid, sheet navigation, and review workflow before comparing other formats.

Read the Excel comparison example

01 / Cross-format comparison

Use any supported format pair

Compare Excel (XLS, XLSX, XLSM, XLSB, and their templates), OpenDocument (ODS), and Apple Numbers workbooks in any pairing, such as XLSX against ODS or Numbers against XLSX. A CSV or TSV export can be compared with one sheet of a workbook too: the first sheet by default, or the one you choose under Compare with sheet.

Sheets, rows, and stored values provide the shared model, so unrelated workbook container structures do not become the result.

02 / Cross-format comparison

Review stored values in context

Choose a sheet and scan matched rows side by side with their row number in each workbook. Rows are matched by their content, so an inserted row is one added row and the rows after it still match.

When rows were sorted differently, choose an ID column under Match rows by, or type several under Key columns. Rows with the same key are then compared wherever they are.

03 / Cross-format comparison

Keep the comparison boundary explicit

Across formats, Diff Anything compares stored cell values. Formulas are compared only between two workbooks of the same format, so they are not part of a cross-format result. Formatting, charts, macros, and workbook layout are not compared.

A clean value comparison is useful evidence for a data handoff, but it does not prove that calculation logic, styling, automation, print setup, or editing behavior survived the format change.

Clear answers

Common questions about compare spreadsheets in different formats.

Can I compare an XLSX file directly with ODS or Apple Numbers?

Yes. Diff Anything supports mixed-format workbook pairs, pairs their sheets by name, and compares their rows by stored values. A Numbers file shows each table under its own name, “Table 1” unless you renamed it. Before you compare a Numbers file with an Excel or ODS copy, give the table in Numbers the same name as the other file's sheet; otherwise its rows show as removed and added.

Can I compare a CSV export with the original workbook?

Yes. Open the CSV or TSV file on one side and the workbook on the other, and they are compared by cell values in PDF / Office mode. The first sheet is used by default; choose another under Compare with sheet. Values are compared as stored text, so 20 and 20.0 or two spellings of the same date count as different.

Does a clean result mean the workbooks are identical?

No. It means the compared stored cell values are equivalent under this mode. Across formats, formulas are not compared, and formatting, charts, macros, and workbook layout are never compared.

Is spreadsheet comparison private?

Yes. The files are extracted and compared locally; Diff Anything has no account, cloud comparison service, analytics, or telemetry.

Three short steps

Compare the data without inventing a conversion step.

01
Open any two supported workbooks.
02
Choose a sheet, and a key column if the rows were re-sorted.
03
Review changed rows and verify excluded workbook properties separately when they matter.

Available for macOS and Windows

Solve it with Diff Anything.