Capability overview
How can I use cross-format spreadsheet comparison in Diff Anything?
Compare stored cell values by sheet and coordinate across Excel (XLS, XLA, XLT, XLSX, XLSM, XLTX, XLTM, XLAM, and XLSB), OpenDocument (ODS and OTS), and Apple Numbers workbooks—even when the two formats differ. Open a CSV or TSV file beside a workbook to check an export against the sheet it came from: the first sheet is used by default, and Compare with sheet picks another. The sheet-aware grid links changed cells to the Differences pane and virtualizes populated rows and columns. Formulas, formatting, charts, macros, and workbook layout are not compared.
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Stored values
What a stored cell value is, and why it matters
Spreadsheet files normally save the result of each formula next to the formula itself. Diff Anything reads those saved results. A cell that holds 1250 is compared as 1250 whether it was typed in or calculated, and two workbooks that reach the same totals with different formulas compare as equal.
That makes the comparison useful when a file has passed through another program. A budget saved from Excel to ODS, a Numbers sheet exported for a colleague on Windows, or an XLSB report rebuilt as XLSX can be checked cell by cell without opening either application and without converting anything first.
Because cell values go through the text comparison, the Ignore menu applies to them. Turn on Ignore case or Ignore whitespace when two exports differ only in capitalisation or stray spaces.
Table and text views
Reading the result in Table or Values as text
Workbooks open in PDF / Office mode and start in the Table view. Use the Sheet menu to switch sheets. A badge shows the two formats being compared, for example XLSX ↔ ODS, and the header counts the populated rows and columns. Selecting a difference scrolls the grid to that cell and shows its address, such as Selected: Budget!C14.
Values as text lists each sheet as lines like C14=1250. It is the quickest way to search for a value or to read a long run of changes in order.
Only populated cells take up space. A sheet with data in A1 and in row 500 shows just those rows, and the grid does not fill with empty cells. A value that was cleared on one side is listed as removed, and a newly filled cell as added.
Matching and limits
Cells are paired by sheet and address
Each cell is compared with the cell at the same address on the other side. If a row was inserted near the top of one workbook, every cell below it has a new address, and those cells show as changed. Sheets are read in the order the workbook stores them, so moving a sheet to another position shows its cells as removed in one place and added in another.
Only values are compared. Formula text, number formats, fonts, colours, charts, macros, and layout are left out, and the result says so in a notice above the grid. Open the original application when one of those is what you need to check. A CSV or TSV export can be paired with a workbook: it is compared with the first sheet, or with the sheet you choose under Compare with sheet, and values are matched as stored text, so 20 and 20.0 count as different.
Free and Pro
Workbook size and what Pro adds
The free plan shows the complete workbook result for files up to 5 MB per side, within 10 new comparison sessions per day. Pro opens larger workbooks and adds HTML, JSON, or Markdown reports of the changed cells, comparison history, and saved profiles for workbooks you check again every month.
A saved profile keeps the two file locations and your review marks. When next month's version replaces the file at the same path, opening the profile compares it against the other side straight away.
In the workflow
How to use it
Open both workbooks
Choose any pair of XLS, XLSX, XLSB, ODS, or Numbers files, or a CSV export and its workbook. The formats do not have to match.
Pick a sheet
Use the Sheet menu in the Table view. Changed cells are highlighted on both sides.
Step through the cells
Press F8 and F7, or click entries in the Differences pane, to jump from cell to cell.
Record the outcome
Mark each cell Reviewed or add a note. With Pro, export the list for whoever sent the file.
Useful in practice
When to use it
Related manual
Compare folders, spreadsheets, documents, and images
Review cross-format spreadsheet values, release trees, documents, and visual assets with purpose-built navigation, safety checks, and rollback.
Read the guideDirect answers
Questions about cross-format spreadsheet comparison.
If I change a formula but its result stays the same, is it reported?
No. The saved result is compared, not the formula, so the cell compares as equal.
I inserted a row and now most of the sheet is marked as changed. Why?
Cells are paired by address. After an inserted row, every cell below it moves down one row. Delete the extra row in a copy, or read the change in Values as text.
Do I need Excel or Numbers installed?
No. Diff Anything reads the workbook files itself on Mac and Windows.
Can I compare a Google Sheets spreadsheet?
Download it as XLSX or ODS first. Diff Anything compares workbook files on your computer.
Free & Pro: what’s included
Available on the Mac App Store and Microsoft Store. Free desktop use lets you try every comparison engine for files up to 5 MiB per side and 10 new comparison sessions per local day; collection previews show the first 100 items and PDF previews show the first 3 pages. The free CLI supports text and JSON. A one-time Pro purchase removes the preview and session limits and unlocks larger sources within technical limits, saved profiles and history, report export, three-way merge, folder synchronization, batch manifests, trusted preprocessors, and every CLI mode.