Google Sheets Reviews

by Omg Piano

Found a fix: use Sheet in Safari instead of GoogleSheets :) Honestly just going to delete GoogleSheets at this point.

I can’t switch cells at all (tab, enter, even clicking on it) and be able to type at all in the new cell. It just ignores any keyboard inputs after moving to a new cell (arrow keys to move and any sort of typing). Would definitely not recommend using GoogleSheets if you need to have something open while editing a spreadsheet. I have to have my catalogs open on a separate machine just to edit the spreadsheets without clicking multiple times every time I need to move to a new cell. None of the fixes I’ve seen online have worked, and most just talk about how an update was scheduled to fix it, but that was more than half a year ago and it still doesn’t work with fully updated apps and iOS.

by Snorkfire

Is it really just me that sees a dog slow app? I copied this review’s title from my departing comment within my effort to create a stock tracking spreadsheet. In what turned out to be my second effort at exploring using Sheets I found enormous difficulty overcoming the very long hang times and delays, so left that comment to myself to remind me in case I ever try it again.
Add to that the fact that the stock query is missing a dividend/yield function on stocks, and we have arrived at the bizarre. That’s quite a miss. And add to that the inability to query a closing price on a date without forcing an 5 cell array construct and we have a mess. Apple does this in one cell with one date reference, folks.
Well, I hate the long hanging “Calculating” times in the Numbers app, but Sheets is little better there for letting me edit while it thinks, and quite a bit more limited in overall dogginess and limitations.
Disappointed.

by Hunt.tr04

I use google sheets for experiments as i am a freshman, i bring my iPad to school almost always, its my computer substitute, when its lab day and we to graph the information, i dread as GoogleSheets is useless, i cannot edit a graph to add a trend line, and googles “helpful”advice is to use the web version, funny enough you cannot access the web version without a work around in ios that takes 3 minutes, thats safari, not chrome, it is impossible on chrome, after opening the web version, it tries to make you use GoogleSheets , and constantly giving you a pop off that its not supported, and not able to format. it becomes slow and laggy as well. My advice to google is to not advertise an app that doesn't have some of the simplest features such as adding an equation or a trend line to a graph. And don't have a help center filled with incorrect information

by Bnieco

UPDATE: I think it’s actually gotten worse. But what makes it ridiculously frustrating is that logging into the URL for sheets in a browser forces me to GoogleSheets . Why would you want to force people to use such a horrible experience? I know the experience in the safari on ipad isn’t ideal but it’s exponentially better than the iOS Sheets app.

Original review:
I can’t imagine why anyone would review this positively unless maybe they’ve never used any spreadsheet program. Ever. Maybe not even a calculator. Excel at least feels like they know iPad exists. Sheets acts like all we want to do is view an occasional sheet from others. Menu bar disappears every time I edit a cell then reappears when I hit enter. Formatting options are hard to find. Entering formulas is dramatically different from the web app on PC or Mac. Ugh, I grow tired just thinking of typing out all the horrible this thing contains. Maybe people think it’s got a retro vibe..... 1985 retro...

by Twoarmscollin

I can use command-a to select all of the text in a cell, but I cannot use command-i to make text italic. I cannot select and edit text within a cell, only in the bar on the bottom, thus making it incredibly inefficient. For someone doing qualitative research without access to Nvivo, spreadsheets are an important tool. While sheets on laptops and desktops is a viable rival for excel, and google’s ability for teams to simultaneously edit sheets is unchallenged, the mobile app makes it nearly impossible for me to get my work accomplished using my tablet with keyboard attachment. Why lug around my laptop when I can bring my brand new tablet that handles everything else so well? Google - get the functionality of GoogleSheets on par with the sheets browser experience. Do not recommend using GoogleSheets for mobile. Stick to the browser, or use a different program entirely.

by Darklink99

Google Sheets and other programs like it are flexible, able to be used for multiple purpose across many different fields. As such Google Sheets for IPAD may work fine for you but for my job and how I use it I spend more time hitting roadblocks and having to open my computer to accomplish tasks than I should. It leads to the essential question of why even have an app if it will be missing so many core features and have many more that are broken or flawed. The most recent examples include freezing vertical columns doing the opposite of the intended function, the complete lack of in cell text formatting, the lack of advanced sorting features and the inability to open two windows of google sheets at the same time. These are just the broken or missing features that have interrupted my workflow today, I am sure that more will occur in the future. With an app this unfinished I would look to Excel or Apple’s Numbers as alternatives if my work didn’t rely on GSuite for the sharing functionality. If the only reason a user continues to use an app is being locked into the ecosystem, it is not a good app. If you are able avoid Google Sheets and all other Google apps to avoid getting trapped in their ecosystem, especially if you plan to try and use your IPAD as a main work device.

by Ryker X Gevaarlijk

My work uses sheets for all documentation and I WISH i could finally start using the iOS app for full functionality, but i can’t because of one issue that is not possible on iOS. For some of my work I use Cells for note taking, so seeing that i input a larg quantity of characters, I make edits all the time throughout the week. With the application, editing the cells shows a very small portion of whats in the cells. If i have 2 paragraphs of info in a cell, it takes FOREVER to “scroll” to the section i need to edit. This has completely turned me off of using the iOS application for any work input, only for viewing. The newest update got me excited, but then killed my excitement haha. Now when a cell is selected, there’s a pop up of the contents to view but only to view, to edit the cell, it goes back to the original way of editing. If there was a way to edit the contents within the pop up view of the contents, that would change everything. Please think about it!

by Seksay1

Great app, but..
1. I don’t like the new button you have to tap before you can start typing in a new cell. Previously, you could go to a new cell and just start typing. Not anymore.. well, you could, and I do it all the time, but, your time will be wasted because you didn’t tap the new edit button that is now a required step every time you go to a new cell.

2. GoogleSheets reloads just about every time I come back to it. This may be a RAM management issue with the phone but I am using the 12 pro max and this is the only app this happens with in my experience. This wouldn’t normally be a big deal for me but it slows me down when I have to wait for it to reload, tap the sheet I was working in, and find my place within that sheet. This, all while I’m working against the clock, and trying to enter information as we go along. I would use something else but my customer uses this for their documentation.

by Cristyjewelry

I try to go as mobile as possible, because opening up a computer all the time sometimes is just too much of a hassle or takes way too much time for something that should be done so quickly, such as signing up for a meeting time. Whenever I try to edit a spreadsheet for something like signing up, there’s always an annoying pop-up that says I need to download GoogleSheets in order to edit at all. And even when I already have it downloaded, I still have to press the only “accept” button on that pop-up, which says “get GoogleSheets ”. It takes me back to GoogleSheets store, where I then have to press “open”, and opens up to the Google Sheets app, but the sheets I would be trying to edit wouldn’t automatically come up. Checking the “Shared with Me” tab doesn’t do anything, trying the process over again doesn’t do anything, and nor does completely closing GoogleSheets Store or Google Sheets app then starting the process over again do anything. This practically makes the Sheets app useless for me, because this is pretty much the only reason I need it. When using Sheets, I’m usually just trying to open someone else’s Sheets page, which they linked somewhere, and edit it rather than creating one myself.

by Singoffpitch

I love everything about GoogleSheets except that it lacks the ability to access some of the settings that are available in the online version. I like to set cells to change color or configure running data based on what is entered and I can't adjust those settings in existing spreadsheets or add parameters to new sheets from the mobile app. Otherwise, I can do pretty much everything in GoogleSheets I can do on the computer (and many things are easier from GoogleSheets , which is why I'd really like full features available since I prefer using sheets from GoogleSheets !!) and I'm a Google Sheets addict and president of the Sheets fan club! I've never had any problems with GoogleSheets or lost data and it even saves my data automatically when I click out of GoogleSheets without clicking the checkmark to save! Love Google Sheets!! 😁

by Meu Nickname

The features are great for my usage (stock portfolio track), it feels easier and more intuitive than excel. But the usage experience for me is still not there yet. The touch interface/dynamics still feels like a low quality app. It would only pan either horizontally or vertically and not both at the same time. When one cell is selected I’m not able to change to other sheet pages (excel and numbers managed to do it without any problem). It feels underdeveloped when compared to apple numbers usability. When I’m checking my sheets on the iPhone the actual area is so small compared to the other two apps also. It has a a great potential, in my opinion it just needs some fine tuning for touch versions. Desktop browser version works perfectly.

by Tewithersaiyan

GoogleSheets suffers from the same problems afflicting other google apps on the mobile/tablet platform: not all of the original functions are available. I am a student who uses a 2020 iPad Pro, and the other day I ran into a problem on sheets when I discovered that I was unable to do very basic things such as create a function for data I’d input, or switch the values on the x and y axis of a graph. Overall, it’s a very polished and functional app, but it is brought down by the fact that in the very least there is no iPad version of GoogleSheets with all the functions the PC version has. Would be 5 stars if not for this problem. Other apps, like Google Docs, have a similar problem.

by Jspowers21

For a mobile app it works ok. A lot more functional on my computer and iPad than my iPhone X. As powerful as my cell phone is, I expect a bit more. Make all the functions available. I use this primarily for my monthly budget and it is difficult to change the functions of a box when all you can do it add numbers and not enter more complex calculations for each box. That is my only complaint besides the usual crashing and instability issues. It could flow a little easier and have the calculations as a ready part of setting up the spreadsheet instead of reinventing the wheel so to speak. Make it intuitive so people with out an mba can manage their budget by setting this up for themselves. I have done this for many people and my hope is that they follow through with it, but if I’m having a difficult time, I imagine others that just use my template, probably just give up if they can’t make easy changes with the mobile version because it never dawns on them to go back to the computer to make them.

by EDAAmanda

Over all, it’s a really good app. It’s very convenient to have access to my spreadsheets on my phone, but I really wish GoogleSheets had the same functionality with setting up equations as the desktop version does. It’s really annoying to have to enter my equation into each individual field and mark that I’m done before being able to move onto the next one. I’d like to be able to enter one, then click the corner and drag it into any additional fields I need.

I am also displeased they took away requiring a passcode to enter GoogleSheets . I have things in there I don’t want my daughter to see and she uses my phone sometimes. If it’s passcode protected, then I don’t have to worry.

by BryanE63

Love GoogleSheets!!
Very convenient and I can access it on any device!! I have had past experiences where I had other apps for a while and without any warning at all from the Developer, GoogleSheets was no longer available or was not compatible with the newest software so this left me High and Dry!! Very frustrating when you have to re-do all the information over again and find the info from many different places!! So the only advice I can give to the Developer of the Apps is to please let the people know when your no longer going to have GoogleSheets available for us to retrieve our information so we can at least store it somewhere else so it’s not completely lost and we have to start everything over.

by Archer Of Nor

I’m a bar manager and I use Google Sheets almost daily. I use it to do all of my liquor and beer orders (color coded, and some really nifty conditional formatting too). It makes all of my reps very happy with how organized it is! I also use it to do inventory on 3 bars and a huge storage area, profit margin sheets, employee phone lists etc... it’s incredibly useful to be able to pull up any information I need, immediately, on my phone.
I used to do everything on Excel; printing all the pages out, writing all the counts down, going back into Excel to enter all the counts... Sheets let’s me do everything on my phone or iPad and autosums as I go. Not only does Sheets keep me nice and organized, it also makes orders and inventory go SO much faster.

by USABlake

This and sheets on the computer browser will frustrate some people a bit if they are used to Excel. But I find sheets and drive to be light years ahead of whatever Microsoft is cooking up to compete. I can’t live without mobile access to my spreadsheets anymore. And holy crap, collaboration will never be the same. Microsoft has nothing on google. I cringe when people share an xls spreadsheet back and forth. Lol. Especially when it’s shared through google drive. Seriously saw that. Wow. Nice try, but you missed the fact that there is a better way. And so, so much easier. And you can actually work together instead of checking to see if the other person has it opened and not saved.

by GoodOldMonkey

GoogleSheets has amazing capabilities, and a few silly defects.

+ You can share full-featured spreadsheets in real time. On my iPhone I can correct data right next to the cell my niece is editing on a Windows desktop hundreds of miles away.

+ Really powerful: even on the mobile version you can create SQL-like queries of spreadsheet or external data, and useful charts.

+ Super easy data input from Google forms for repetitive stuff.

- Crashes pretty often.

- Some major browser-version features — edit-triggered routines, for example, and modifying protection — aren’t available on the mobile version.

- Doesn't tell you when it's still busy downloading or calculating. A big spreadsheet can take several minutes to load and calculate, and you may meanwhile jump to some wrong decisions.

- Doesn't keep track of where you were when you reopen a workbook. If you were looking at row 3323 on Sheet Four, navigating back is a non-trivial pain in the tail.

by Itmademerateit105

Free, easy to use, and able to share with others to edit/view. I use it to organize, plan/schedule, and collect information. I cannot speak to its ability to work with quantitative data (ie. numbers, graphs, stats, etc), which I mention only b/c I know some will seek GoogleSheets to do just that. I used Excel in college when working with large data sets; I didn’t know about Sheets back then. If you are looking for a FREE & easy to use tool to help you get organized and structured in your day to day activities, whether that’s managing your home, your business, your ministry, or your social media platform, etc., you’ll enjoy & appreciate GoogleSheets. It’s also great to use as an archive where you can collect resources, contact info, etc.

by Babu Sath

Google sheets my excel for private use. It is very reliable and works well. Especially for using from multiple devices from multiple locations.
From a functionality perspective one thing puts Google Sheets above excel is its support for Unicode making it work well for non-English data.
Once disappointment to date has been that it is either matching or lagging Microsoft Excel mostly. I say this without claiming to be an expert who has used its entire functionality, so take that with a pinch of salt.
I would like to see Google team taking us in to a new world of functionality and capability - for example, seamless working between documents, databases, multimedia, and presentations.
I would be glad to talk to Google Office team, if interested.

by Somps

I used to live everything about Google. Now, because of the way you hey are treating people on the political spectrum, I don’t trust them. It’s hard to beat “free” and that’s how the snare is, but it does have some cool features. If u know how to use JavaScript, it will allow u to create some pretty good sheets. Like I said, just know that they capture all of your data and pray they don’t abuse it too much. I do find it a bit slow when I am trying to update a sheet from my iPhone when it’s an auto fill cell. For example, I have a cell with a drop down and one of the choices in the drop down is “yes” and after choosing it, it is supposed to fill the next cell with the time & date, and it does but it can take up to 30 seconds. You are wondering if it is working on it or not until it finally populates the cell. Some of that could be on the iPhone update but I think that it was happening before the iPhone update as well.

by Jp430f1

For a mobile app it works ok. A lot more functional on my computer and iPad than my iPhone X. As powerful as my cell phone is, I expect a bit more. Make all the functions available. I use this primarily for my monthly budget and it is difficult to change the functions of a box when all you can do it add numbers and not enter more complex calculations for each box. That is my only complaint besides the usual crashing and instability issues. It could flow a little easier and have the calculations as a ready part of setting up the spreadsheet instead of reinventing the wheel so to speak. Make it intuitive so people with out an mba can manage their budget by setting this up for themselves. I have done this for many people and my hope is that they follow through with it, but if I’m having a difficult time, I imagine others that just use my template, probably just give up if they can’t make easy changes with the mobile version because it never dawns on them to go back to the computer to make them.

by MikeLMA

Adjusted column size (which never really worked right), but this time the blue line indicating the new column persisted while I did further edits. Saved, exited, reopened. Spreadsheet empty — Two months of work is gone. Scary. Data can’t be duplicated. I thought we were past the old PC trick of continuously needing to make copies to protect the data.

With other spreadsheets I have lost my work when the device failed, which is why I switched to the “Google Sheets” distributed spreadsheet, but I never lost all my work because of bugs in the spreadsheet - now I have. Googles casual view of data loss means I need to go back to a real spreadsheet, and find another method to view from multiple devices.

by Lobo325

Needed an excel spreadsheet app and this is by far the better option at the moment. Unlike the other excel apps that you need to fork over money and yet have compatibility issues between the printer or even while using it, this one is quick and easy between devices. I use this for my clients for setting up their weekly workout schedule and emailing it without any hassle like crashing. Recently started using it for making “range-table” cards for F-Class long distance shooting at the range. Overall, I’m very pleased with the functionality. The only downside is that I wish I gotten GoogleSheets sooner and had saved the money on the other mediocre version.

by Ltshep

Google drive is already my go-to for documents and spreadsheets (I don’t really use slideshows, but if I ever need to, it’s the default for me there too).
I don’t edit my sheets too often on mobile, as it’s simply much easier to use the desktop site, but it’s great for viewing. The desktop site has it’s issues. Merged cells are impossible to move accurately in any direction but upward, zooming makes lines appear between and within cells that only disappear once reloaded, or zoomed back to 100%, but reappear upon scrolling. But, those aren’t present on GoogleSheets .
The only complaint I have for GoogleSheets is the ease of use, but a mouse and keyboard will always be easier to use than just a touch-screen.