Copilot in Excel has quietly become the demo AI users actually keep. Ask it to explain a formula, clean a column of dates, or draft a pivot from a raw table, and it does the boring work in seconds. Most of that capability now runs on Android too, not just on a laptop. If your day involves budgets, inventory, or campaign trackers on a phone, one of the seven best AI spreadsheet apps below saves the tap-heavy work.
We compared each on how well it handles formulas from a natural-language prompt, how safely it treats the data you upload, and how many free requests you actually get before the paywall.
What to look for in an AI spreadsheet app
- Natural-language formulas. “Sum sales where region is EMEA and quarter is Q3” should produce a working SUMIFS in one shot.
- Data cleanup. Names, dates, addresses, and inconsistent capitalisation should tidy on request.
- Chart and pivot generation. The right answer to “show me trend by month” is a chart, not a paragraph.
- Offline behaviour. Some tools need cloud round-trips; others do simple lookups locally.
- Data policy. Ask whether your rows are used to train models. Enterprise tiers usually opt you out; free tiers often do not.
- Real Android UI. Some “spreadsheet AI” apps are wrappers around a chat window. That is worse than the desktop equivalent on a phone.
Quick comparison
| App | Best for | Free plan | Starting price/mo | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Excel | Formula and pivot help via Copilot | Basic view/edit, no Copilot | Copilot Pro adds AI in Excel | 4.7 |
| Google Sheets | Sheets with Gemini side panel | Sheets free; Gemini limited free | Gemini for Google Workspace adds full AI | 4.4 |
| Microsoft 365 Copilot | Cross-app assistant with Excel access | Trial | Copilot Pro subscription | 4.4 |
| Google Gemini | General AI that reads a sheet you share | Full app, limited long context | Gemini Advanced subscription | 4.5 |
| Rows | AI-native spreadsheet with data connectors | Free tier + Rows AI credits | Rows Plus subscription | 4.5 |
| Formula Bot | Formula translator + data automation | Limited free requests | Modest monthly subscription | 4.4 |
| Numerous.ai | Excel/Sheets side-panel AI helper | Limited free daily calls | Modest monthly subscription | 4.4 |
The apps
1. Microsoft Excel with Copilot — Best for full spreadsheet AI on Android
Microsoft Excel on Android is a proper spreadsheet, and with a Copilot Pro subscription the AI panel is available on the phone too. Ask “highlight rows where cost is above budget”, “explain what this formula does”, or “add a column with 30-day rolling average” and it writes the formula and applies it. Copilot works with cell references, understands your table structure, and shows the formula it inserted so you can learn from it.
Where it falls short: Copilot on mobile needs a paid plan. Long complex prompts occasionally get truncated on small screens.
Pricing:
- Free: view/edit
- Paid: Copilot Pro subscription for the AI features
Platforms: Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, Web
Download: Aptoide, Google Play
Bottom line: the strongest AI-in-a-spreadsheet experience on Android if you already live in Excel.
2. Google Sheets with Gemini side panel — Best for Google-native teams
Google Sheets with the Gemini side panel handles the same category of tasks: draft a formula, clean a range, summarise the visible rows, or build a chart. The panel opens from the mobile toolbar for Workspace users on a Gemini plan. Real-time collaboration is still Sheets’ strongest card, and the AI writes directly into cells rather than a chat window.
Where it falls short: the Gemini panel is limited on free Google accounts. Some cleanup tasks that Excel Copilot handles in one shot need two prompts here.
Pricing:
- Free: Sheets always free; Gemini side panel limited
- Paid: Gemini for Google Workspace or Gemini Advanced
Platforms: Android, iOS, Web
Download: Aptoide, Google Play
Bottom line: the pick if your team is on Google Workspace.
3. Microsoft 365 Copilot — Best cross-app assistant
Microsoft 365 Copilot is the dedicated Copilot mobile client. It talks to your Excel workbooks, Word docs, and Outlook mail together, so it can pull a range from a workbook into an email or generate a summary of last quarter’s Excel file. On mobile, natural-language questions about a workbook you have open work well.
Where it falls short: the app is a chat wrapper, not a spreadsheet. You still open Excel to edit cells manually.
Pricing: Copilot Pro subscription.
Platforms: Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, Web
Download: Google Play
Bottom line: best if you already have Copilot Pro and want the assistant on the go.
4. Google Gemini — Best general AI that reads any sheet
Google Gemini is not a spreadsheet, but you can upload a .xlsx or paste a range and ask it to draft formulas, summarise, or find outliers. Long context lets you upload multi-thousand-row tables in one shot. The Android app has a native “attach file” flow, so the workflow is realistic.
Where it falls short: answers go back into the chat, not into your spreadsheet. Copy-paste back into Sheets or Excel is manual.
Pricing:
- Free: solid with limits
- Paid: Gemini Advanced
Platforms: Android, iOS, Web
Download: Google Play
Bottom line: the best fallback when the sheet lives outside Google or Microsoft.
5. Rows — Best AI-native spreadsheet
Rows built itself as an AI-first spreadsheet with data connectors to Google Analytics, HubSpot, Stripe, and a long list of others. Its /ask formula turns natural language into a working expression, and its AI Analyst button drafts entire dashboards from a table. The Android app is a proper editor, not a viewer.
Where it falls short: the free tier caps AI credits and heavy connector use. Team collaboration is the paid draw.
Pricing:
- Free: full editor + limited AI credits
- Paid: Plus adds unlimited AI usage
Platforms: Android, iOS, Web
Download: Google Play
Bottom line: the pick if you build small data apps and dashboards, not just spreadsheets.
6. Formula Bot — Best formula translator on mobile
Formula Bot does one thing well: turn plain English into a working Excel or Sheets formula. It also generates SQL, regex, and Apps Script. On Android, you type “find the second-highest sale per region in column C”, pick your dialect, and it returns a working expression you can paste. Data automation and file analysis are on the paid tier.
Where it falls short: it is not a spreadsheet, so the workflow is copy-paste. Free requests are limited.
Pricing:
- Free: limited daily formulas
- Paid: modest monthly subscription
Platforms: Android, iOS, Web
Download: Google Play
Bottom line: the fastest way to translate a query into a formula on a phone.
7. Numerous.ai — Best plugin-style side panel
Numerous.ai started as an Excel and Sheets add-in but the mobile app now runs the same helpers standalone. You can generate a formula, get a category label for each row in a batch, or generate short text from a template. If you already use Numerous.ai on the desktop, mobile keeps the same workflow.
Where it falls short: best value comes from the desktop add-in. The mobile app is a subset.
Pricing:
- Free: limited daily calls
- Paid: modest monthly subscription
Platforms: Android, iOS, Web add-in
Download: Google Play
Bottom line: the pick if you already run the Numerous.ai add-in on your desktop spreadsheet.
How to pick the right one
- If you live in Excel and want AI writing formulas for you: Microsoft Excel with Copilot.
- If your team is on Google Workspace: Google Sheets with Gemini.
- If you want cross-app assistance across Word, Excel, and Outlook: Microsoft 365 Copilot.
- If your sheet is not in Excel or Sheets: Google Gemini.
- If you build small data apps or lightweight dashboards: Rows.
- If you only want a formula translator: Formula Bot.
- If you already run an AI add-in on desktop: Numerous.ai for consistency across devices.
FAQ
What is the best AI spreadsheet app for Android in 2026? Microsoft Excel with Copilot Pro for most Excel users; Google Sheets with the Gemini side panel for Google Workspace teams.
Can I use AI in Excel on Android without paying? You can view and edit workbooks for free. Copilot in Excel on mobile currently requires a Copilot Pro or eligible Microsoft 365 plan.
Which AI is best at writing Excel formulas? Excel Copilot and Formula Bot both hit high accuracy on common SUMIFS, INDEX/MATCH, and array formulas. Formula Bot supports more dialects.
Do these apps train on my spreadsheet data? Read each app’s policy. Enterprise tiers of Copilot and Gemini for Workspace typically opt you out. Free tiers of general AI chatbots often do not.
Is there a free open-source AI spreadsheet on Android? Not yet with the same fluency. Open-source spreadsheets like Collabora Office run on Android without AI. A local LLM on your phone can help with formulas but is slower.
