Uncovering the Best PlusX Excel Add-In Alternatives for Enhanced Productivity
The PlusX Excel Add-In is a remarkably versatile and free tool that significantly enhances Microsoft Excel's capabilities. With its ability to create unique charts like Waterfall, Gantt, and Double Donut, along with handy shortcuts for everyday tasks and live FX rates, it's a powerful addition for many users. It even boasts an integrated web browser for older Excel versions and supports nine languages. However, even the best tools sometimes have compelling PlusX Excel Add-In alternative options that might better suit specific workflows or offer specialized functionalities. Whether you're looking for different charting options, more robust project management features, or a broader set of Excel enhancements, exploring alternatives can lead to even greater efficiency.
Top PlusX Excel Add-In Alternatives
If you're seeking to expand your Excel toolkit beyond PlusX, or if you have specific needs that aren't fully met, these alternatives offer a range of powerful features, from advanced charting to comprehensive project management. Let's dive into some of the best options available.
GanttProject
GanttProject is a cross-platform desktop tool for project scheduling and management. It's a fantastic open-source alternative, running on Windows, Linux, and MacOSX. If your primary use of PlusX Excel Add-In involved its Gantt chart capabilities, GanttProject offers dedicated and robust Gantt-chart features, custom columns, and dependency management, making it an excellent choice for detailed project planning.
Gantter
Gantter is a cloud-based project management and scheduling tool. As a Commercial SaaS platform, it offers a strong focus on Gantt-charts, making it a powerful PlusX Excel Add-In alternative for users who prioritize online, collaborative project planning over an Excel-integrated solution. Its community-powered approach can also provide valuable support and insights.
OrgBusiness Gantt Chart
OrgBusiness Gantt Chart is a modern and easy-to-use project plan system for Windows. This commercial tool excels in allowing users to specify complex task sequences with robust Gantt-charts, scheduling, and task management features, making it a compelling PlusX Excel Add-In alternative for dedicated project scheduling within a Windows environment.
AnyChart
AnyChart is a flexible, cross-platform, and cross-browser JavaScript (HTML5) charting library. While PlusX provides some unique chart types within Excel, AnyChart offers a comprehensive range of interactive charts including bar, pie, line, spline, area, Gantt, and stock charts for web or self-hosted applications. If your charting needs extend beyond Excel into web development, AnyChart is a powerful commercial PlusX Excel Add-In alternative.
Kutools for Excel
Kutools for Excel is a quality-of-life add-on bundle for Microsoft Office Excel (2007 onwards) on Windows. Similar to PlusX Excel Add-In's focus on shortcuts and everyday usage enhancements, Kutools offers a vast collection of features to simplify complex tasks, making it an excellent commercial Excel add-in alternative for overall productivity gains within Excel.
think-cell chart
think-cell chart is a commercial add-in for Microsoft PowerPoint that works seamlessly with Microsoft Excel data. While PlusX Excel Add-In creates charts directly in Excel, think-cell chart specializes in creating professional bar, waterfall, Marimekko, and Gantt charts for presentations. If your primary need is high-quality, presentation-ready charts derived from Excel data, this is a strong PlusX Excel Add-In alternative.
Zebra BI
Zebra BI offers advanced charts like waterfall and variance charts with a single click, focusing on best-practice reports, business presentations, and BI dashboards. This commercial Excel and PowerPoint add-in is a potent PlusX Excel Add-In alternative for users who require sophisticated charting, reporting, and dashboard capabilities with a strong emphasis on user-friendliness and visual clarity.
Ultimate Dashboard Tools for Excel
Ultimate Dashboard Tools for Excel is a 10-in-1 Excel Pro Add-in compatible with Excel 2010, 2013, 2016, and Mac Excel 2016. Like PlusX Excel Add-In, it's an Excel-specific add-in, but it specifically focuses on advanced dashboards, offering Gauge Charts, Bullet Charts, Variance Charts, and even a Double Donut Chart, making it an excellent commercial PlusX Excel Add-In alternative for intricate data visualization and reporting.
Quick Dashboard Charts for Excel
Quick Dashboard Charts for Excel is another commercial add-in that provides Dashboards and custom chart types within Microsoft Excel. If the custom chart creation aspect of PlusX Excel Add-In is appealing, this alternative offers a gallery of different chart types for creating tailored dashboards, focusing solely on enhancing Excel's visual data capabilities.
Peltier Tech Marimekko Chart Utility
Peltier Tech Marimekko Chart Utility is a commercial add-in for Microsoft Excel (Mac and Windows) specifically designed to enable quick creation of Marimekko charts. If the unique chart types offered by PlusX Excel Add-In, such as Waterfall or BubbleX, drew you in, and you specifically require Marimekko charts, this highly specialized tool serves as a direct and effective PlusX Excel Add-In alternative for that particular charting need.
While PlusX Excel Add-In offers a robust set of features for free, the world of Excel add-ins and project management tools is vast. Exploring these alternatives can help you discover specialized functionalities, different platform compatibilities, or more extensive feature sets that align perfectly with your unique requirements. Take the time to evaluate each option and choose the best fit to supercharge your Excel productivity.