Best AI for spreadsheets & Excel / head-to-head

GPT-5.3-Codex vs GPT-5.5for spreadsheets & Excel

The verdict

GPT-5.3-Codex wins, 9897

Same 12 spreadsheets & Excel tasks, marked blind by three rival labs. GPT-5.3-Codex took 1 tasks, GPT-5.5 took 0, 11 tied. Tested 13 Aug 2026.

Where they differed most

The task — Fix a broken formula

This Excel formula returns #VALUE! : =SUMIF(A:A,">"&TODAY()-30,B:B)+VLOOKUP(C1,Sheet2!A:D,5,FALSE). Identify every fault and give the corrected formula. Sheet2 has columns A to D only.

You have **one definite formula fault** and one likely logic issue:

1. **`VLOOKUP` column index is invalid**  
   - `Sheet2!A:D` has only **4 columns**, but you asked for column **5**.  
   - This must be `4` (or expand the lookup range).

2. *(Logic, not syntax)* Your `SUMIF` criteria `">"&TODAY()-30` includes **everything after 30 days ago**, including future dates.  
   - If you truly mean “last 30 days”, use `SUMIFS` with an upper bound too.

### Minimal corrected version (fixes the hard error):
```excel
=SUMIF(A:A,">"&TODAY()-30,B:B)+VLOO…
Faults:

1. **`VLOOKUP` column index is invalid**  
   `Sheet2!A:D` has only **4 columns**, so `VLOOKUP(...,5,...)` is impossible. The largest valid column index is `4`.

2. **The date criterion should be parenthesized for clarity**  
   Use `">" & (TODAY()-30)`.

Corrected formula:

```excel
=SUMIF(A:A,">"&(TODAY()-30),B:B)+VLOOKUP(C1,Sheet2!A:D,4,FALSE)
```

If you truly need the 5th column, then the lookup range would have to include column E, e.g. `Sheet2!A:E`, but you said Sheet2 only has columns A to D, so `4` is the correct maximum colum…

Task by task

TaskGPT-5.3-CodexGPT-5.5
Excel formula from a description1010
Fix a broken formula87
Clean messy data1010
Choose the right chart99
Google Sheets QUERY1010
Spot the error in the numbers1010
Pivot logic in words1010
Percentage change trap1010
Conditional formatting rule1010
Reconcile two lists1010
Explain a formula back1010
Refuse the impossible1010

Full receipts: GPT-5.3-Codex, GPT-5.5 · judges claude-sonnet-5, gemini-3.1-pro-preview, grok-4.5

Questions people ask

Which is better for spreadsheets & Excel: GPT-5.3-Codex or GPT-5.5?

GPT-5.3-Codex — it scored 98/100 against 97/100 on our 12-task spreadsheets & Excel suite, winning 1 tasks to 0 with 11 tied. Every answer was marked blind by three judges from three rival AI labs.

How was this tested?

Both models answered the identical published spreadsheets & Excel tasks. Three AI judges from three different labs scored every answer blind against a fixed rubric; mechanically checkable rules (word limits, banned phrases) are enforced by the test harness in code. The raw outputs and judge verdicts are downloadable.

More spreadsheets & Excel head-to-heads: GPT-5.3-Codex vs GPT-5.6 Luna · GPT-5.3-Codex vs GPT-5.6 Terra · GPT-5.3-Codex vs GPT-5.6 Sol · GLM 5.2 vs GPT-5.3-Codex · GPT-5.3-Codex vs Qwen3.7 Max · Claude Opus 4.8 vs GPT-5.3-Codex

Full ranking: Best AI for spreadsheets & Excel · model pages: GPT-5.3-Codex, GPT-5.5