Best AI for spreadsheets & Excel / head-to-head
GPT-5.6 Sol vs GPT-5.6 Terrafor spreadsheets & Excel
GPT-5.6 Terra wins, 98–97
Same 12 spreadsheets & Excel tasks, marked blind by three rival labs. GPT-5.6 Terra took 1 tasks, GPT-5.6 Sol took 1, 10 tied. Tested 13 Aug 2026.
Where they differed most
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.
**Fault:** `VLOOKUP` requests column **5**, but `Sheet2!A:D` contains only **4 columns**. This normally produces `#REF!`, not `#VALUE!`. Assuming the intended return column is **D**, use: ```excel =SUMIF(A:A,">"&(TODAY()-30),B:B)+VLOOKUP(C1,Sheet2!A:D,4,FALSE) ``` The original `SUMIF` criterion is valid; the added parentheses simply make the date calculation explicit. If a fifth return column is actually required, the lookup range must extend to column E instead: ```excel =SUMIF(A:A,">"&(TODAY()-30),B:B)+VLOOKUP(C1,Sheet2!A:E,5,FALSE) ```
Faults: 1. `VLOOKUP(C1,Sheet2!A:D,5,FALSE)` requests column **5**, but `Sheet2!A:D` contains only **4 columns**. - If the intended return column is `D`, use column index `4`. - If a fifth return column is actually needed, the lookup range must extend through column `E`. 2. The date criterion is clearer and safer written with parentheses around the date calculation: `">"&(TODAY()-30)`. Corrected formula, returning the value from column `D` of Sheet2: ```excel =SUMIF(A:A,">"&(TODAY()-30),B:B)+VLOOKUP(C1,Sheet2!A:D,4,FALSE) ``` If you…
Task by task
| Task | GPT-5.6 Sol | GPT-5.6 Terra |
|---|---|---|
| Excel formula from a description | 10 | 10 |
| Fix a broken formula | 6 | 8 |
| Clean messy data | 10 | 10 |
| Choose the right chart | 10 | 10 |
| Google Sheets QUERY | 10 | 10 |
| Spot the error in the numbers | 10 | 10 |
| Pivot logic in words | 10 | 10 |
| Percentage change trap | 10 | 10 |
| Conditional formatting rule | 10 | 10 |
| Reconcile two lists | 10 | 9 |
| Explain a formula back | 10 | 10 |
| Refuse the impossible | 10 | 10 |
Full receipts: GPT-5.6 Sol, GPT-5.6 Terra · judges claude-sonnet-5, gemini-3.1-pro-preview, grok-4.5
Questions people ask
Which is better for spreadsheets & Excel: GPT-5.6 Sol or GPT-5.6 Terra?
GPT-5.6 Terra — it scored 98/100 against 97/100 on our 12-task spreadsheets & Excel suite, winning 1 tasks to 1 with 10 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 Terra · GPT-5.3-Codex vs GPT-5.6 Sol · GPT-5.6 Luna vs GPT-5.6 Terra · GPT-5.6 Luna vs GPT-5.6 Sol · GPT-5.5 vs GPT-5.6 Terra · GLM 5.2 vs GPT-5.6 Terra
Full ranking: Best AI for spreadsheets & Excel · model pages: GPT-5.6 Sol, GPT-5.6 Terra