SaaSMon vs Google Sheets and Excel
Most indie founders start with a spreadsheet, and that is a reasonable choice. Google Sheets and Excel are free or already paid for, infinitely flexible, and you understand every formula because you wrote it. SaaSMon exists for the moment the spreadsheet stops getting updated.
At a glance
| Aspect | SaaSMon | Google Sheets and Excel |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free for one project; Pro $4.99/mo | Free or already owned |
| Flexibility | Opinionated structure | Anything you can build |
| Recurring costs | Posted automatically on schedule | Copy rows by hand, or write scripts |
| MRR, burn and runway | Calculated for you | If you build and maintain the formulas |
| Several products | Projects and a portfolio view | One tab per product, plus a summary tab |
| Import and export | CSV both ways | Native |
Google Sheets and Excel is described in general terms as of November 2026. Check their site for current features and pricing.
Where they differ
Upkeep is the real cost
A finance spreadsheet tends to break quietly: a range that does not extend to new rows, a currency typed as text, a recurring cost that nobody copied into March. SaaSMon's structure removes those failure modes at the price of some flexibility.
Recurring transactions
Recurring rules in SaaSMon post weekly, monthly, quarterly or yearly amounts automatically. In a spreadsheet, recurring costs are usually the first thing to drift.
You keep your data either way
Every SaaSMon plan can export all transactions to CSV, so moving back to a spreadsheet, or doing a one-off analysis in one, is always possible.
Choose SaaSMon if
- No formulas to maintain; MRR, burn and runway are always current.
- Recurring income and costs post themselves.
- Per-project totals and a portfolio overview without summary tabs.
- Import your existing sheet as CSV on Pro.
Choose Google Sheets and Excel if
- You enjoy building models and want complete control.
- You need a calculation SaaSMon does not offer.
- You have a single product with a handful of transactions a month.
Using both
Keep the spreadsheet for one-off modelling, such as a pricing change or a hiring plan, and use SaaSMon as the running record. Export to CSV whenever you want to analyse in Sheets or Excel.
Related guides
Other comparisons
Try it on your own numbers.
Free for one project, no card needed. Pro is $4.99 a month.