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How to download and install Microsoft Excel on Mac

Microsoft Excel for Mac comes from the Mac App Store or as Microsoft’s own installer, either alone or as part of Office. Here is what you need to edit spreadsheets, how to install Excel both ways and how to activate it.

Microsoft Excel

  • macOS 14 or later
  • One file for Apple Silicon and Intel
  • Editing needs Microsoft 365 or Office 2024
Official Microsoft Excel websitemicrosoft.com ↗

Or the installer straight from the developer’s server:

For any Mac.pkg

The links go to the developer’s website (microsoft.com, go.microsoft.com). MacWashing is not affiliated with the developer and keeps no installers.

Open Terminal (Applications › Utilities) and run:

brew install --cask microsoft-excel

Homebrew downloads the app from the developer’s server, checks the file and puts the app in Applications.

No Homebrew yet? How to install Homebrew: one command from brew.sh.

Before you download

Excel installs for free, but to create and edit spreadsheets it needs a Microsoft 365 subscription with the desktop apps or a one-time Office 2024 license. Without one, Excel only opens and prints files. For occasional editing, Excel for the web at microsoft365.com is free with a Microsoft account.

  • One file for every Mac. Excel works on Apple Silicon and Intel Macs.
  • macOS 14 Sonoma or later. On older macOS, Excel already installed keeps working but gets no more updates.
  • The Mac App Store or Microsoft. Both give the same Excel. The App Store version is meant for Microsoft 365 subscribers.

Microsoft’s installer is a .pkg that runs with administrator rights, so download it only from microsoft.com. Need Word and PowerPoint too? Install the whole suite instead: see how to install Microsoft Office.

How to install Excel

From the Mac App Store:

  1. Open the App Store and search for Microsoft Excel.
The first screen of the Excel installer
  1. Click Get, then Install, and confirm with your Apple Account password or Touch ID.
  2. When the download finishes, open Excel from Applications or Launchpad.

With Microsoft’s installer, the file on this page:

  1. Open Microsoft_Excel_…_Installer.pkg in your Downloads folder.
  2. Click Continue, then Continue and Agree for the license, then Install.
  3. Enter your Mac password, click Install Software and then Close when it is done.

What to set up after the first launch

  • Activation. Click Sign In in Excel and use the Microsoft account with your subscription or license. Until then, Excel opens workbooks for reading only.
  • Where workbooks are saved. Signed in, Excel offers to save new workbooks to OneDrive. To keep a file on your Mac, click On My Mac in the save window.
  • Updates. The App Store version updates through the App Store. The version from Microsoft updates with Microsoft AutoUpdate, which you can run from Help › Check for Updates.
  • The installer. If you used Microsoft’s .pkg, move it from Downloads to the Trash once Excel runs: it takes well over a gigabyte.

If Excel won’t install or open

  • The installer stops with an error. Download the .pkg again from Microsoft and make sure you are signed in to macOS as an administrator.
  • Excel says it can’t edit workbooks. It isn’t activated. Choose Excel › Sign Out, sign in again with the account that has the subscription and check that the subscription is active.
  • Excel won’t start on an older Mac. Check your macOS in About This Mac: current versions need macOS 14 or later.
  • Nothing helps. Remove Excel completely, with its license and settings files, and install it again: see how to uninstall Microsoft Office on Mac.

Alternatives to Microsoft Excel

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Questions and answers

Is Microsoft Excel free on Mac?

Installing it is free, and without a subscription Excel opens and prints workbooks. Creating and editing need Microsoft 365 or a one-time Office 2024 license. Excel for the web is free in a browser with a Microsoft account.

Should I get Excel from the App Store or from Microsoft?

With a Microsoft 365 subscription, either works: the App Store is the simplest. With a one-time Office 2024 license, install Excel from your Microsoft account, not the App Store.

Can I install Excel without the rest of Office?

Yes. The App Store and Microsoft’s Excel installer both put only Excel on your Mac, plus Microsoft AutoUpdate in the second case.