Differences from Excel
If you are comfortable in Excel and Google Sheets, you’ll find Tabmega easy to use. There are a few differences that might take some adjustment though. Most of these differences help Tabmega scale to datasets far too large for Excel’s capabilities. We hope to close the gap to many of these differences over time. Please provide feedback on the features you would like to see Tabmega prioritize.
1. Must import data
With Tabmega, you need to import CSVs in order to do any analysis. There is no such thing as a blank spreadsheet in Tabmega. As described in strengths and weaknesses, if you have small data or complex modelling Tabmega is probably not the best tool for you. Tabmega is designed for when you have large datasets to analyze. See Import Data in the guided tutorial for details.
2. No editing individual cell values
Tabmega currently doesn’t support editing individual cell values. Instead you need to create a new column with a formula. For example, imagine you have a table people like below and want to fix %Alex.
| first_name | last_name |
|---|---|
| Jane | Doe |
| John | Smith |
| %Alex | Johnson |
In order to fix this you would write a formula in a new column such as
=if(people.first_name="%Alex", "Alex", people.first_name). This would fix the error value while leaving all other values unchanged.
3. Control over when calculations run
By default, Excel updates calculations and formulas in real-time as you type. However, in Tabmega, calculations require clicking the Apply button or the Shift+Enter keyboard shortcut. This explicit step ensures you’re in control of when and how your data gets processed, which can prevent accidental recalculations and improve performance when working with massive datasets. See Add Columns and Formulas in the guided tutorial for details.
4. Columns have a single formula
In Tabmega, each column can have exactly one formula that defines its values. This differs from Excel, where rows in a column can have different formulas. By enforcing a single formula per column, Tabmega ensures consistency and improves performance — especially for large datasets where this structure enables much faster processing. See Add Columns and Formulas in the guided tutorial for details.
5. Explicit column name instead of cell ranges
In Excel, formulas often reference cell ranges (e.g. A1:A10), which can become difficult to manage in large or complex sheets. Tabmega improves readability and maintainability by requiring formulas to use explicit column names such as =FIND("Comedy", movies.genres) > 0. See Add Columns and Formulas in the guided tutorial for details.
6. Aggregates only with pivots
In Excel, aggregates such as sums, averages, and counts can be calculated directly in cells. Tabmega takes a more structured approach: all aggregate computations are performed through pivot tables. This keeps your main dataset uncluttered while offering a clear and focused way to compute summaries for datasets too large for Excel to handle efficiently. See Sum, Count, Aggregate in the guided tutorial for details.
7. Pivot tables are always expanded
Tabmega’s pivot tables are streamlined for simplicity but lack some of Excel’s advanced features, such as the ability to expand/collapse rows or display subtotals and grand totals. Instead pivot tables in Tabmega are always fully expanded, and there are no built-in subtotals or grand totals. This might take some getting used to, but we think there is at least one nice advantage: you can easily copy the pivot table results to a new tab and treat it like a regular data table for further analysis (e.g. pivots of pivots, lookups to other tables, etc). See Create Pivot Tables in the guided tutorial for details.
8. XLOOKUP is the only lookup function
Tabmega simplifies table lookups by exclusively supporting a single method akin to Excel’s XLOOKUP. Unlike Excel’s variety of lookup functions (e.g., VLOOKUP, HLOOKUP, INDEX, MATCH), this approach is modern, straightforward, and easier to use. It ensures that users always have a reliable and efficient way to connect related data across vast datasets. See Lookup Another Table in the guided tutorial for details.
9. The formula bar is read-only
Tabmega’s formula bar is currently read-only, meaning you cannot edit formulas directly from the bar like in Excel. Instead, all formula modifications are handled through the column cells. In futures release we will likely add support for editing in the formula bar.