Excel: The Silent Competitor Killing Your SaaS Product

If you've worked with any SaaS tool designed for product roadmaps, project planning, CRM, or productivity, you've probably noticed something strange: at some point, people just end up using Excel instead.

I recently observed this at my own company. We had subscribed to a dedicated product roadmap planning tool—something built specifically for this purpose—but when it actually came time to do the planning, where did we end up? Good ol’ Excel. Afterward, we just updated the SaaS tool to keep records. This completely defeated the core use case of the software! It made me wonder: why is Excel still so dominant, even against purpose-built SaaS products?

One of the biggest reasons? People are creatures of habit. Most professionals have been using Excel for years, so when faced with a new SaaS tool with a learning curve, they instinctively revert to what they already know. Even if the SaaS tool is objectively better, the familiarity of Excel wins out. And let’s be honest—most of us are lazy. Learning every feature of a new SaaS tool takes effort, but opening an Excel sheet? That’s second nature.

SaaS companies try to design their products to fit the majority of users. But every company has its own quirks, processes, and exceptions that don’t always align with these “one-size-fits-all” solutions. Excel, however, doesn’t force you into a specific structure—it lets you do whatever you want. Think about it: Jira forces Agile on you. Linear has the “Linear Method.” Every SaaS tool nudges users into working a certain way. But businesses often need to operate outside of these predefined workflows. And when that happens, Excel steps in as the flexible, unstructured alternative.

Here’s a fun insight: even when SaaS tools do the job perfectly, people still like to check the numbers themselves. A CRM might tell you your conversion rate, but some users will still export all the data to Excel and recalculate it manually. Not because they don’t trust the SaaS tool, but because they feel more accomplished when they’ve done it themselves. It’s human nature—we don’t always like having answers handed to us.

Probably not entirely. But companies can reduce the need for users to jump back into Excel by making their tools more adaptable and user-friendly. Instead of forcing a rigid framework, giving users flexibility to create workflows that match their unique needs can help. More customization means less reliance on external tools. Understanding why users export data is also key. If people are exporting data to manipulate it, figuring out what they’re trying to do and building that capability into the product can make a big difference. And if users are going to export data anyway, providing it in a format that’s easy to use and manipulate, rather than forcing them to clean it up after the fact, can at least make the experience smoother.

Excel isn’t just another tool—it’s the ultimate fallback option. No matter how good a SaaS product is, users will still find reasons to export their data and manipulate it in Excel. The key isn’t to fight this behavior but to minimize it by making SaaS tools more flexible, intuitive, and adaptable. And if all else fails? Well… just make sure your Export to Excel button is easy to find.