Small business▼−4Since September 2026: 4% → 0%, −4 points. Inside the 10-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.
0%from 4% in September 2026
Inside the floor by 6 pointsRank 9 → 95 of 97
Excel
59Judge labels
4First choices
37Negative labels
14 / 14Models named it
10Categories
October 2026 Edition. Every number here is derived from the raw labels under vendor table v2026-10.7, every buyer segment counted.
Best standing
2% in Corporate tax provision for mid-market buyers
Rank 15 of 102 in the mid-market standing
0 of 14 models made it the first choice on the direct prompt; 25% of its 4 labels there were negative.
By buyer segmentRead the same way at every buyer size.
Small business19 of 108
2%4 labels
under the label threshold
Mid-market15 of 102
2%4 labels
under the label threshold
Enterprise95 of 95
0%6 labels
under the label threshold
In corporate tax provision · each standing computed within its segment · bars are 0 to 100 · the accent bar is the product's own best reading
Standing by category
Every category where a model named Excel for a mid-market B2B company. Share is first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts; rank is within every product named in that category.
| Category | Function | Share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels | Quadrant | Since September 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corporate tax provision | Tax and compliance | 2% | 15 of 102 | 25% | 4 | under 10 labels · led by Thomson Reuters ONESOURCE Tax Provision at 21% | =heldSince September 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 10-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked. |
| Fixed asset accounting | Accounting and close | 0% | 105 of 107 | 100% | 2 | under 10 labels · led by Sage Fixed Assets at 34% | =heldSince September 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 10-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked. |
| FP&A platforms | Planning and analysis | 0% | 25 of 74 | 0% | 2 | under 10 labels · led by Planful at 20% | =heldSince September 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 10-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked. |
| Rebate management | Receivables and billing | 0% | 65 of 80 | 50% | 2 | under 10 labels · led by Enable at 52% | |
| Revenue recognition | Accounting and close | 0% | 76 of 77 | 100% | 2 | under 10 labels · led by Maxio at 20% | =heldSince September 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 10-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked. |
| Board portals | Equity and corporate | 0% | 45 of 50 | 100% | 1 | under 10 labels · led by OnBoard at 49% | |
| Corporate performance management | Planning and analysis | 0% | 56 of 99 | 0% | 1 | under 10 labels · led by Planful at 22% | =heldSince September 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 10-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked. |
| ESG and carbon reporting | Equity and corporate | 0% | 54 of 110 | 0% | 1 | under 10 labels · led by Greenly at 36% | newNew since September 2026: not ranked then, 0% now. |
| Telecom expense management | Spend and procurement | 0% | 49 of 89 | 0% | 1 | under 10 labels · led by Genuity at 19% | |
| Treasury management systems | Treasury and cash | 0% | 56 of 124 | 0% | 1 | under 10 labels · led by Trovata at 28% | newNew since September 2026: not ranked then, 0% now. |
Movement
Since September 2026, Excel held within the floor in all ten categories: no change cleared 10 points.
Best category · Corporate tax provision · by segment
Mid-market=heldSince September 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 10-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.
0%from 0% in September 2026
Inside the floor by 10 pointsRank 84 → 78 of 94
Enterprise=heldSince September 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 10-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.
0%from 0% in September 2026
Inside the floor by 10 pointsRank 54 → 88 of 88
All categories · Mid-market
| Category | September 2026 | Now | Change | Reading | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corporate tax provision | 0% | 0% | =heldSince September 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 10-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked. | Within noise | Rank 84 → 15 of 102 |
| Fixed asset accounting | 0% | 0% | =heldSince September 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 10-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked. | Within noise | Rank 90 → 105 of 107 |
| FP&A platforms | 0% | 0% | =heldSince September 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 10-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked. | Within noise | Rank 22 → 25 of 74 |
| Rebate management | 0% | 0% | newNew since September 2026: not ranked then, 0% now. | New this edition | Rank 65 of 80, unchanged |
| Revenue recognition | 0% | 0% | =heldSince September 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 10-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked. | Within noise | Rank 71 → 76 of 77 |
| Board portals | 0% | 0% | newNew since September 2026: not ranked then, 0% now. | New this edition | Rank 45 of 50, unchanged |
| Corporate performance ma | 0% | 0% | =heldSince September 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 10-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked. | Within noise | Rank 58 → 56 of 99 |
| ESG and carbon reporting | 0% | 0% | newNew since September 2026: not ranked then, 0% now. | New this edition | Rank 54 of 110, unchanged |
| Telecom expense mgmt | 0% | 0% | newNew since September 2026: not ranked then, 0% now. | New this edition | Rank 49 of 89, unchanged |
| Treasury management syst | 0% | 0% | newNew since September 2026: not ranked then, 0% now. | New this edition | Rank 56 of 124, unchanged |
Shares here are read over the models both editions asked, so they can differ by a point or two from the standing above, which counts every model in this edition.
The floor is 10 points of share, measured: how far the models move a leader on their own when the same questions are asked twice with nothing changed. A larger change is movement; a smaller one is noise, and both are shown. Movement is read over the twelve models both editions asked; GPT-6 Luna, Muse Glimmer 30B joined this edition and are in the standing but not yet in the comparison. How the floor is measured · The editions
By model
How each model treated Excel across every prompt where it was named for a mid-market B2B company. Fourteen models, six prompts per category.ShowHide
By model
How each model treated Excel across every prompt where it was named for a mid-market B2B company. Fourteen models, six prompts per category.
ShowHide| Model | First choice | Alternative | Mention | Negative | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| GPT-5.4 mini | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Perplexity Sonar | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Grok 4.1 Fast | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mistral Small | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Llama 4 Maverick | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Kimi K2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| MiniMax M2.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| GPT-6 Luna | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Muse Glimmer 30B | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
By framing
Which of the six questions produced the naming. By model says how often; this says asked what. The first-choice count on the right carries the marks of the models that produced it.
FramingLabels by classFirst choices
Direct1 labelNone
Paraphrase2 labelsNone
Comparative1 labelNone
Budget-constrained20 labels4
Scale-constrained0 labelsNone
Negative35 labelsNone
First choiceAlternativeMentionNegative59 labels in all, every segment counted; 4 of the 4 first choices count toward share, since the comparative and negative framings do not. The bar is one segment per label class, to scale within the framing.
What the models said for it
Verbatim evidence the judge attached to positive labels.
“the best value is usually a controlled Excel-based provision process with a CPA or tax adviser reviewing it—not an enterprise software license” GPT-6 Luna · Corporate tax provision · budget prompt · first choice
“Excel remains a solid choice for early-stage companies, with zero additional cost if you already have Microsoft 365” Claude Haiku 4.5 · FP&A platforms · budget prompt · alternative
“If the budget is very tight, start with a well-maintained Excel or Google Sheets model.” GPT-6 Luna · FP&A platforms · budget prompt · alternative
“For a limited budget, the industry standard workaround is: Excel (with Templates)” Qwen 3.7 Flash · Corporate tax provision · budget prompt · alternative
And against it
Verbatim evidence attached to negative labels. A warning on a product with few labels is a warning; on a product with many, it is one voice among them.
“manual, spreadsheet-based rebate tracking is the most dangerous "platform" of all... "homegrown" Excel systems are the first thing you should phase out.” Gemini 3.5 Flash · Rebate management · negative prompt · hard negative
“Over-Reliance on Excel Spreadsheets ... that flexibility can create risk in the form of incorrect formulas, version control issues” Kimi K2 · Corporate tax provision · negative prompt · hard negative
“The "Spreadsheet Trap" (Excel or Google Sheets)... they are the most dangerous "tool" for established companies.*Why to avoid:*” Gemini 3.5 Flash · Fixed asset accounting · negative prompt · hard negative
“relying on Excel spreadsheets for your ASC 606 deferred revenue schedules is a massive red flag for auditors” Gemini 3.5 Flash · Revenue recognition · negative prompt · hard negative
Named alongside
The products named in the same answers as Excel, over the 59 answers that named it. Took the first choice instead counts the answers where the other product was the first choice and Excel was named but was not.ShowHide
Named alongside
The products named in the same answers as Excel, over the 59 answers that named it. Took the first choice instead counts the answers where the other product was the first choice and Excel was named but was not.
ShowHideProductSame answerTook the first choice insteadHead to head
A head-to-head page exists where both products are among a category's top eight. The other rows are the same fact without a page behind them, so they link to the product instead.
What carried it into the answer
The sites and pages cited by the answers that named Excel. A fact about retrieval, not a lever on the model.
Citations exist only for the models that return a source list, five of the fourteen in this edition, so these counts come from 53 of the 59 answers that named Excel and are not a share of its labels.
Domains cited
g2.com14
worldmetrics.org14
pro.bloombergtax.com13
gitnux.org12
guideflow.com11
capterra.com10
softwareadvice.com10
tax.thomsonreuters.com10
zipdo.co10
houseblend.io9
No domain is on file for Excel, so its own site is not marked.
Pages cited
Pages are listed as the models cited them.
Search and answers
Where Excel stands in Google search beside where it stands in the models' answers.ShowHide
Search and answers
Where Excel stands in Google search beside where it stands in the models' answers.
ShowHideIn search
Google, US estimates- Searches for its name, Google
- 823,000 a month (“excel”)
- AI search demand for its name, est.
- 391,255 a month
- Its own site
- No site of its own on file, so no site figures
In answers
This editionShare of first choices
2%
rank 15 of 102 in corporate tax provision
Segment leader
21%
Thomson Reuters ONESOURCE Tax Provision
- First choices
- 4 across its categories
- Named in
- 59 answers
- Its own site cited
- No site on file to match
Search figures are US estimates from DataForSEO, read September 28, 2026; AI search demand is its modeled, directional estimate, not a count of queries to any assistant. The answers are this edition's. Two measurements side by side: neither is read as the cause of the other.
Names read as Excel
What the judge wrote, as written, with how often. The vendor table decides that these count as Excel; a claim can dispute any of them.
Excel (with Templates) 1Excel + Bank Portals 1Excel/Google Sheets + Carrier Portals 1Excel/Spreadsheet-based tools 1
Follow Excel
An email the morning each edition publishes: where this product moved, where it held, and by how much against the noise floor. One address, confirmed by a click; a stop link in every email.
Already following? Everything you follow, with a stop for each.
Is this your product?
Claim this page
Claiming is free and changes nothing in the data. A claimed page shows a verified contact who is told when each edition publishes and when Excel's standing changes by more than the noise floor; the right to propose corrections to the vendor table, meaning names the judge wrote that should or should not read as Excel, applied by version and listed in the change log; and a one-line description supplied by the vendor and marked as such.
What a new claim receivesHide what a new claim receives
A new claim receives the current edition's vendor brief for Excel by email, built from the raw record of the edition. It shows:
- where Excel is named, by buyer and by framing, and which cells hold its first choices;
- the claims the models make when they name it, ranked, with the strongest and the weakest quoted;
- its vocabulary against the segment leader's, and the pages the models cited;
- who was chosen in the answers that did not name Excel, and every reason the record gives;
- a battlecard for each top rival: the head-to-head split, why they win, and the reservation quoted against them;
- one page of published figures cleared to show a buyer.