LightCellOpens what you have
Open .xlsx, .xls and .csv files. Workbooks keep their fonts, borders, merged cells, and number formats.
LightCell for Mac & Windows
Spreadsheets, without the weight.
LightCell opens the .xlsx, .xls and .csv files you already have, lets you edit them in a clean, fast grid, and keeps everything on your own computer — no account, no sign-in, no cloud workspace.
Free to download · One-time upgrade, no subscription · macOS 13 or later
D7
| A | B | C | D | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Item | Qty | Price | Total | |
| 2 | Coffee | 2 | $4.50 | $9.00 | |
| 3 | Croissant | 3 | $3.25 | $9.75 | |
| 4 | Orange juice | 2 | $5.00 | $10.00 | |
| 5 | Subtotal | 7 | $28.75 | ||
| 6 | Tip | 18% | $5.18 | ||
| 7 | Total | $33.93 | |||
| 8 |
1 cell selectedD7: $33.93, formula =D5+D6
This sheet is live. Select a cell to see its formula, then type to change it — try =AVERAGE(C2:C4) in column E.
Everything a spreadsheet should do, nothing it shouldn’t
Quick on big sheets
A native grid built for large worksheets — scroll, select, and recalculate without waiting on it.
Stays on your computer
No account, no sign-in, no cloud workspace. Your files stay exactly where you put them.
Free, then pay once
The complete editor is free. One purchase adds Excel and CSV export and printing — no subscription.
See it in action
Narrated walkthrough · Created with PromoShot
New in LightCell 2.2 for Mac
Sort
Sort a selection in one click, or open Sort… for multi-column sorts with headers — all from the new Data menu.
Filter
Pick exactly which values stay visible in each column, with search built in. SUBTOTAL skips whatever is filtered out.
Fill handle
Drag the corner of a selection to extend it: numbers continue their pattern, and “Item 1” becomes Item 2, 3, 4…
Whole-column & array formulas
=SUM(A:A) just works, and =A1:A10*B1:B10 spills its results into neighbouring cells like modern Excel.
Faster underneath
Calculation prep on big workbooks is up to 5× faster, and the grid renders up to 4× faster when zoomed out.
Excel-exact
Dozens of functions — lookups, dates, logic, COUNTIF and SUMIF — now match Excel precisely.
On Windows
LightCell for Windows is built on LightCell’s Rust calculation engine. Alongside the essentials, it shows conditional formatting with colour scales, data bars and icon sets, plus charts, images and notes — and it opens .xlsm and .tsv files too.
Free, or Full
Same deal on Mac and Windows. LightCell Full is a single in-app purchase through the store you downloaded from.
| Feature | Free | Full |
|---|---|---|
| Open .xlsx, .xls, and .csv files | ✓ | ✓ |
| Every editing and formatting tool | ✓ | ✓ |
| Save editable LightCell (.lcl) documents | ✓ | ✓ |
| Export and save back to Excel (.xlsx) | — | ✓ |
| Export to CSV | — | ✓ |
| — | ✓ | |
| Price | Free | One-time purchase |
Where spreadsheets came from
From paper ledgers to VisiCalc, Lotus 1-2-3, Excel, Numbers and LibreOffice — a short, interactive history, plus the spreadsheets you can use today.
Read the history →