this post was submitted on 28 Mar 2026
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Power Query
I can only assume anyone still asking the question “is Excel really that much better than the alternatives?” lacks exposure to Power Query and its prevalence in business.
Anyone reaching for powerQuery in excel should not, and instead be reaching for something like PowerBI.
So, I should use PowerBI when I get a weirdly formatted .txt file with data I want to analyze, get my insights, do calculations on etc. and will never use again after? Thats what I use PQ for, format/ combine data from different sources in a way I can use. I don't need dashboards or fancy charts someone can click on.
And no, python is not the tool for me. I am not getting paid to learn a programming language, I don't have time for this at work. I would have to learn and program a lot of python to do what I can do in PQ in a few minutes. I don't even know, if I am allowed to execute a self written python script on my work PC.
And pay the additional licence? Why?