Audit Your Spreadsheet Online — Free, No Software to Install
Professional spreadsheet auditing without the $2,000 price tag. Upload your file, get a comprehensive risk report in 30 seconds. Free, online, no add-in required.
What a Spreadsheet Audit Covers
A thorough audit examines your workbook across four dimensions — formulas, references, structure, and data quality. Here's what Excel Risk Check checks in a single upload:
- ✓ Formula errors —
#REF!,#VALUE!,#DIV/0!,#NAME?, and circular references - ✓ Broken external links and missing references to source workbooks
- ✓ Hidden sheets, rows, and columns that may contain stale data still feeding visible calculations
- ✓ Volatile functions that change results on every open — INDIRECT, OFFSET, NOW, TODAY, RAND
- ✓ Merged cells that break sorting, filtering, and formula ranges
- ✓ Data quality issues: empty rows that interrupt ranges, mixed data types in columns, duplicate entries
- ✓ Structural issues: file size, sheet count, and embedded objects that inflate complexity
- ✓ Overall 0–100 risk score with category breakdowns so you know where the risk is concentrated
The risk score gives you a single number you can track over time. Fix issues, re-upload, watch the score improve. It's the same score every time for the same file — deterministic, not subjective.
Excel Risk Check vs. Desktop Audit Tools
Desktop spreadsheet audit tools have existed for years — PerfectXL, Operis OAK, Spreadsheet Detective. They're powerful. They're also expensive, require installation, and are overkill for most use cases. Excel Risk Check covers the core analysis that matters for 95% of spreadsheets, at no cost, without leaving your browser.
| Feature | Excel Risk Check | PerfectXL | Operis OAK | Spreadsheet Detective |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | $299+/yr | $2,000+/yr | $249+ |
| Platform | Online (browser) | Desktop add-in | Desktop add-in | Desktop add-in |
| Setup required | None | Install required | Install required | Install required |
| Formula errors | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Circular references | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Risk score (0–100) | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| PDF report | $5 one-time | Included | Included | Included |
| Hidden sheet scan | ✓ | Partial | ✓ | Partial |
Honest positioning: For deep financial model auditing at enterprise scale with visual dependency mapping, tools like OAK offer more. For a quick, free, comprehensive health check — Excel Risk Check is the fastest path to finding real problems.
Who Uses Spreadsheet Audit Tools
Spreadsheet auditing isn't just for enterprise compliance teams. The most common users are people who need to be confident that a specific spreadsheet is correct before they act on it or share it.
- Accountants before month-end close — validating that reporting workbooks haven't accumulated errors from the previous period
- Financial analysts reviewing inherited models — you can't know what the previous owner broke without checking
- Data teams validating reports before publishing — a formula error in a published dashboard is hard to walk back
- Consultants checking client deliverables — errors in a deliverable damage credibility regardless of the quality of the underlying work
- Anyone who has received a spreadsheet from someone else and needs to rely on it
How the Audit Works
- Upload your .xlsx or .xlsm file — no account required
- The engine scans every formula, reference, named range, conditional formatting rule, and structural element across all sheets simultaneously
- You receive a 0–100 risk score and a full issue list categorized by type and severity, with exact cell locations
- Fix the issues the report identifies — the report tells you exactly what to look at
- Re-upload to verify the fixes resolved the issues and generate a clean report if needed
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a spreadsheet audit actually check?
A full audit examines formula integrity (error values, circular references, formula complexity), external references (broken links, external file dependencies), structural elements (hidden content, merged cells, file size), and data quality (empty rows, type inconsistencies, duplicates). Excel Risk Check covers all four categories.
How is this different from Excel's built-in auditing tools?
Excel's Formula Auditing tools (Trace Precedents, Error Checking) work one cell at a time on the active sheet. Our tool scans the entire workbook at once, covers hidden sheets, and produces a comprehensive report rather than highlighting individual cells.
Do I need to install anything?
No. The tool runs entirely in your browser. There's no add-in, no desktop software, and no account required.
How long does an audit take?
Typically 15–45 seconds depending on file size. Most spreadsheets up to 10MB complete in under 30 seconds.
Related Tools and Guides
Check Before Sending
Pre-submission validation — catch errors before your client does.
Financial Model Audit
Audit financial models for formula errors, circular references, and structural risks.
Accounting Audit
Validate accounting workbooks before month-end close.
Data Quality Check
Find empty rows, mixed types, duplicates, and inconsistent data.
Risk Management
Systematic approach to inventorying and managing spreadsheet risk.
Free Alternative to PerfectXL
Compare Excel Risk Check to desktop audit tools costing $249–$2,000+.