Equipment Tracker Pro vs.
Excel / Google Sheets
Short answer: a spreadsheet holds the list fine, and for a handful of units it is the right tool. What it will not do is read a nameplate, open the record from a QR sticker on the cabinet, keep photos with the unit, or flag a leak rate against the EPA thresholds. Every field is typed by hand. The CSV importer reads any spreadsheet export, free, if you decide to move.
Excel / Google Sheets: our honest assessment
Where Equipment Tracker Pro and Excel / Google Sheets differ
Only the rows where the two are marked differently are listed: 28 of 39. Yes is included, Pro is on the paid plan, Limited is partial, No is not offered, and Not listed means the vendor material this page was checked against says nothing either way. Rows we have not checked for this vendor are left out.
| Feature | Equipment Tracker Pro | Excel / Google Sheets |
|---|---|---|
| iOS & Android App | Yes | Limited |
| Full Offline Use | Yes | Limited |
| Web Dashboard | Pro | Limited |
| Cloud Sync | Pro | Limited |
| AI Nameplate Scanner | Pro | No |
| AI Condition Assessment | Pro | No |
| AI Invoice & Work Order Scanner | Pro | No |
| AI Diagnostics & Troubleshooting | Pro | No |
| EPA Leak Rate Calculator | Yes | No |
| Refrigerant Recovery Tracking | Yes | No |
| Refrigerant Stock & Fits Compatibility | Yes | No |
| HVAC-Specific Reports | Pro | No |
| HVAC Field Tools & Charts | Yes | No |
| Barcode & QR Scanner | Yes | No |
| Branded QR Tag & Label Creator | Limited | No |
| Maintenance / Service Logs | Yes | No |
| Recurring PM Scheduling | Yes | No |
| Work Orders | Yes | No |
| Branded PDF Reports | Pro | No |
| Parts & Spare Stock Matched by Size | Yes | Limited |
| Invoicing off a Finished Job, with Payments & Balances | Yes | Limited |
| Customers Pay the Invoice Online | Limited | Not listed |
| Parts Receipt Scanning, Billed on the Invoice | Limited | Not listed |
| Guest / Vendor Forms | Pro | No |
| Vendor Check-In QR Door Sign & Calendar Logs | Pro | No |
| Team Workspaces & Multi-Seat Plans | Pro | Yes |
| Customer Portal | Pro | Not listed |
| Landlord & Rental Tools | Pro | No |
Who should pick which
Pick Excel / Google Sheets if
You are General purpose — any industry. It is a Spreadsheet, and the price is Free – $7+/user/mo (Google Workspace Business Starter, annual).
Pick Equipment Tracker Pro if
An HVAC technician: You are at the unit with a phone, and the record has to be made and retrieved right there.
In the table above Equipment Tracker Pro is marked Yes, Pro or Limited and Excel / Google Sheets is marked No for: AI Nameplate Scanner, AI Condition Assessment, AI Invoice & Work Order Scanner, AI Diagnostics & Troubleshooting, EPA Leak Rate Calculator, Refrigerant Recovery Tracking, Refrigerant Stock & Fits Compatibility, HVAC-Specific Reports, HVAC Field Tools & Charts, Barcode & QR Scanner, Branded QR Tag & Label Creator, Maintenance / Service Logs, Recurring PM Scheduling, Work Orders, Branded PDF Reports, Guest / Vendor Forms, Vendor Check-In QR Door Sign & Calendar Logs, Landlord & Rental Tools.
Getting your equipment list across, and labelled
Two questions come up on the way over from any of these, and neither is about features. The first is getting what you already have into the app: the CSV importer reads a spreadsheet export, maps its columns onto the equipment fields and the building each unit sits in, and costs nothing on either tier — so a register that exists already does not get retyped at a desk.
The second is labelling the units once they are in, which is what makes a record open from the equipment instead of from a search box. The QR label generator prints a sticker per piece of equipment in three modes. Text and JSON labels are free to make, because everything is printed onto the sticker itself; only Link Mode needs Pro, because the public page that label opens has to be hosted.
Excel / Google Sheets questions answered
How much does Excel / Google Sheets cost compared with Equipment Tracker Pro?
Excel / Google Sheets: Free – $7+/user/mo (Google Workspace Business Starter, annual) (prices reviewed 20 July 2026). Equipment Tracker Pro: free to download with core tracking free; Pro is $9.99 a month or $79.99 a year; Team starts at $39.99 a month for 5 seats.
Does Excel / Google Sheets have a free plan?
Excel / Google Sheets: Yes (Sheets: full real-time co-editing; Excel: limited without a license). Equipment Tracker Pro: the free tier is permanent and is not capped by record count, with 10 AI scan credits shared across the four AI tools.
Who is Excel / Google Sheets for?
Excel / Google Sheets is a Spreadsheet, built for General purpose — any industry. Equipment Tracker Pro is built for the technician or manager standing at the unit with a phone, with equipment, parts and service history that work offline.
How many features differ between Excel / Google Sheets and Equipment Tracker Pro?
28 of the 39 rows in this comparison differ. Equipment Tracker Pro is ahead on 18 of them and Excel / Google Sheets is ahead on 0; the table above lists every one.
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