Openpyxl vs Pyexcel: Which is Better?

When working with Excel files in Python, two popular libraries are openpyxl and pyexcel. Both allow you to read, write, and manipulate Excel files, but they have different strengths and use cases.

1. Overview

🔹 What is openpyxl?

openpyxl is a Python library for reading and writing Excel .xlsx files. It is widely used for automation, data analysis, and formatting tasks in Excel.

🔹 What is pyexcel?

pyexcel is a high-level wrapper for multiple Excel libraries, including openpyxl, xlrd, and pyexcel-ods3. It supports multiple Excel formats (.xlsx, .xls, .csv, .ods) and provides a simpler interface for reading and writing data in tabular form.

2. Feature Comparison

Feature	openpyxl	pyexcel
Read Excel files	✅ Yes (Only `.xlsx`)	✅ Yes (Supports `.xlsx`, `.xls`, `.ods`, `.csv`)
Write Excel files	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Modify Existing Files	✅ Yes (Full support)	❌ No (Only reads/writes new files)
Formatting Support (Fonts, Colors, Borders, etc.)	✅ Yes	❌ No
Works with Pandas	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Multi-sheet Support	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Formula Support	✅ Yes	❌ No
Performance on Large Datasets	🚀 Faster (Optimized for large Excel files)	🐢 Slower (Loads entire file into memory)
Multi-format Support	❌ No (Only `.xlsx`)	✅ Yes (Supports `.xls`, `.xlsx`, `.ods`, `.csv`)
Ease of Use	⚠️ Requires working with Workbooks & Sheets	✅ Simpler syntax for quick tasks

3. Performance Differences

Scenario	openpyxl	pyexcel
Reading Large Files (100,000+ rows)	🚀 Faster (Efficient memory usage)	🐢 Slower (Loads all data into memory)
Writing Large Files	🚀 Optimized	🐢 Slower
Working with Multiple Formats	❌ Only `.xlsx`	✅ Supports `.xls`, `.xlsx`, `.ods`, `.csv`

4. Code Comparison

🔹 Reading an Excel file

Using openpyxl

pythonCopy codefrom openpyxl import load_workbook

wb = load_workbook("data.xlsx")
sheet = wb.active

for row in sheet.iter_rows(values_only=True):
    print(row)  # Row-by-row processing

Using pyexcel

import pyexcel

data = pyexcel.get_array(file_name="data.xlsx")
print(data)  # Loads entire sheet into a list of lists

🔹 Writing an Excel file

Using openpyxl

pythonCopy codefrom openpyxl import Workbook

wb = Workbook()
sheet = wb.active

sheet.append(["Name", "Age"])
sheet.append(["Alice", 30])
sheet.append(["Bob", 25])

wb.save("output.xlsx")

Using pyexcel

import pyexcel

data = [["Name", "Age"], ["Alice", 30], ["Bob", 25]]
pyexcel.save_as(array=data, dest_file_name="output.xlsx")

5. When to Use Which?

✅ Use `openpyxl` if:

✔ You need to modify existing Excel files (not just read/write new ones).
✔ You need advanced Excel features (formatting, charts, formulas).
✔ You work with large Excel files (optimized performance).
✔ You integrate with Pandas and need fine control.

✅ Use `pyexcel` if:

✔ You want a simpler way to read and write Excel files.
✔ You need to work with multiple file formats (.xls, .xlsx, .ods, .csv).
✔ You don’t need formatting, charts, or formulas.
✔ You prefer a quick, high-level API for small datasets.

6. Final Verdict

For powerful Excel manipulation, formatting, and large files → openpyxl is better.
For simple, multi-format, and quick tabular data handling → pyexcel is better.

If you need flexibility and speed, choose openpyxl. If you want simplicity and format compatibility, choose pyexcel. 🚀

ApexDelight