Why is Excel 2024 so much slower than Excel 2021?

Question

I've recently installed Office 2024 and found that, for the same Excel spreadsheet, it runs much slower than the 2021 version. How can I get it at least no slower. I expected it to be faster.

Answer 1

Hi Zara,

Thank you for using Microsoft products and making community posts.

I understands the importance of resolving this issue, Don’t worry I will be helping you with this following steps.

Ways to Improve Excel 2024 Performance

1. Use the "Check Performance" Feature – Excel 2024 includes a new Check Performance tool that helps identify unnecessary formatting and metadata that slow down workbooks. You can access it under Review > Check Performance.
2. Disable Unnecessary Add-ins – Go to File > Options > Add-ins, then disable any non-essential add-ins.
3. Optimize Calculation Settings – If your spreadsheet has complex formulas, set Calculation Options to Manual under Formulas > Calculation Options.
4. Reduce Conditional Formatting – Too many conditional formatting rules can slow down Excel. Try simplifying them.
5. Check for Updates – Microsoft may release patches to improve performance, so ensure you're running the latest version.

Please feel free to let me know how it goes.

Chan G

Microsoft Community Moderator

Answer 2

Thanks Chan. I wasn't aware of the "Check Performance" feature - seems quite good. I found lots of things to tidy up.

I need all my add-ins; and they were the same as I had with the 2021 version, so are probably not the source of the problem.

Point 3 I knew and had already done.

I've got rid of a lot of conditional formatting; I do use it quite a bit though, and, again, that was the same with Excel 2021.

I assume my Office 2024 is automatically updated, but will double-check.

My spreadsheet doesn't seem to be as slow now. Thanks again.

Ian

Answer 3

p.s. I don't know what "Cumulative Sum" is, and so do not think I use it.