Comparison
Spreadsheets record what people typed. A quality system enforces what the plan says.
NominalQC was built by a quality professional who spent 16 years running quality in Excel — the free QC templates on this site exist because spreadsheets genuinely work for a while. This page is about the line where they stop working.
The short version: a spreadsheet can hold your data, but it can’t stop an inspection from being logged with an uncalibrated gauge, refuse to close a CAPA without an effectiveness check, or tell you who changed a cell and when. Those aren’t data problems; they’re enforcement problems.
| Capability | NominalQC | Excel |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensional inspection log (measurements vs tolerances) | Yes — samples auto-checked against part tolerances, pass/fail computed at entry | Manual — formulas if you build and maintain them; nothing stops out-of-spec entries being logged as pass |
| Enforced inspection / control plans | Yes — Off / Pre-fill / Warn / Block enforcement; Block refuses off-plan saves | |
| SPC & process capability built in | Yes — X̄-R and I-MR charts, Cp/Cpk/Pp/Ppk, out-of-control flagging, print-ready report | DIY — chart templates exist (ours included), but limits and rules recompute only if the formulas survive editing |
| Layered process audits (CQI-8) | Yes — CQI-8 style: layers, cadence, rotation, auditor independence, compliance board | Manual scheduling and paper checklists |
| NCR + CAPA with 8D | Yes — NCRs, guided 8D / 5-Why / fishbone, printable 8D report, server-enforced closure gates | Log sheets — no closure gates, no workflow, no notifications |
| Gauge calibration management | Yes — cal tracking with event-backed dates; gauges with no cal evidence can’t be selected on inspections; overdue gauges flagged at the point of use | A due-date column — nothing connects it to the inspection being done with that gauge |
| Printable hold tags from live records | Yes — hold tags and NCR placards print pre-filled from the record | Retyped by hand into a Word template |
| Full document control (revisions, approvals, distribution) | Yes — register with revision history, second-person approval, per-person read-and-understood, inspection hold on linked parts | Folder discipline |
| Employee training records | Yes — skills register, qualifications with expiry and evidence, training events with attendees, competence matrix | A matrix tab |
| Pricing model | Flat monthly tiers, unlimited users | Free — until an escape, a failed audit, or the one person who understands the workbook leaves |
| Getting started | Self-serve — free for one user, a 14-day trial of any paid plan, no credit card, live demo without signup | Already on every PC |
Excel is a Microsoft product; this page compares typical spreadsheet-based QC practice, not Microsoft’s software itself.
NominalQC
Free for one user. Teams from $59/month flat, unlimited users on Pro. No credit card.
Excel spreadsheets
Free, plus the cost of every mistake it silently allows.
Free for one user. No credit card. Or open the read-only live demo — no signup at all.