1. Comparing Access and Excel
For a quick comparison to help you decide which product to choose, you can use the following
table.
Legend: = Recommended = Acceptable = Doesn't Apply
Feature Access Excel Comments
Manage data
Amount of storage
Both Office Access 2007 and Office Excel 2007 can work with
millions of rows or records.
Variety of data types
Both work well with text, numbers, dates, and other
common data types.
Data validation
Both enable you to control data input. Access gives you
more control and flexibility, such as specifying data input
masking.
Security
Both control user access to your data by using a variety of
security features, such as encryption, passwords, digital
signatures, and data protection.
Rich text and objects
Office Access 2007 has several useful features for working
with rich text and for storing large objects, such as
documents and images.
Multiple tables with
relationships
Access provides tools for creating one-to-many and many-
to-many relationships between tables. You can establish
rules based on these relationships to ensure the integrity of
your data.
Data sharing
Access enables many people to work simultaneously with
the same data and provides robust options for updating the
data, such as locking and conflict resolution.
Gather and consolidate
disparate data

2. Import, export, and publish
Import and export
data.
Both products import data from and export data to a variety
of external data sources, such as text, XML, and other
database and spreadsheet formats.
Connect to external
data so that you can
view, query, and edit
that data.
Access enables you to connect to external data sources by
using linked tables, and can act as a friendly user interface
to SQL Server by using Microsoft Access projects.
Publish to Web
pages
You can use both Access and Excel to create static and
dynamic Web pages. In Excel, you can create dynamic,
interactive Web pages by using Excel Services. You can use
Access to read, create, update, and resolve conflicts with
SharePoint lists.
Leverage SharePoint lists
Use Forms and reports
Export to PDF and XPS
format
Create and use reports
You can use Access to quickly create reports that filter, sort,
group, and summarize data the way you want.
Create and use forms
In Access, you can create forms that make it easier to add,
change, delete, and navigate your data.
Create a mail merge to mass
produce address labels
Query data
Easily sort and filter data
Create different views and
complex queries
Visualize data

3. Use SmartArt graphics
Create charts
Conditionally format data
Calculate data
Perform what-if analysis
Use functions and formulas
Use PivotTable views and
PivotChart views to work
with your data interactively.
Run sophisticated
calculations to derive the
information that you want.
Use Excel if you primarily run calculations and statistical
comparisons on your data. For example, you can show a
cost/benefit analysis in your company's budget. Excel is
frequently the best choice for performing calculations on
data, especially if that data is mostly numeric; for example,
if you want to maintain a financial budget for a given year.
Source: http://office.microsoft.com/en-001/access-help/using-access-or-excel-to-manage-your-data-
HA010210195.aspx