xlsx vs exceljs vs excel4node vs xlsx-populate: Excel File Manipulation in Node.js Comparison

Package	Downloads	Stars	Size	Issues	Publish	License

xlsx	1,758,445	35,277	7.5 MB	129	-	Apache-2.0
exceljs	1,283,875	13,935	21.8 MB	681	a year ago	MIT
excel4node	117,556	134	1.12 MB	34	2 years ago	MIT
xlsx-populate	50,643	960	-	157	5 years ago	MIT

File Creation and Manipulation

xlsx:
xlsx is a powerful library for both reading and writing Excel files. It supports a wide range of formats and allows for detailed manipulation of cell data, styles, and structures. It is particularly strong in data extraction and transformation tasks, making it suitable for both creation and manipulation of Excel files.
exceljs:
exceljs excels in both creating and manipulating Excel files. It supports reading, writing, and modifying existing files, making it a versatile choice for comprehensive Excel file handling. It also supports advanced features like streaming and handling large files efficiently.
excel4node:
excel4node is primarily focused on creating Excel files from scratch. It allows for basic manipulation of cell values, styles, and formatting, but it does not support reading or modifying existing Excel files.
xlsx-populate:
xlsx-populate is designed for manipulating existing Excel files. It allows for easy modification of cell values, styles, and formulas, but it does not provide features for creating files from scratch. It is ideal for tasks that require updating or enhancing existing spreadsheets.

Support for Existing Files

xlsx:
xlsx offers extensive support for existing files, allowing for both reading and writing operations. It can handle complex data structures, making it suitable for applications that need to manipulate or analyze data from existing Excel files.
exceljs:
exceljs provides robust support for both reading and writing existing Excel files. This makes it a great choice for applications that need to process, modify, or extract data from pre-existing spreadsheets.
excel4node:
excel4node does not support reading or modifying existing Excel files. It is designed solely for creating new files from scratch, which limits its functionality in scenarios where existing data needs to be accessed or altered.
xlsx-populate:
xlsx-populate focuses on modifying existing Excel files. It allows for intuitive manipulation of cell values, styles, and formulas, but it does not support reading data in the same way as other libraries. It is best suited for tasks that involve updating or enhancing already created spreadsheets.

Styling and Formatting

xlsx:
xlsx supports basic styling and formatting, but it is not as feature-rich as exceljs in this regard. The library focuses more on data manipulation and file handling rather than providing extensive styling capabilities.
exceljs:
exceljs offers advanced styling and formatting features, including support for fonts, colors, borders, and even conditional formatting. It provides a more flexible and powerful styling API, making it suitable for creating complex and visually appealing Excel files.
excel4node:
excel4node provides basic styling and formatting capabilities, including font styles, colors, and cell borders. However, its styling features are limited compared to more comprehensive libraries, making it suitable for simple formatting tasks.
xlsx-populate:
xlsx-populate provides a user-friendly API for styling and formatting cells, including support for fonts, colors, borders, and more. It allows for more intuitive and flexible styling compared to some other libraries, making it easier to create visually appealing spreadsheets.

Ease of Use: Code Examples

xlsx:

Reading and Writing Excel Files with xlsx

const XLSX = require('xlsx');

// Create a new workbook and worksheet
const workbook = XLSX.utils.book_new();
const worksheet = XLSX.utils.aoa_to_sheet([['Name', 'Age'], ['Alice', 30], ['Bob', 25]]);

// Add the worksheet to the workbook
XLSX.utils.book_append_sheet(workbook, worksheet, 'Sheet1');

// Write the workbook to a file
XLSX.writeFile(workbook, 'example.xlsx');

// Read the workbook
const readWorkbook = XLSX.readFile('example.xlsx');
const readWorksheet = readWorkbook.Sheets['Sheet1'];
const data = XLSX.utils.sheet_to_json(readWorksheet);
console.log(data);

exceljs:

Creating and Reading Excel Files with exceljs

const ExcelJS = require('exceljs');

// Create a new workbook and worksheet
const workbook = new ExcelJS.Workbook();
const sheet = workbook.addWorksheet('My Sheet');

// Add data to the worksheet
sheet.addRow(['Name', 'Age']);
sheet.addRow(['Alice', 30]);
sheet.addRow(['Bob', 25]);

// Save the workbook
await workbook.xlsx.writeFile('example.xlsx');

// Read the workbook
const readWorkbook = new ExcelJS.Workbook();
await readWorkbook.xlsx.readFile('example.xlsx');
const readSheet = readWorkbook.getWorksheet('My Sheet');
readSheet.eachRow((row, rowNumber) => {
  console.log(`Row ${rowNumber}: ${row.values}`);
});

excel4node:

Creating a Simple Excel File with excel4node

const excel = require('excel4node');

// Create a new instance of a Workbook
const wb = new excel.Workbook();

// Add Worksheets to the Workbook
const ws = wb.addWorksheet('Sheet 1');

// Set value of a cell
ws.cell(1, 1).string('Hello');
ws.cell(1, 2).number(123);

// Save the Workbook
wb.write('SimpleExcel.xlsx');

xlsx-populate:

Modifying an Existing Excel File with xlsx-populate

const XlsxPopulate = require('xlsx-populate');

// Load an existing workbook
XlsxPopulate.fromFileAsync('example.xlsx').then(workbook => {
  const sheet = workbook.sheet(0);

  // Modify cell values
  sheet.cell('A1').value('Name');
  sheet.cell('B1').value('Age');
  sheet.cell('A2').value('Alice');
  sheet.cell('B2').value(30);

  // Save the changes
  return workbook.toFileAsync('modified-example.xlsx');
});