Best for
Best for marketers and researchers who process long columns of text in Google Sheets or Excel and want ChatGPT available as a cell function.
AI Data Analysis Comparison
Numerous.ai vs. Shortcut AI
At a glance
At a glance
Best for
Best for finance teams that build Excel models from filings and want an agent to do the modelling with each figure traced to its source.
Cataleo does not name a winner. Both statements come from the vendors themselves.
Full Comparison
| Criterion | Numerous.ai | Shortcut AI |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From 8 US dollars / month Personal plan billed yearly, or 19 US dollars billed monthly; 1 million characters of ChatGPT inputs and outputs, single user. | Free plan; Pro from 100 US dollars / month Pro is shown at 100 US dollars a month billed annually, with credits refreshing monthly; the pricing page does not give a price for monthly billing. Teams is 320 US dollars a month plus 100 US dollars per seat a month, also billed annually. |
| Free trial | First 7 days free | Free plan with 20 credits per week |
| Output | Text written into spreadsheet cells, such as summaries, categories, rewrites and generated formulas | Edited or newly built Excel workbooks with working formulas and charts, plus written analysis, Word and PowerPoint documents and PDFs |
| API | Not stated | Platform API for asynchronous spreadsheet jobs, included from the Pro plan |
| Hosting | Add-on for Google Sheets and add-in for Microsoft Excel | Excel add-in, web app, Windows desktop app and command-line tool; the vendor also offers on-premise deployment |
| Data sources and file types | Cells in Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel, passed as arguments to its functions | The open Excel workbook and any attached files, including filings, PDFs, CSVs and zip archives; the desktop app and CLI can open local files and folders synced from OneDrive, SharePoint, Google Drive, Dropbox and Box, and databases or internal APIs can be reached through MCP connectors. A Google Sheets add-on is also available |
| Charts, tables and summaries | Answers written into cells: summaries, categories and sentiment labels; the =INFER function completes a column from 4 or 5 worked examples | Builds and edits workbooks, including dashboards and charts, or answers read-only in Ask mode with summaries and review; other outputs such as documents, presentations and analysis are downloadable from the chat |
| Formulas and code | Generates spreadsheet formulas from a plain-English description, from SUM and COUNTIF to VLOOKUP, QUERY and REGEX, and explains existing formulas in plain English | Builds models with linked Excel formulas in the workbook itself; the workspace keeps the code behind a chart, and the desktop Excel mode on Windows can work with VBA and macros |
| Traceability to the source | Not stated | On request, or through a skill that writes them, the agent adds a note to a cell naming the source file, the page and the figure; selecting the cell opens the cited document inside the app at that page with the figure highlighted |
| File size and row limits | Not stated | The workspace accepts attached files of any type up to 5 GB; row limits are not stated, and Platform API quotas are given in the live API reference |
| Data handling and privacy | Requests are sent to OpenAI through its API, which OpenAI states it does not use for training and retains for 30 days for abuse monitoring. Data passed into =AI, =WRITE and =INFER is cached in a database on Google Cloud in the United States; the vendor states it does not store spreadsheet data that is not passed into these functions | The privacy policy describes a "Help improve Shortcut" setting, on by default for individual Pro accounts and Teams members, under which conversations may be retained and used to train models, and states that Enterprise data is never used for model training. The vendor lists SOC 2 Type II, zero-data-retention agreements with model providers, bring-your-own-key encryption, a private LLM gateway and customer-owned storage |
| Export and sharing | Not stated | Edits land in the workbook itself, and generated workbooks, documents and decks can be downloaded; projects with shared files can be shared with people or a whole team to view, edit or manage |
| Integrations and API | Not stated | Platform API at api.shortcut.ai: submit a prompt with a workbook and supporting files, get a run ID, poll or receive a signed webhook, and download the resulting .xlsx; MCP connectors in the desktop app, CLI, add-in and web app, and a plugin for Claude Code and Codex |
| Deployment | Cloud (SaaS) | more entries Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based, On-premise |
| Support | Email helpdesk | more entries Email helpdesk, Community forum |
| Onboarding | Live online demos and webinars | more entries Documentation and knowledge base, Guided onboarding |
| Integrations | Google Sheets, Microsoft Excel | more entries Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, Claude Code, Codex |
Add a tool
Adds a column to the table, from the tools in this category.
Row where the values differ The small markers point at the lower number, the longer list or the stated feature. They describe the data, they are not a verdict.
The short version
Key Differences
- Starting price Numerous.ai From 8 US dollars / month Shortcut AI Free plan; Pro from 100 US dollars / month
- Free trial Numerous.ai First 7 days free Shortcut AI Free plan with 20 credits per week
- Deployment Numerous.ai Cloud (SaaS) Shortcut AI Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based, On-premise
- Hosting Numerous.ai Add-on for Google Sheets and add-in for Microsoft Excel Shortcut AI Excel add-in, web app, Windows desktop app and command-line tool; the vendor also offers on-premise deployment
- Support Numerous.ai Email helpdesk Shortcut AI Email helpdesk, Community forum
Every line is one datapoint from the table above, picked automatically. Nothing here is written text.
The trade-offs
Strengths and Limitations
Numerous.ai
Strengths
- Works as ordinary spreadsheet functions that can be dragged down a column
- =INFER applies a pattern taught with 4 or 5 examples to the remaining rows
- Generates formulas from plain English and explains existing ones
- No OpenAI API key needed
- Remaining tokens are kept after cancelling, according to the vendor
Limitations
- Usage is capped by a monthly allowance of ChatGPT characters per plan
- The Personal plan is limited to a single user
- Results are written into cells; the website describes no charts or dashboards
- No API or integrations beyond the two spreadsheet apps are described
Shortcut AI
Strengths
- Free plan with 20 credits a week across web, desktop, Excel and Google Sheets
- Cell notes link a figure to the source file and page it came from
- Works inside Excel as an add-in and also without Excel in the browser
- Platform API for unattended spreadsheet jobs from the Pro plan
Limitations
- Every request spends credits, typically 2 to 15 per message by the vendor's figure
- Pro and Teams prices are shown only for annual billing
- Model training on conversations is on by default for Pro and Teams accounts
- The deepest Excel features, including VBA, need the desktop app on Windows
Plans
Pricing
Numerous.ai
- Personal 8 US dollars / month Billed yearly, or 19 US dollars billed monthly. 1 million characters of ChatGPT inputs and outputs, Google Sheets and Excel, single user.
- Pro 24 US dollars / month Billed yearly, or 39 US dollars billed monthly. 5 million characters, Google Sheets and Excel, shared with up to 3 people, email support.
- Enterprise 8 US dollars / user / month Billed yearly, or 10 US dollars per user billed monthly. 1 million characters per person, priority email support, video call onboarding on request.
Shortcut AI
- Free 0 US dollars / month 20 free credits per week; access on web, desktop app, Excel plugin and Google Sheets plugin.
- Pro 100 US dollars / month Billed annually, credits refresh monthly. 1,000 monthly credits, unlimited file creation and edits, Platform API access.
- Teams 320 US dollars / month Plus 100 US dollars per seat per month, billed annually. 1,000 pooled monthly team credits, shared workspace and resources, usage analytics and central billing.
- Enterprise Not stated Custom pricing. Adds SSO and custom permissions, bring-your-own-key and a private gateway, dedicated support, custom contracts and SLAs, and optional unlimited seats or credits.
What users say
Review Scores · opens after launch
Numerous.ai
- Ease of use
- Not rated yet
- User interface
- Not rated yet
- Onboarding
- Not rated yet
- Support and service
- Not rated yet
- Value for money
- Not rated yet
- Features
- Not rated yet
No reviews yet. Nothing has been published here yet, and no score is shown. How a review is checked before it appears is described below.
Shortcut AI
- Ease of use
- Not rated yet
- User interface
- Not rated yet
- Onboarding
- Not rated yet
- Support and service
- Not rated yet
- Value for money
- Not rated yet
- Features
- Not rated yet
No reviews yet. Nothing has been published here yet, and no score is shown. How a review is checked before it appears is described below.
How we check reviews
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Where this comes from
Where this comes from
Numerous.ai https://numerous.ai · no check date recorded yet
Shortcut AI https://www.shortcut.ai/ · checked against the official source on 2026-11-06
This table lists factual criteria taken from information the vendors publish themselves. For how we put it together, see the methodology.