Simpll vs think-cell

The short answer

Side by side

think-cell figures are list pricing as of August 2026, converted to a per-seat monthly equivalent. Confirm current pricing on think-cell’s own order page. We do not list feature claims about think-cell that we have not verified ourselves.

Where think-cell is still better

Any comparison page that claims a clean sweep is not worth reading, so here is the honest version.

Live Excel data links

think-cell can keep a chart bound to a range in an Excel workbook and refresh it when the numbers change. Simpll deliberately does not do this. Simpll charts carry their own datasheet inside the PowerPoint shape instead, which makes them self-contained and portable but means updating a monthly report is a paste, not a refresh. If you rebuild the same deck against changing source data every cycle, that difference is real and it favours think-cell.

macOS

Simpll is a Windows COM add-in and requires PowerPoint 2016 or newer on Windows. There is no Mac build and none is planned in the near term. A mixed Windows/Mac team cannot standardise on Simpll today.

Maturity and enterprise deployment

think-cell has been the consulting standard for roughly two decades. It has volume licensing, silent deployment for IT, a support organisation, and an enormous installed base of people who already know the keyboard shortcuts. Simpll is new. If your risk tolerance for a core production tool is low, that asymmetry matters and you should weigh it.

Where Simpll wins

The price, and what the price removes

$3 a month is the obvious headline, but the more useful consequence is what disappears at that price. There is no purchase order, no budget line, no procurement review, and no security questionnaire. An analyst who needs a waterfall chart this afternoon can have one this afternoon. Teams that could never get think-cell approved can simply expense Simpll.

Chart coverage

Fifteen chart types including waterfall build-up and build-down with connectors, Mekko/Marimekko, Gantt, combination charts with dual axes, 100% stacked variants, and the everyday column, bar, line, area, pie, donut, scatter and bubble set. Labels place themselves and avoid collisions, stacked totals are automatic, and annotations like CAGR arrows and level differences are built in.

The side panel and shortcuts

Simpll docks a panel beside your slide with every chart type, alignment, sizing and formatting control in reach, rather than sending you back to the ribbon for each step. A radial menu opens at the cursor on any Simpll chart. Most formatting work ends up being one click from where you already are.

Your slides are never held hostage

Simpll renders charts as native grouped PowerPoint shapes. They open, print and present correctly on any machine, with or without Simpll installed, and they keep working if you cancel. You are subscribing to the ability to build and edit charts quickly, not to the ability to open your own decks.

Common questions

Is Simpll a genuine think-cell alternative?

For chart creation, yes. Simpll builds waterfalls, Mekko/Marimekko, Gantt, combination and the full set of everyday business charts as native PowerPoint shapes, with automatic label placement and totals. If your think-cell usage is mostly charting, Simpll covers that ground at roughly a tenth of the price. If you depend on live Excel data links, see the honest limitations below.

How much cheaper is Simpll than think-cell?

Simpll is $3 per month or $25 per year. think-cell lists at roughly $28.6 per month as of August 2026. That is close to a 10x difference for a single seat, and Simpll needs no purchase order or procurement cycle at that price.

Does Simpll work on Mac?

No. Simpll is a Windows COM add-in and requires PowerPoint 2016 or newer on Windows. think-cell supports macOS, so if your team is on Mac, think-cell remains the better fit.

Can I keep editing my charts later?

Yes. Every Simpll chart stores its own datasheet inside the PowerPoint shape, so charts stay editable indefinitely — reopen the datasheet, change a number, and the chart redraws. Charts travel inside the .pptx file itself.

What happens to my charts if I stop subscribing?

The charts are native PowerPoint shapes, so they keep rendering in any copy of PowerPoint whether or not Simpll is installed. You lose the ability to edit them through Simpll, not the slides themselves.

Is there a free trial?

Yes — 30 days, full access to every chart and feature, no credit card required.