What is the difference between XL-Connector and XL-Connector 365?

Main differences between XL-Connector and XL-Connector 365:

1. XL-Connector 365 works in any Excel (Excel for Windows, Excel for Mac, Excel Online), while XL-Connector only works on Windows
2. XL-Connector 365 can perform automatic data pulls and pushes offline in an Excel file stored on OneDrive or SharePoint. XL-Connector cannot do that, it’s a locally installed tool that works only when Excel is running.
3. XL-Connector has the ability to work with VBA, which makes it more flexible in creating complex automation tasks.
4. XL-Connector has a set of admin-specific features dealing with Salesforce metadata that are not available in XL-Connector 365.

XL-Connector and XL-Connector 365 are different apps with different architectures, and due to these differences, one app cannot ‘see’ any settings saved by the other. So any reports, SOQL queries, or data upload mappings saved by one app will not be visible from the other. It is possible to have them work side by side in the same copy of Excel. Find more information about the apps below.

XL-Connector

XL-Connector is a COM addin that was created by Xappex back in 2013.

It is a piece of software that needs to be installed on a local computer to appear in the Excel ribbon. Since COM add-ins are not supported by Excels on any other platform than Windows – XL-Connector can be used on Windows computers only.

Once installed, it shows up in the XL-Connector ribbon tab in Excel:

XL-Connector 365

XL-Connector 365 is the new type of Microsoft Excel add-ins that are supported across all platforms where Excel can be used.

It is a cloud app that can be installed from Microsoft AppSource. Once installed, the shortcuts to the main add-in functions will show up in the XL-Connector 365 ribbon tab in Excel:

Clicking on any of the shortcuts will open the main plug-in window as a side pane in Excel:

Apart from UI differences, there are some functional differences as well.