Spreadsheet Templates for Storing Passwords: The Good Old Approach

Password spreadsheets 101

Although downloading a spreadsheet from the internet is the most convenient way, no one can stop you from creating your own password worksheet. There are even numerous getting-started guides online to help you design your own spreadsheet from scratch.

However, in the case of a custom password spreadsheet, it’s important to include some sort of differentiation between columns, rows, and credential types to improve legibility. Thankfully, changing the color of the cell, using a different font, or leaving empty spaces between columns (or rows) do the job perfectly.

Still, it’s highly recommended to use a downloaded template since the tedious task of creating all those columns and formatting the document is already done for you. To make things better, most online templates are free of charge, not to mention that they can always be edited and printed.

Free password spreadsheet templates

A simple Google search for ‘free password spreadsheets’ yields virtually endless results. Generally speaking, you can’t go wrong if a spreadsheet contains at least the following columns:

• Website URLs
• Usernames
• Passwords
• Email addresses

To make matters easier, it’s handy to narrow down searches to two categories: free password spreadsheet templates for either Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets.

Microsoft Excel

Vertex42’s Excel spreadsheet is a simple spreadsheet that includes websites, usernames, passwords, email addresses, and notes. As such, this template is a perfect choice if you’re not in need of anything complex.

Tech content creator German Pearls goes a bit beyond the basics. Their password spreadsheet template also includes columns for security questions, email providers, and comments. To top it all off, Amy also advises on how to create your own spreadsheet.

Meanwhile, Andrea Dekker’s work can easily be considered the Rolls Royce of Excel password spreadsheet templates. Other than being visually appealing, it’s perfectly organized, with credit cards, websites, and utility accounts separated.

Google Sheets

Password spreadsheet templates for Google Sheets are harder to find. Fortunately, Google itself provides a very simple template with only three columns for tool names (websites), usernames and email IDs, and passwords.

If you’re looking for something more detailed, Spreadsheet Daddy provides not one but five password log spreadsheets. The Password List Template 1 is especially noteworthy – every website has separate tables for better visuality, and you can add website names, URLs, emails, usernames, passwords, and comments.

Spreadsheet Daddy’s Password Spreadsheet Template is also worth highlighting. In addition to the basics, this spreadsheet lets you leave a direct link to websites. Essential details like the date the password was created and how frequently it’s changed are also included, which are helpful reminders to alter passwords frequently.

Paid password spreadsheet templates

Free password worksheet templates are more than enough for storing credentials effectively. That being said, it’s easy to give in to temptation and pay for a spreadsheet that provides certain extras.

Take TheSpreadsheetGuru’s $25 template (often discounted to $15) as an example. Although it looks like a regular password spreadsheet, the template also comes with customizable account icons, a password generator, and the option to toggle protection on and off. Unfortunately, the worksheet’s free version is limited to only 20 accounts.

Danalyser’s account password manager spreadsheet for $10 is also worth mentioning. The template’s most notable characteristic is the auto-lock feature that protects the spreadsheet when leaving the computer unattended.

Convenience vs security

Despite the fact that using spreadsheets is convenient and doesn’t require any major understanding of IT software, this form of password management is far from being the most secure method of storing sensitive data. Granted, Excel spreadsheets can be secured via password protection, but the passwords for such a file will also need to be stored somewhere as well.

Google Docs might seem like another good solution for having your passwords to hand across your different devices. It’s only too bad, then, that everything could end up in the hands of wrongdoers should your Google account information get leaked or you are tricked into sharing access to your documents that hold this sensitive password data.

However, security is never an issue with a password manager. These solutions have plenty of added benefits, but the convenient desktop or mobile vaults store all kinds of data in an encrypted format, allowing for safe storage of everything from passwords and credit card info to software licenses and receipts.

The option to share this data within a safe environment and the addition of browser extensions to instantly import necessary information are also useful extras. To top it all off, you don’t have to wave goodbye to your spreadsheets either: they can be imported into the password manager by simply saving them as CSV files.