Honest comparison
Decize vs a spreadsheet decision log
Their public pages were read on September 21, 2026. Tell us if something has changed.
A spreadsheet is the better choice for a small team that logs a few decisions a month and has someone who keeps it current: it is free, shared only with the people you choose, and yours to shape. Choose Decize when rows stop getting written, or when nobody goes back to record how decisions turned out.
What a spreadsheet decision log is
A decision log kept in Excel or Google Sheets: one row per decision, with the columns you choose. Free templates are common. Stakeholdermap’s Excel template has columns for decision ID, category, decision, responsible party, date and comments, and Cloverpop’s template adds a monthly analysis of decisiveness and effectiveness.
Side by side
| Decize | a spreadsheet decision log | |
|---|---|---|
| How decisions get captured | Decize: Forward or Cc an email to your workspace address, type it in plain language, or import a document. Decize drafts the fields and saves the record. | a spreadsheet decision log: Someone opens the file and types a row. |
| Follows up on outcomes | Decize: Deadline reminders, then an outcome email about two weeks after its deadline (or after it was logged, if it has none), except in a few cases, such as a replaced decision. It goes to the owner, or to whoever logged it by email or in the web app. Tap an answer, then Save; no login. | a spreadsheet decision log: Nothing built in. Google Sheets notifications fire on edits or form submissions, not on a due date. |
| Forecasts and calibration | Decize: Optional confidence on each decision, in words, counted only once a person confirms it. The dashboard’s calibration chart and the Brier score need the team to have recorded 50 outcomes; the Brier score is on Business and also needs 5 decisions with a confirmed confidence and an outcome. | a spreadsheet decision log: Possible with your own columns and formulas. Cloverpop’s template analyzes decisiveness and effectiveness each month. |
| Structure | Decize: Fixed fields: owner, deadline, reversibility, confidence, outcome and lesson. The first four are drafted from what you wrote, and left blank or “unsure” when it doesn’t say. | a spreadsheet decision log: Whatever columns you choose. Stakeholdermap’s template uses ID, category, decision, responsible party, date and comments. |
| Pricing model | Decize: Per decision, never per seat: $0 for 10 a month, $99 for 50, $249 for 200. Unlimited people on every plan. | a spreadsheet decision log: Free templates, used in Excel or Google Sheets under whatever access you already have. |
| Who can see what | Decize: Every member reads the whole ledger; there are no private decisions. No leaderboard, and no per-person score anyone else can see. | a spreadsheet decision log: Whoever you share the file with, set per file. |
| Reporting | Decize: Dashboard and weekly email of workspace-level numbers: counts from the first decision, and what works once the team has recorded 50 outcomes. The dashboard’s calibration chart waits for the same 50 and counts only confidence a person confirmed. Digests need a paid plan. | a spreadsheet decision log: Your own charts and pivot tables, or a template’s built-in summary. |
| Setup effort | Decize: About five minutes: create a workspace, add people by email, copy the capture address. | a spreadsheet decision log: Download a template and share the file. A few minutes. |
| Getting your data out | Decize: Full ledger as CSV, and as PDF 150 decisions at a time, on every plan, Free included. | a spreadsheet decision log: It is already a file you hold, in a format anything can read. |
Choose a spreadsheet decision log if
- You log a handful of decisions a month and one person reliably keeps the file current.
- You want to shape every column and formula yourself.
- You want the log to stay in files you already control and share.
- You want something free that needs no new account for anyone.
Choose Decize if
- Rows stop getting added because opening the sheet is one step too many.
- The outcome column is mostly empty.
- You want deadline reminders and outcome questions sent to owners without scripting them.
- You want calibration and follow-through numbers without building formulas.
Sources: Stakeholdermap, “Decision Log Template” (Excel, free) · Cloverpop, free decision log template for Excel and Google Sheets · Google Docs Editors Help, notifications in Google Sheets