They play different games. Claude in Excel is an AI assistant for Excel (min $20 Claude Pro): great for models, scenarios, complex formulas, validation sheets and a built-in Python sandbox - but it cannot make API calls, web-scrape, connect to external databases, run automations, or guarantee the same result each run.
xlwings Lite is pure Python inside Excel (free): API calls, web scrapes, remote databases, local folders, PDF/HTML reports, image processing - built for advanced automation and full-stack Excel apps, but it is not an autonomous assistant.
Rule of thumb: Claude in Excel for Excel heavy-lifting and one-off analysis; xlwings Lite for automation and tools; and if you need Excel to reach a backend by natural language, use Claude in Excel plus an MCP connector. For ML models, Jupyter/Colab or Claude Code are usually better. Full comparison: https://www.tigzig.com/post/python-in-excel-claude-vs-xlwings-lite. Excel hub: https://www.tigzig.com/claude-for-analytics. xlwings Lite starter: https://www.tigzig.com/xlwings-starter.
Building something like this? How I work covers the rates, the availability and what I take on.