PURCHASE SIZE / ROLE TEAM
1 operatorPer-member plans scale with the team; account, site, usage, and one-time plans stay fixed until checkout.
MODEL × ANALYZE × EXPLAIN
Data analyst
Analysts use AI for speed and sign off each result.Data analysts shape source data, explore it with reviewable code, publish repeatable reports, and explain each decision in plain language.
Recommended stack$54/ month · 1 person
Lean route$25.83/ month · 1 person
Annual difference$338.04/ year
MEMBERSHIP ROUTE / 4
Recommended memberships
USD · list price01Microsoft 365Spreadsheet model + reporting surface
Business Standard1 seat · Per member · Per user, paid yearly; desktop apps and Teams included$14/mo 02ChatGPTCode-backed exploratory analysis
Plus1 seat · Per member · Billed monthly$20/mo 03AirtableOperational data intake + workflow
Team1 seat · Per member · Per paid editor/month, billed annually; read-only collaborators are not billed$20/mo 04NotionMetric dictionary + decision archive
Free1 seat · Per member · No subscription$0/mo 01 / CONTRACT
Define the grain, denominator, and owner before opening a chart.
Metric dictionary, source owner, reporting grain, exclusions, freshness target, and acceptance checks.
Human gateA business owner approves each definition and any change to a decision-critical metric.
02 / SHAPE
Turn messy intake into a reviewable analysis table.
Typed fields, stable identifiers, join checks, missing-value report, and a frozen analysis extract.
Human gateInspect row counts, joins, duplicates, dates, currencies, and personally identifiable data before analysis.
03 / ANALYZE
Ask questions in plain language, then inspect the generated work.
Reproducible formulas or Python, assumptions, diagnostic tables, charts, and sensitivity checks.
Human gateReview code, filters, sample size, aggregation, outliers, and causal language before accepting a finding.
04 / EXPLAIN
Publish a decision brief with evidence and uncertainty attached.
Executive chart, plain-language finding, source note, confidence boundary, owner, and next decision.
Human gateThe analyst signs off every number and separates observation, inference, and recommendation.
01Spreadsheet copilots are becoming model-building partners.
Copilot in Excel can work with formulas, tables, charts, PivotTables, imports, and insights while keeping the workbook visible for review.
support.microsoft.com02Conversational analysis is becoming code-inspectable.
ChatGPT data analysis can work with spreadsheets and structured files, run Python, create charts, and expose the analysis code for review.
help.openai.com03Operational databases are gaining embedded agents.
Airtable Omni can research, analyze data, build apps, and update records while acting within the user’s existing permissions.
support.airtable.com