Honest comparison
Decize vs a spreadsheet decision log
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; a person confirms. | a spreadsheet decision log: Someone opens the file and types a row. |
| Follows up on outcomes | Decize: Deadline reminders, then a one-tap outcome email to the owner about two weeks after the decision matures. No login needed. | 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 and dated forecast on each decision. Calibration, including a Brier score, needs five resolved forecasts and starts on Business. | 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, forecast, outcome and lesson, drafted from what you wrote. | 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 per-person scores anywhere. | a spreadsheet decision log: Whoever you share the file with, set per file. |
| Reporting | Decize: Dashboard and weekly email of workspace-level numbers. Each rate stays blank until five decisions sit behind it. 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 on paid plans. The ledger stays readable on Free. | 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