RandomCoffee vs Excel: pairing employees by hand or running programs on a platform
This page is for HR and internal communications teams that run employee connection programs by hand, or plan to. It covers Excel, Google Sheets and AI chatbots such as ChatGPT or Copilot used to build the pairs, and compares each step of a program with RandomCoffee. Facts about these tools come from Microsoft, Google and OpenAI documentation.
Based on public information as of
The short version
Excel, Google Sheets and AI chatbots such as ChatGPT can produce a list of pairs at no extra cost, and they are a sensible start for a one-off pilot with a few dozen people. Every later round repeats the same manual work: update the list, apply the rules, check past pairs, send the introductions, chase reminders and rebuild the report. RandomCoffee is a complete connection platform that automates these steps for several programs at once, reaches employees in Microsoft Teams, Slack or email, and is SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 certified. RandomCoffee has a Free plan, and its Pro prices are public.
Side by side
| Criterion | RandomCoffee | Excel |
|---|---|---|
| Setup | Ready-to-use program templates on every plan; participants join through invite links and registration forms, or are imported from your HRIS on Pro and Enterprise | Nothing to buy or install if you already use Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace; you design the sheet yourself: participant list, criteria columns, a tab of past pairs, formulas or a chatbot prompt |
| Matching rules | Matching rules on any profile field (department, office, seniority, language, skills, goals, form answers), ranked by priority, for pairs or groups of 2 to 10; each round can be reviewed before it is sent | Random order with RAND, which Microsoft says returns a new number every time the sheet is calculated, so pairs must be fixed as values; rules such as 'different departments' are checked with filters or custom formulas. A chatbot follows rules written in the prompt, and its output needs checking |
| Avoiding repeat matches | Every round checks the meeting history of all your programs and pairs people with someone new whenever possible; admin review warns when two people were matched before | Past pairs are kept in a tab and checked against each new round with lookup formulas or by eye; the tab grows every round. A chatbot only avoids the past pairs it is given in the conversation or in attached files |
| Invitations and scheduling | Matches are sent automatically; a booking page lets each pair schedule, and meetings are set in participants' Google or Outlook calendars | Word mail merge can send one email per row of an Excel list; finding a time is left to each pair or to the organizer |
| Reminders and follow-up | Automated reminders to join in-progress sessions; members can snooze when on vacation or too busy; recurring sessions start and stop automatically | Reminders are written and sent by hand; who met, who did not and who is away is known only if someone asks and updates the sheet |
| Several programs at once | Unlimited programs on Pro and Enterprise (one on Free), each with its own schedule and rules; meeting history is shared across programs | One file or tab per program; making sure people do not meet twice across two programs means cross-checking files |
| Working as a team | Admin seats: 1 on Free, 3 on Pro, on demand on Enterprise, with team permissions on Enterprise; programs are set up in the web app or in Microsoft Teams | Excel co-authoring (files in OneDrive or SharePoint) and Google Sheets sharing let several people edit, with version history; Microsoft notes that when two people change the same thing, the last save wins. Each admin has to understand the formulas or prompts |
| Reaching participants | Official Microsoft Teams app (Microsoft Marketplace WA200004991): employees get matches and reminders, accept, book a slot, snooze and answer surveys in Teams. Official Slack app; every program also works by email, with custom sending domains on paid plans | The sheet does not reach anyone by itself: introductions go out by email or mail merge, or are posted by hand in Teams or Slack |
| Joiners and leavers | HRIS sync on Pro and Enterprise (Workday, SAP SuccessFactors, UKG Pro, BambooHR, HiBob, Rippling and more) keeps arrivals and departures up to date; SCIM on Pro and Enterprise | The list is a copy: new hires are added and leavers removed by hand, or from a fresh HRIS export before each round |
| Feedback and reporting | Built-in dashboard with participation rates and trends, number of connections, session-by-session follow-up and program comparisons; exports by program, session or person (dashboard and exports on every plan); forms with real-time results | Feedback needs a separate form (Google Forms can save answers to a linked sheet); charts and pivot tables are built from the collected data, and Copilot in Excel can help build them |
| Data security | SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 certified, GDPR and CCPA ready; AES-256 encryption at rest, TLS 1.2 in transit; SAML SSO on Enterprise; hosting on AWS in the US or the EU | Depends on where the file is stored and who it is shared with. OpenAI says it does not train on data from ChatGPT business plans by default; on personal plans, a setting decides. Microsoft says prompts and responses in Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 business customers are not used to train foundation models |
| Cost | Free plan: one program, up to 20 users per session, one admin seat. Pro from $19 to $879 per month billed annually depending on active users ($23 to $1,055 billed monthly); Enterprise custom. Prices as of October 20, 2026. | No extra license if your organization already has Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace; Copilot in Excel may not be included in every Microsoft 365 subscription. The main cost is the organizer's time, every round |
Where RandomCoffee is the better choice
- RandomCoffee is the better choice for programs that repeat: recurring sessions start and stop automatically, and every round checks the meeting history of all your programs so people meet someone new whenever possible.
- RandomCoffee is the better choice for several programs at once, such as coffee chats, onboarding buddies, mentoring and ERG connections, run by several admins from one platform.
- RandomCoffee is the better choice to reach every participant where they work: matches, reminders, booking and surveys arrive in Microsoft Teams, Slack or email.
- RandomCoffee is the better choice when you need to report results, with a built-in dashboard for participation and connections and exports by program, session or person.
- RandomCoffee is the better choice when IT reviews where employee data goes: SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, SAML SSO on Enterprise, SCIM and HRIS sync on Pro and Enterprise, and US or EU hosting.
Where Excel is the better choice
- A spreadsheet is the better choice for a one-off pilot with a few dozen people: there is nothing to set up, and the organizer sees and checks every pair.
- A spreadsheet is the better choice when your team wants zero new tools: if your organization already uses Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, there is nothing to buy, install or send to IT for review.
- A spreadsheet is the better choice when the budget is zero and the group is larger than the RandomCoffee Free plan allows (one program, up to 20 users per session).
- An AI chatbot such as ChatGPT or Copilot is a quick way to draft a first list of pairs and introduction messages from a list you provide, to test the idea before choosing a tool.
Who should use what
Use RandomCoffee if
- Use RandomCoffee if your program runs every month or every quarter and the list of participants changes between rounds.
- Use RandomCoffee if matches must follow rules, such as different departments or mentor skills that fit mentee goals, and should avoid repeat pairs.
- Use RandomCoffee if several people in HR or internal communications run programs together and need one shared view.
- Use RandomCoffee if leadership asks for participation numbers, or if your security team prefers employee data in a certified platform rather than in shared files or chat prompts.
Use Excel if
- Use Excel if you run a one-off pilot with a few dozen people and can check every pair yourself.
- Use Excel if your team does not want any new tool and one organizer has time for each round.
- Use Excel if your budget is zero and your group is bigger than the RandomCoffee Free plan allows.
- Use Google Sheets or an AI chatbot if you want a quick first list of pairs to test the idea before you choose a tool.
Frequently asked questions
Can I run coffee chats with Excel or Google Sheets?
Yes. List participants in a sheet, shuffle them (for example with RAND, then paste the result as values so it stops changing), pair neighbors, check each pair against your rules and past pairs, and email the introductions, for instance with Word mail merge. It works well for a small or one-off group. Every new round repeats these steps, and reminders, scheduling, feedback and reporting stay manual.
How do I avoid repeat matches in a spreadsheet?
Keep a tab with every past pair, ideally with one key per pair (both names in alphabetical order). After each shuffle, look up every new pair in that tab and reshuffle the conflicts. The tab grows with every round and every program, and the check has to be redone each time. RandomCoffee checks the meeting history of all your programs first and pairs people with someone new whenever possible; in small groups where everyone has met, the oldest past partners become eligible again.
Is there a free alternative to a spreadsheet for coffee chats?
Yes. RandomCoffee has a Free plan with one program, up to 20 users per session and one admin seat, including matching rules, Microsoft Teams and Slack integrations, Google and Outlook calendar integrations, and the dashboard and data exports. Larger groups and several programs need Pro, from $19 per month billed annually (prices as of October 20, 2026, see https://www.random-coffee.com/pricing/).
Can ChatGPT or Copilot pair employees for coffee chats?
Yes, as a helper. An AI chatbot can turn a list you provide into pairs and follow rules you write in the prompt, such as different departments. It only knows the past pairs you give it, and OpenAI says ChatGPT can produce incorrect outputs, so each list needs checking. Sending introductions, scheduling, reminders and feedback remain separate steps. RandomCoffee applies ranked matching rules and the meeting history of all your programs every round, then sends matches in Microsoft Teams, Slack or email.
Is RandomCoffee worth it compared with a spreadsheet?
It depends on how often you run rounds. Take a worked example, with plain assumptions: 200 people, paired every month. Each round means updating the list for joiners, leavers and people on leave, building 100 pairs, checking them against your rules and every past pair, sending 100 introductions, answering reschedule questions, sending reminders, collecting feedback and updating the report. Over a year that is 12 rounds, and the list of past pairs to check reaches 1,200. If that time costs more than a RandomCoffee plan, the platform is worth it; for a single small round, a spreadsheet is enough.
Is it safe to put employee data in a spreadsheet or an AI chatbot?
It depends on your setup. A spreadsheet is as protected as the place it is stored and the people it is shared with. OpenAI states that it does not train its models on ChatGPT Enterprise, Business or Edu data by default, while personal ChatGPT plans have a setting that decides whether conversations train its models. Microsoft says prompts and responses in Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 business customers are not used to train foundation models. Check your organization's policy before you paste employee lists. RandomCoffee is SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 certified, GDPR and CCPA ready, and hosts data on AWS in the US or the EU.
Sources (21)
- Microsoft Support: collaborate on Excel workbooks with co-authoring (checked on )
- Microsoft Support: RAND function in Excel (checked on )
- Microsoft Support: use mail merge for bulk email (checked on )
- Microsoft Support: get started with Copilot in Excel (checked on )
- Microsoft Learn: data, privacy and security for Microsoft 365 Copilot (checked on )
- Google Docs Editors Help: share files from Google Drive (checked on )
- Google Docs Editors Help: find what has changed in a file (version history) (checked on )
- Google Docs Editors Help: choose where to save form responses (checked on )
- OpenAI Help Center: data controls in ChatGPT (checked on )
- OpenAI Help Center: does ChatGPT tell the truth? (checked on )
- OpenAI: business data privacy, security and compliance (checked on )
- RandomCoffee matching algorithm and meeting history (checked on )
- RandomCoffee participation and reminders (checked on )
- RandomCoffee adjustable planning (recurring sessions) (checked on )
- RandomCoffee booking page (checked on )
- RandomCoffee HRIS synchronization (checked on )
- RandomCoffee centralized dashboard (checked on )
- RandomCoffee result exports (checked on )
- RandomCoffee forms (checked on )
- RandomCoffee pricing (checked on )
- RandomCoffee official information (security, integrations, Teams) (checked on )
Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Copilot are trademarks of Microsoft, Google Sheets is a trademark of Google, and ChatGPT is a trademark of OpenAI. RandomCoffee is not affiliated with or endorsed by them.
