PlatwrightCompare
Why not just build it yourself?
It's the right question, and it has a real answer. Nobody arrives here from a competing product. They arrive from one of two places: a blank spreadsheet they were about to start, or a free template from a blog post. Both of those are legitimate, both cost nothing, and for some people they are the better choice.
So here is the comparison written the way it actually stands — including the parts where the free option wins.
What a blank sheet does better
Three things, and they matter.
- It fits you exactly. Your deals, your columns, your vocabulary. No layout to learn, nothing you don't use.
- You know every formula, because you wrote it. That is a real kind of confidence, and no purchased file gives it to you on day one.
- It's free, and it starts now. No download, no decision.
A free blog template gives you a fourth: it puts numbers on screen in about ten minutes. For one quick look at one property, that is often all that's needed — which is why the Deal Screener is free and does exactly that job.
The counting
What takes the time isn't the layout
Building the sheet is an afternoon. What takes the time is everything after: the formula that works on a normal property and breaks on a mid-year purchase, the rate typed as 6.5 instead of 0.065, the column that silently stops referring to the row you moved.
These are the counts in the four paid files, taken from the files themselves:
Rental Property Analyzer
Income & Expense Tracker
Short-Term Rental Tracker
Portfolio Dashboard
Deal Screener — free
All four paid files
None of that is a feature list. It's the size of the thing you'd be writing and then checking, formula by formula, on an evening after work.
The three options, plainly
A blank sheet
Shaped to you, exactly. Free. You know every formula because you wrote it. You also own every error in it, and you find those the slow way — from the outcome, not from a message. Best when your situation is unusual enough that no general file would fit it.
A free blog template
Costs nothing and works in ten minutes. Usually one tab, one scenario, few edge cases; typically no worked example, no protection on the formula cells, and nobody to ask when a number looks wrong. Best for a single quick check on a single property.
A Platwright template
Someone else's layout to learn, and it costs money. Every engine is recalculated outside the spreadsheet and compared against the file, cell by cell, then opened empty, fed extreme dates, and given numbers typed into the wrong field. Best when you'll use it repeatedly and want the arithmetic to be somebody else's problem.
Read those three and pick the one that describes your situation. There is no winner in that row, because it depends on facts about you that this page doesn't know.
What the price is actually for
Not features. Every one of these calculations is one you could write yourself — PMT for a payment, EDATE for a date twelve months out, SUMPRODUCT for a weighted total. The whole catalog runs on thirteen functions, and none of them are exotic.
What you're paying for is that it has already been done and checked. And that every file arrives the same way: a Start Here tab that tells you where to type, a The Numbers tab that shows every formula in plain sight, a worked example already loaded so nothing is ever blank, protected sheets so a stray click cannot delete a formula, and a dark version of the main panel as a second tab.
Honestly
When this is the wrong pick
- One deal, one time. Use the free Deal Screener and keep your money.
- You want a model, not a template. Waterfall splits, partnership tiers, development pro formas — these files don't do that, and a blank sheet is the honest answer.
- You enjoy building it. Some people do, and they end up with something better fitted than anything sold. That's a real outcome, not a consolation.
- You need software, not a spreadsheet. If you want tenant portals, rent collection or bank sync, this is the wrong shape of thing entirely.
Questions this page usually raises
Can I edit it?
Yes. Every formula is open to read. The sheets are protected so a stray click cannot delete a formula.
In Excel: Review > Unprotect Sheet. The password is printed inside the file, in Start Here. In Google Sheets: you own your copy, so you can edit anything — Sheets will just ask you to confirm first.
Isn't a template more limiting than my own sheet?
Yes, in one direction. A file built for up to eight units or up to ten properties has a ceiling, and yours wouldn't. What you get in exchange is that the arithmetic inside that ceiling has been recalculated outside the spreadsheet and compared against the file. Which trade is better depends on how unusual your portfolio is.
Why a spreadsheet instead of an app?
Because you can see the formula. An app shows you a number and asks you to trust it; a spreadsheet shows you the arithmetic that produced it, and lets you change it. It also keeps working with no account, no subscription and no connection — the file is on your computer, and it outlives this store.
Do the numbers on this page describe my property?
No. The counts above describe the files — tabs, formulas, cells, functions. Any figure shown inside a template is an example, loaded so the file is never blank. Your results come from the numbers you enter.
What about my taxes?
These are calculation tools, not tax preparation. See the note below, and take anything tax-related to a qualified professional.
This template is a calculation tool, not financial, tax, or legal advice. Results are estimates based on the numbers you enter. Verify with a qualified professional before making any purchase, financing, or tax decision.