What is a spreadsheet primarily used for?

A spreadsheet is primarily designed for manipulating and analyzing data organized in rows and columns. This format allows users to enter, calculate, and manage numerical data effectively, making it ideal for tasks such as budgeting, financial analysis, and data tracking. The structure of rows and columns enables users to perform operations like sorting, filtering, and applying formulas, thus gaining insights from the data more efficiently.

Unlike visual presentation tools that focus on graphics and layouts, or word processors that emphasize text creation and formatting, spreadsheets excel in numerical data handling and calculations. Additionally, while spreadsheets can store structured data, they are not specifically tailored for managing large amounts of unstructured data, which is better suited to databases or specialized data storage systems.