A new open-source library called Acl.Excel is making waves in the .NET community with claims of 30x faster Excel processing compared to established libraries like NPOI and ClosedXML. The benchmark, run on .NET 8 with a 10K row by 7 column dataset, shows significant performance gains, though the author is careful to disclose test conditions, version differences, and known limitations. This is not just a simple wrapper; it's a from-scratch implementation designed for speed and low memory footprint. For .NET developers dealing with large Excel files in data pipelines, reporting, or ETL processes, this could be a game-changer. The article also highlights the importance of benchmark transparency, as performance claims can vary widely based on hardware, data shape, and library versions. As the .NET ecosystem continues to evolve, specialized high-performance libraries like Acl.Excel are becoming essential tools for developers who need to process large datasets efficiently without relying on interop or heavyweight dependencies.
A new pure C# Excel library, Acl.Excel, claims 30x performance improvement over NPOI and ClosedXML in benchmarks. The article provides measured data on 10K x 7 column workloads with .NET 8, while noting version differences and limitations. This signals growing demand for high-performance spreadsheet processing in .NET.