Google's Macro Converter isn't available on your plan. What now?

Published 25 October 2026. Checked against Google's documentation on 25 October 2026.

You moved to Google Workspace, opened Google Drive, found the Macro Converter add-on, and it will not work for you. That is not a fault on your account. It is the add-on's stated requirement.

Who the Macro Converter is for

Google's Macro Converter overview lists the requirement first, under "Before you begin":

"You must have a Google Workspace Enterprise Plus account or a Google Workspace for Education Plus account."

Business Starter, Business Standard and Business Plus are not on that list, and neither is a personal Gmail account. The same page also says you "should have some proficiency with Excel or Sheets and scripting languages (VBA or Apps Script)" and "should be able to read and understand basic scripts", because the converted code usually needs work afterwards.

Why your macros don't just run in Google Sheets

Excel macros are written in VBA. Google Sheets automates with Apps Script, which runs JavaScript on Google's servers (the V8 runtime). Sheets can open your .xlsm and convert its sheets, but the VBA in it does not run there. Every macro has to be rewritten in Apps Script, by a tool or by a person.

Even on an eligible plan, some things are converted by hand

Google's own list of common issues says the Macro Converter does not convert UserForms, some event triggers (BeforeClose and BeforeSave among them) or some kinds of named ranges, and its conversion guide says that for files using Adodb.connection, CreateObject, Shell.execute or OleObject you should "reconsider converting those files". So the plan you are on decides whether you get the tool, not whether the hard parts need a person.

Your options

  1. Keep the macro workbooks in Excel. If a workbook is used by one person on one PC and works, leaving it in Excel for now is a legitimate choice. You lose sharing and the browser, not the macro.
  2. Move to a plan that includes the Macro Converter. Worth it only if you need Enterprise Plus for other reasons; the converter still leaves the items above for you to finish.
  3. Convert the macros yourself in Apps Script. Realistic for short macros that read and write cells. The guide How to convert Excel VBA to Apps Script maps the common VBA pieces onto Apps Script, with Google's references for each.
  4. Use Gemini in the Apps Script editor. Google's page on Gemini in Apps Script says its side panel can "generate, modify, and debug code". It lists the licences that qualify: Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, the Gemini add-on licences, Google AI Pro, Google AI Pro for Education and Google AI Ultra. Your administrator has to turn Gemini on, the domain has to be enrolled in the Gemini Beta program, and English is the only language. Google says it "operates on the active file open in the Apps Script editor", and the page does not mention VBA or Excel: it works on the code in front of it, not on your workbook, so knowing which macros there are and what each one touches is still your job.
  5. Have someone convert them. Ask for a written list of what will and will not work in Google Sheets before you pay, and a fixed price. A conversion quoted without one is a guess.

A Gemini version of the Macro Converter is coming

Google has announced a Macro Converter in which Gemini converts "legacy VBA scripts to Apps Script". Its Workspace blog post of 10 June 2026 lists it as "available in alpha in Q2 '26" and does not say which plans it will reach. Until Google says otherwise, the eligibility above is the one in force.

Start with the inventory

Whichever you choose, the first job is the one Google's converter starts with too: a compatibility report. Google's lists each file, and each VBA API in it, as supported exactly, supported with workarounds, or needing more investigation. MacroBridge produces a report of the same kind, procedure by procedure and with line numbers, for any Google plan, including none.

Sources

Google's documentation, read on 25 October 2026. Google updates these pages; if one now says something different, it wins.

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