Top Commercial Excel Password Recovery and Cracking Tools

Q: Are commercial Excel password recovery tools legal?

Yes, they are legal **when used on files you own or have explicit authorization to unlock**. These tools are primarily designed for businesses and IT professionals to regain access to their own locked data. Using them to access files without permission is unethical and unlawful.

Q: Can these tools break strong encryption instantly?

No. Success is not instant for strong passwords. The recovery time depends heavily on three factors: **password complexity** (length, character types), the specific **attack method** (Brute-Force vs. Dictionary), and the **hardware acceleration (CPU/GPU)** available to the tool.

Q: Is AI-based recovery, like the system used by Niraiya.com, faster?

Often yes, for human-created passwords. AI systems (like those utilizing ChatGPT, Gemini, and DeepSeek) prioritize realistic human password patterns, linguistic rules, and common combinations. This 'intelligent ordering' significantly reduces the search space compared to the random testing used by pure Brute-Force attacks.

Q: What is the 'Open' password and why is it the hardest to bypass?

The **'Open' password** is the one that **encrypts the entire Excel workbook** (the `.xlsx` file itself), making its contents unreadable without the password. This is the hardest protection to recover because it requires finding the exact encryption key, unlike simpler worksheet or VBA protection.

Q: What are the key attack strategies used by commercial password tools?

The main attack strategies are: **1) Brute-Force** (tries every possible combination), **2) Dictionary Attack** (tests common passwords from a list), and **3) Mask / Known-Password Attack** (uses partial information the user remembers to narrow the search).

Q: Do these tools support older or legacy Excel file formats?

Yes, many commercial tools, such as Excel Password Recovery Master and Accent OFFICE Password Recovery, are specifically noted for their ability to handle both modern Excel formats (`.xlsx`) and older, legacy formats (`.xls`), often leveraging the weaker encryption found in older Office versions.

Excel file lock with password recovery and security icons

Author

Niraiya Team

Published

December 15, 2025

Read time

9 minutes

Summary

A practical guide to trusted commercial Excel password recovery tools used by businesses, IT teams, and security professionals to regain access to protected spreadsheets.

Top Commercial Excel Password Recovery & Cracking Tools (2025) 🔐

Commercial Excel password recovery tools help security teams, finance leaders, and IT admins regain access to critical spreadsheets without rebuilding years of data from scratch.

Modern Excel workbooks protected with strong Password to Open encryption are designed to resist casual attacks, so serious recovery requires specialized tools, GPUs, and, in some cases, AI-assisted strategies.

Why Businesses Use Professional Excel Recovery Tools

Lost workbook passwords blocking financial reporting or compliance audits.
Departed employees who protected files but did not hand over credentials.
Incident response teams investigating fraud or policy violations.

Vendors in this space combine brute-force, dictionary, mask, and heuristic attacks with optimized code, making them far more capable than generic freeware utilities. 🧠

🔍 Detailed Breakdown of Each Tool

1. Passware Excel Key

A professional-grade password recovery solution that handles Excel open passwords as well as restrictions. Passware's tools are widely used in corporate and forensic environments and support hundreds of file types including Office files. For instance, in my own campaigns, Passware has been the go-to for recovering deeply encrypted legacy '.xls' documents.

Key Features

Recovers passwords for .xls, .xlsx, .xlsm, etc.
Built-in dictionaries and support for custom dictionaries
Can instantly remove workbook and worksheet restrictions

Best for: Businesses and professionals needing robust, multi-format support.

2. PassFab for Excel

A popular commercial tool focused on Excel password recovery with support for brute-force, dictionary, and mask attacks. Designed to be simple and fast for common recovery tasks.

Key Features

Multiple attack modes
Simple user experience
Hardware acceleration on supported systems

Best for: SMBs and individual professionals.

3. eSoftTools Excel Password Recovery

A Windows-based paid tool with advanced recovery methods and wide Excel format support. It offers the flexibility to switch between aggressive and passive recovery strategies.

Key Features

Brute-force, dictionary, and mask attacks
Supports .xls, .xlsx, .xlsb, etc.
Can also recover Word and Access passwords

Best for: Flexible attack strategies and broad compatibility.

4. SysTools Excel Password Recovery Tool

A commercial solution offering fully offline Excel password recovery. This feature is crucial for enterprises with strict data control policies that forbid uploading files to external services.

Key Features

Offline cracking (no internet required)
Supports old and new Excel formats
Mask attack for partial password memory

Best for: Enterprises with strict security requirements.

5. Advanced Office Password Recovery (ElcomSoft)

A long-established security tool using advanced optimization techniques. Trusted by the security community for its reliability and speed, especially when dealing with older Office encryption.

Key Features

Office-specific recovery engine
Time-memory tradeoff (Thunder Tables)
Popular in IT and security communities

Best for: Power users and forensic professionals.

6. Passper for Excel

A clean, modern Excel password recovery tool with multiple modes. It focuses on a user-friendly experience without sacrificing performance.

Key Features

Recover password or remove protection
Dictionary, brute-force, and mask attacks
Wide Excel version support

Best for: Users wanting simplicity with solid performance.

7. Excel Password Recovery Master

A dedicated tool for restoring access to various Excel password types, including the often-overlooked VBA project passwords.

Key Features

Supports legacy and modern formats
Handles open, modify, and VBA passwords
Simple interface

Best for: Legacy Excel file recovery and diverse password types.

8. Accent OFFICE Password Recovery

A lightweight tool optimized for older Office encryption. Its main strength is speed when tackling legacy formats that use weaker encryption protocols.

Key Features

Fast recovery for legacy formats
Minimal system resource usage
Focused on speed

Best for: Quick recovery of older Excel files.

9. Niraiya.com – AI Driven Excel Password Recovery (NEW) 🤖

Description: Recover & remove your Excel passwords with Niraiya's multi-AI-powered cloud solutions. Fast, affordable & privacy-first — your files never leave your computer.

Niraiya.com combines several artificial intelligence systems to maximize password recovery success. By leveraging modern machine learning against common password patterns, we often bypass the need for traditional, slow brute-force attacks.

🔬 Multi-AI Architecture for Enhanced Recovery

Niraiya coordinates the strengths of OpenAI ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and DeepSeek to generate highly targeted password candidates:

Neural Pattern Recognition – ChatGPT

ChatGPT is very good at identifying human password patterns, such as how people mix special characters, dates, and meaningful words. Based on typical human behavior, it predicts likely password candidates by analyzing linguistic patterns and semantic relationships.

Predictive Computation – Gemini

Gemini optimizes password ranking using probabilistic modeling. By removing low-probability combinations early, it significantly reduces the search space when processing encrypted Excel hashes.

Adaptive Optimization – DeepSeek

DeepSeek specializes in real-time learning from recovery attempts. It continuously improves its strategy with each iteration as password candidates are tested, increasing speed and success rates. This AI-driven approach offers a modern alternative to traditional tools.

Best for: Users seeking a modern, privacy-first, AI-assisted alternative to traditional brute-force tools.

Top Commercial Excel Password Recovery Tools (Overview)

The tools below are widely referenced in DFIR workflows, corporate IT playbooks, and independent security blogs for Excel password recovery scenarios.

Tool	What It Does	Commercial / AI Features
Passware Excel Key	Fast Excel password recovery and restriction removal for multiple Office formats.	Often used by forensics teams; integrates with larger Passware suites for automated evidence workflows.
PassFab for Excel	User-friendly interface with guided attack modes for non-technical operators.	Hardware-accelerated brute-force and dictionary attacks with presets for common password habits.
eSoftTools Excel Password Recovery	Dedicated Excel utility supporting brute-force, dictionary, and mask-based recovery.	Focuses on modern formats with options to tune charset, length, and custom wordlists.
SysTools Excel Password Recovery	Offline workbook password recovery for business environments.	Supports both legacy and newer files with configurable mask and dictionary options.
Passper for Excel	Offers both “remove restriction” and “recover password” flows.	Multiple recovery modes packaged in an accessible UI suitable for small teams.
Accent OFFICE Password Recovery	Optimised for older Office encryption schemes and fast dictionary-style attacks.	Lightweight engine capable of leveraging GPUs efficiently for legacy workbooks.
Advanced Office Password Recovery	High-performance Office password cracking suite.	Implements time–memory trade-offs and advanced optimisations trusted by security professionals.
Excel Password Recovery Master	Restores access to various Excel password types including open, modify, and VBA locks.	Useful for mixed environments with both older and modern Excel versions.
Niraiya.com 🤖	AI-driven Excel password recovery and unlock for modern workbooks.	Multi-AI system using ChatGPT, Gemini, and DeepSeek with a privacy-first design where files never leave your machine.

Choosing between these tools usually comes down to your threat model, file format mix, and whether you need repeatable, policy-aligned workflows or a one-time recovery sprint.

📌 Important Notes & Ethical Usage

As SaaS experts, we must emphasize the responsible use of these powerful tools. Remember:

These tools are intended to recover access to your own files only (ethical/legal usage).
They don't magically break impossible encryption; results depend on password complexity and attack method.
Always check licensing and platform support before buying a commercial solution.

🧠 Bonus Tips: Avoiding Future Lockouts

Need Excel unlocked but want to avoid cracking tools in the future? Prevention is always the best strategy. In the hundreds of IT audits I've performed, a robust system always wins.

Key Prevention Strategies:

Use a Password Manager: Implement 1Password, Bitwarden, or a corporate identity tool to store and generate complex, unique passwords for every file.
Opt for Cloud Security: If possible, use collaborative platforms (like SharePoint or Google Sheets) with enterprise-level permission controls instead of file-level passwords.

"The strongest defense isn't better cracking software, but better security habits."

Niraiya Team Expert