In short
- It’s not just you: OpenSolver’s own website lists a problem caused by a Google change in June 2021 and another with sheet names that contain spaces.
- Try first: rename tabs without spaces, reload, check Manage add-ons and use a single Google account.
- If it still fails, the quickest way out is a free template that solves inside your sheet with Google’s own engine, with nothing to install.
Why OpenSolver fails in Google Sheets
OpenSolver was born as an Excel add-in at the University of Auckland, and its Google Sheets version is a different, smaller product. Its official page is unusually honest about its state:
- Broken for some users since 21 June 2021. “Google have changed something in their code”, and no fix date is given.
- Sheet names with spaces cause problems (listed since November 2022).
- A 6-minute limit per solve, which is Google’s limit for scripts. Bigger models get cut off, although it can resume a saved model when it asks you.
- No multi-area ranges such as
A1:A2,A4:A5: Google Sheets doesn’t allow them. - Maintained by volunteers, who the page asks for.
Its Marketplace listing tells the same story: more than 631,000 installs, but 2.5 stars from 317 reviews (October 2026), with recent ones such as “Extension option doesn’t show up”.
Six checks that fix the common cases
Go in order: the first ones take seconds.
- Reload the page. Add-on menus are added when the file opens. If you installed it with the sheet open, the menu may not be there yet.
- Check it’s enabled for this file. Go to , find OpenSolver, open its options and make sure “Use in this document” is ticked.
- Use a single Google account. Being signed in to several Google accounts in the same browser is a classic reason why add-on panels don’t open or ask for permission again and again. Try a private window with only the account that owns the file.
- Rename your tabs without spaces. “Production plan” becomes “Production_plan”. Then open OpenSolver again and check the model still points at the right cells.
- Make each range a single block. If your variables or constraints are in several areas, add each area separately with the “Add” button instead of typing
A1:A2,A4:A5. - Make the model smaller if it stops at 6 minutes. Accept the offer to resume, or split the model. Integer variables are what usually makes it slow.
Watch the NEOS option. OpenSolver can send the model to the NEOS server to solve it with Cbc. Its own website warns that a model submitted to NEOS “becomes publicly available”, and NEOS asks for an e-mail address. Don’t use it with confidential numbers.
On a work or school account, if the add-on doesn’t even appear in the store, your administrator may have blocked add-ons. Only they can change that.
The free alternative: solve inside your own sheet
If OpenSolver still won’t open, you don’t need it to solve a linear model. Google’s spreadsheet scripts come with a built-in linear optimization service that solves linear and integer models. Our free template uses it directly:
- Make a copy. It lands in your Google Drive with its own Solver menu. Nothing is installed in your account.
- Write your model as a table: one column per decision, the objective row and one row per constraint, with its sign and its limit.
- Solver → Solve this tab. The solution appears in the “Solution” row, with the slack of each constraint.
How it compares
| OpenSolver for Sheets | Our template | |
|---|---|---|
| How you get it | Add-on from the Marketplace | Copy a Google Sheet |
| How you write the model | Cells and formulas in your sheet | A table: decisions in columns, constraints in rows |
| Linear and integer models | Yes | Yes, including yes/no (binary) variables |
| Nonlinear models | No | No |
| Where your data goes | Stays in Google, except with NEOS (public) | Stays in your sheet: the script has no internet permission |
| Known issues | Open since 2021 and 2022 | Updated October 2026 |
| Price | Free | Free |
Honestly: if your OpenSolver model is built with many formulas spread around the sheet, moving it to a table takes some work. You copy the number that multiplies each decision in each formula. The upside is that the table makes mistakes easy to spot.
Moving an OpenSolver model to the template, step by step
- The decisions (OpenSolver’s “variable cells”): one column each in the “Variables” row, with a clear name.
- The objective (its “objective cell”): if it’s
=SUMPRODUCT(profits, quantities), copy each profit under its decision in the objective row, and choose Maximize or Minimize. - Each constraint: one row with how much each decision uses, the sign (≤, ≥ or =) and the limit.
- Integer or yes/no decisions: mark them as “Integer” or “Binary” in the “Type” row.
The Solver guide walks through a full example, a workshop with two parts and two machines, and explains how to read the result.
Other ways out
- Desktop Excel or LibreOffice. Download the sheet as .xlsx and use Solver there. Excel for the web has no Solver.
- Newer add-ons. Several paid or freemium solvers arrived in the Marketplace in 2026. Check what their free plan allows before you build your model around one.
- Gemini in Sheets, on paid Google Workspace and Google AI plans, can set up optimization problems since April 2026. Review the model it proposes as carefully as your own.
Whatever tool you use, the answer is only as good as the model. If a constraint is missing, the plan may be impossible to carry out. Check the model before you decide anything with it.
Frequently asked questions
Why is OpenSolver not working in Google Sheets?
Its own website acknowledges two problems: since June 2021 a change by Google broke it for some users, and since November 2022 it has trouble when sheet names contain spaces. Each solve is also cut off after 6 minutes, Google’s limit for scripts. Rename your tabs without spaces, reload, and if it still fails, use an alternative such as our free template.
Why doesn’t OpenSolver show up in the Extensions menu?
Usually because the add-on isn’t enabled for that file, the page needs a reload, or you’re signed in to several Google accounts at once. Check Extensions → Add-ons → Manage add-ons, reload the page, and try a private window signed in with one account. On a work or school account, your administrator may have blocked add-ons.
Is OpenSolver for Google Sheets still maintained?
Its website says the Google Sheets version is maintained by volunteers and asks for more of them; the June 2021 issue is still listed as open. The Excel version is a separate, more complete product.
Is my model private when I use OpenSolver?
It depends on the engine. Glop, SCIP and GLPK run without sending your model anywhere public. But OpenSolver’s own website warns that submitting a model to the NEOS server makes it publicly available, and NEOS asks for an e-mail address. Avoid NEOS for confidential data.
What can I use instead of OpenSolver in Google Sheets?
A free option with no add-on to install is our Solver template: you copy the sheet and it brings its own Solver menu, using Google’s own optimization engine. You can also download the sheet and use Solver in desktop Excel or LibreOffice, or try one of the newer add-ons in the Marketplace.
Can OpenSolver for Google Sheets solve nonlinear problems?
Not really: the engines it offers in Google Sheets are for linear and integer models, and its developers have said they won’t add nonlinear solvers to the Sheets version. One of its 2026 reviews complains exactly about that. For nonlinear models, desktop Excel’s Solver has the GRG Nonlinear method.