Getting live stock quotes directly inside Microsoft Excel 2013 requires a workaround because the platform lacks the native “Stocks” data type found in newer versions like Microsoft 365.
Fortunately, you can still build a fully automated, real-time portfolio tracker in Excel 2013 using built-in web queries or free third-party add-ins. Method 1: Use Excel Web Queries (No Add-Ins Needed)
Excel 2013 has a built-in feature that scrapes data directly from financial websites. Yahoo Finance is the most reliable public source for this method.
Find your data source: Open your web browser, go to Yahoo Finance, and search for your stock (e.g., AAPL). Copy the URL of that page.
Launch the connection: Open Excel 2013, navigate to the Data tab, and click From Web in the “Get External Data” group.
Paste the URL: In the address bar of the dialog box that pops up, paste the Yahoo Finance URL and click Go.
Select the data table: Small yellow arrows will appear next to various tables on the webpage. Click the arrow next to the stock price table (it will turn into a green checkmark) and click Import.
Position the data: Choose the cell where you want the data to land and click OK.
Set up auto-refresh: Right-click anywhere in your newly imported data table, select Data Range Properties, and check the box for Refresh every X minutes to make the quotes live. Method 2: Install a Free Financial Add-In
If you manage multiple tickers, setting up individual web queries becomes tedious. Third-party add-ins can solve this by introducing custom formulas into Excel 2013.
Download an add-in: Tools like Deriscope or the Stock Connector add-in are designed specifically to bring streaming quotes to legacy versions of Excel.
Install the tool: Go to the Insert tab in Excel 2013, click Store or My Add-ins, and search for “Stock Connector.”
Link your cells: Once installed, a sidebar will open. Type your desired stock ticker into the add-in interface, select the cell where you want the live price to display, and click Connect.
Enjoy automatic updates: The add-in bypasses manual scraping and continuously streams the current market price directly into your spreadsheet. Method 3: Write a Simple VBA Macro (For Advanced Users)
For complete control without third-party tools, you can use Excel’s built-in programming language (VBA) to pull data from a free financial API.
Press ALT + F11 to open the VBA editor, click Insert, and select Module.
Write a short MSXML2.XMLHTTP script that calls a free financial API (such as Alpha Vantage or Yahoo Finance’s public API endpoint).
Extract the price from the returned JSON text string and assign it to a specific cell.
Assign the macro to a clickable button on your spreadsheet to refresh your entire portfolio instantly. If you want to set up the programming approach,
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