title: Differences between xlwings vs openpyxl Reading Excel Workbooks
body: <p>I've mostly only used xlwings to open (<code>read-write</code>) workbooks (since the workbooks I read have complicated macros). But I've recently begun using openpyxl to open (<code>read-only</code>) workbooks when I've needed to read thousands of workbooks to scrape some data.</p>
  <p>I've noticed that there is a considerable difference between how xlwings and openpyxl read workbooks. I believe xlwings relies on <code>pywin32</code> to read workbooks. When you read a workbook with <code>xlwings.Book(&lt;filename&gt;)</code> the actual workbook opens up. I have a feeling this is a result of <code>pywin32</code>.</p>
  <p>However, when using <code>openpyxl.load_workbook(&lt;filename&gt;)</code> a workbook window does not appear. I have a feeling this is a result of not using <code>pywin32</code>.</p>
  <p>Beyond this, I've no further understanding how the backends work for each libraries. Could someone shine some light on this? Is there a benefit/cost to relying on <code>xlwings</code> and <code>pywin32</code> for reading workbooks, as opposed to <code>openpyxl</code> which does not seem to use <code>pywin32</code>?</p>