Excel is a hamlet located in Special Area No. 3 in Alberta, Canada.
The hamlet was named after a comment made by an early settler, Alfred Wetheral, at a meeting of the area's business community. Wetheral reportedly stated, "let us excel."
In June 1911, local Alfred Wetheral began operating a post office under the name Excel. He also opened a general store, which had an upstairs floor that functioned as a community hall and venue for religious services.
The Canadian Northern Railway established a railroad through Excel in 1912, connecting it to Oyen. A grain elevator opened in the hamlet by 1915, and Excel School opened in 1922. By 1932, Excel was also the site of one of rural Alberta's earliest curling rinks.
The severe economic downturn of the Great Depression negatively impacted Excel's development throughout the rest of the 1930s, followed by successive years of poor crop yields. Reflecting in 2014, visitor Jack Cooke would describe the village as "all but abandoned" by 1944, with only a grocery store and train station in operation.
Excel School closed by 1954. Excel Community Club formed in 1954 to purchase the schoolhouse and convert it into a community centre for a period of time. The Excel post office closed in August 1970.
As of 2025, the Canadian National Railway maintains rail services through Excel. Little of the original townsite remains, though the area contains several properties.