Excel Formula List With Examples for Beginners: Stop Memorizing

A handful of formulas shows up in everyday spreadsheet work again and again. This Excel formula list with examples for beginners groups them by the job you want done, so you find a formula by task instead of by name. Every example uses plain cell references you can swap for your own. Where Google Sheets differs, you get a note.

Start with the four parts of a formula

Every formula starts with an equal sign. Microsoft's overview of formulas in Excel says a formula can contain functions, references, operators and constants. In the example below, SUM is the function, B2:B10 is the reference, the asterisk is the operator, and E1 holds the constant. Microsoft advises keeping constants in their own cells, so you change a rate once instead of editing every formula.

=SUM(B2:B10)*$E$1

Excel formula list with examples for beginners: the quick reference

Copy any row into a blank cell and swap the ranges for your own. The SUMIF, COUNTIF and XLOOKUP patterns match those in Corporate Finance Institute's Excel formulas cheat sheet, which also covers financial functions. Ranges run from row 2 to row 100 here, and headers stay outside them so header text does not skew your counts.

Totals and counts that follow a rule

SUMIF takes three pieces: the range to test, the test, and the range to add. The first formula below looks down column A for North and adds the matching cells in column B. Put operators in quotation marks, so write ">100" and not >100, because forgetting the quotes is a frequent cause of failure.

=SUMIF(A2:A100,"North",B2:B100)
=COUNTIF(B2:B100,">100")
=COUNTIFS(A2:A100,"North",B2:B100,">100")

COUNTIFS needs every condition to be true on the same row. For either/or logic, add two COUNTIF formulas instead, as shown below. Keep each pair of ranges the same height so the rows line up.

=COUNTIF(A2:A100,"North")+COUNTIF(A2:A100,"South")

Lookups: XLOOKUP, VLOOKUP and INDEX with MATCH

Use XLOOKUP if your version has it. Microsoft calls it an improved version of VLOOKUP that works in any direction and returns exact matches by default. With the value to find in F2, each formula below returns the matching entry from column C. The fourth XLOOKUP argument replaces #N/A with a message you choose.

=XLOOKUP(F2,A2:A100,C2:C100,"Not found")
=VLOOKUP(F2,A2:D100,3,FALSE)
=INDEX(C2:C100,MATCH(F2,A2:A100,0))

VLOOKUP counts columns from the left edge of the table, so the 3 means column C here. Insert a column inside that table and the 3 may point to the wrong column. FALSE requests an exact match, and leaving it out can return a near match instead of an error. INDEX with MATCH sidesteps the counting, and this lesson on INDEX and MATCH walks through it. For more patterns, Exceljet's formula library offers more than 1,000 worked examples.

IF logic and tidy error handling

IF returns one result when a test is true and another when it is false. Inside IF, AND needs every test to pass, while OR needs just one. IFERROR swaps in your replacement, here an empty string, when a formula errors. It hides every error type, though, so use it only where you expect one, such as dividing by a blank cell.

=IF(B2>100,"High","Low")
=IF(AND(B2>100,C2="North"),"Review","OK")
=IFERROR(B2/C2,"")

Date formulas that replace manual counting

EDATE moves a date forward by whole months, and EOMONTH jumps to the last day of a month. Corporate Finance Institute shows EDATE with 2026-01-31 plus three months returning 2026-04-30, because April has no 31st. NETWORKDAYS counts whole workdays between two dates. Make sure A2 holds a real date and not text, and if a result shows as a large whole number, the formula works, so format the cell as a date.

=EDATE(A2,3)
=EOMONTH(A2,0)
=NETWORKDAYS(A2,B2)

Why a copied formula breaks in your workbook

Even a good Excel formula list with examples for beginners cannot see your data, so a copied formula can fail for predictable reasons. The cause is usually how the data is set up, not the formula itself. These three checks are worth running in order.

References that move when you copy

Relative references shift when you copy. Microsoft's documentation says copying =A1 from B2 to B3 turns it into =A2, while an absolute reference such as $A$1 stays put. A mixed reference such as A$1 locks the row but lets the column move. Type the dollar signs yourself wherever a formula should keep pointing at one cell, like the rate in E1 earlier.

=B2*$E$1

Numbers stored as text and comma trouble

SUM ignores numbers stored as text, so a total that looks too low often means imported numbers are really text. They usually sit at the left edge of the cell, and =VALUE(A2) converts one. Regional settings matter too, because Excel can expect semicolons between arguments instead of commas. Check that first when a pasted example refuses to run.

Sheet names and multi-sheet totals

A sheet name with spaces needs apostrophes, as in the first formula below. To total the same cell across several sheets, Microsoft documents a 3-D reference, shown second, which includes every sheet between the two names. Contextures explains the SHEET and SHEETS functions, which return a sheet's number and the number of sheets in a workbook, if you need to keep track of such ranges.

='January Revenue'!A1
=SUM(Sheet2:Sheet13!B5)

Google Sheets differences and tasks that are not listed

Most formulas here work in both Excel and Google Sheets, but check function by function. Excel's TEXTSPLIT, for example, has the Sheets counterpart SPLIT. In Sheets, wrap a formula in ARRAYFORMULA to fill a whole column from one cell, which this guide to array formulas in Google Sheets explains. If dates or decimals behave oddly, check the spreadsheet's locale setting.

When your task is missing, search by the result you want. Microsoft's examples of commonly used formulas include dates and running balances, and a MrExcel forum thread on finding words in a list of text data shows how people frame a text-search question. If you would rather describe the result in plain English, Formula Foundry's Excel formula generator writes the syntax, but test its output on rows where you already know the answer.

Treat this list of Excel formulas with examples for beginners as a map, then pick one task from your own sheet today. Copy the matching row, change the ranges, and check the answer against three rows you can add up by hand.

Action Steps

1. Pick one task: Choose a single job in your sheet, such as totaling by region or looking up a price, instead of trying to learn every function.
2. Copy the matching formula: Paste the closest row from the quick reference table into a blank cell next to your data.
3. Swap in your ranges: Replace the sample ranges with your own, and keep header rows outside them.
4. Lock what should not move: Add dollar signs to any reference, such as a rate cell, that must stay fixed when you copy the formula down.
5. Check three rows by hand: Add up or look up three rows manually and confirm the formula returns the same answers before you rely on it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Excel formulas should a beginner learn first?

Start with SUM, AVERAGE, COUNT, IF and a lookup such as XLOOKUP or VLOOKUP. Add SUMIF and COUNTIFS when you need totals and counts that follow a rule.

Should I use XLOOKUP or VLOOKUP?

Use XLOOKUP if your version of Excel includes it. Microsoft describes it as an improved version of VLOOKUP that works in any direction and returns exact matches by default. VLOOKUP still works, but remember to add FALSE for an exact match.

Why does my SUM formula show a total that looks too low?

SUM ignores numbers stored as text. Imported numbers often fall into this group, and they usually sit at the left edge of the cell. Convert them with VALUE or re-enter them as numbers.

Do these Excel formulas work in Google Sheets?

Most of the core ones, such as SUM, SUMIF, COUNTIFS and IF, work in both. Newer Excel functions may have different names in Sheets, for example SPLIT in place of TEXTSPLIT, so check each function before you copy it.