How do I generate an Excel formula from plain English?

Type a description of what you want in the Generate tab — for example 'Fetch price from Sheet2 where product ID matches column A'. ExcelForm returns a ready-to-paste Excel or Google Sheets formula instantly. Free, no signup required.

Can ExcelForm fix broken formulas?

Yes. Paste your broken formula in the Fix Formula tab, optionally add the error message (#VALUE!, #REF!, #N/A), and ExcelForm diagnoses every issue and provides a corrected formula with a full explanation.

Yes. ExcelForm is completely free with 10 AI-powered queries per day. No signup or credit card required. All 6 tools (Generate, Fix, Template, Example-to-Formula, Debugger, Compatibility) are included.

Does ExcelForm work for Google Sheets?

Yes. ExcelForm supports Excel, Google Sheets, and Airtable — select your target environment and get platform-specific formulas with the correct syntax for each.

How do I fix a #REF! error in Excel?

A #REF! error usually means a formula is referencing a cell or range that no longer exists — often caused by deleting rows or columns. Paste the formula in ExcelForm's Fix Formula tab and it diagnoses the exact cause and provides a corrected formula.

How do I debug a formula in Excel step by step?

Use ExcelForm's Debugger tab. Enter your formula and sample data, and the AI evaluates every sub-expression step by step — showing what each part returns in plain English, like a calculator that explains itself.

Free AI Excel Formula Generator — No Signup

✦ Formula Generator

The smartest formula tool

Six AI-powered tools. Just describe what you need and get the exact formula.

One-click prompts

← Scroll for more →

Describe what you want the formula to do

Be specific — mention column letters, sheet names, conditions. Ctrl+Enter to generate.

Quick examples: "Fetch Sheet2 column B where A matches" · "Sum D where B is Paid, last 30 days" · "Count non-blank cells in C" · "Find max value per category"

Target environment

Complexity

Sample data (optional — greatly improves accuracy)

Paste column headers + 2–3 rows from your actual spreadsheet

Paste your broken formula

Include the full formula with the = sign

Environment

Error message

Optional — helps target the cause

Data context

Optional

Template type

Environment

Example rows

Paste a CSV table with a target output column. ExcelForm detects the pattern and writes the formula — no description needed.

Paste table (CSV — header row first)

Include the output column with real values so the AI can detect the pattern

Target column name

Starts at row

Output for

Enter a formula and one row of sample data. The AI evaluates every sub-expression step by step — like a calculator that explains itself.

Formula to debug

Column headers

Comma-separated

Sample row values

Same order as headers

Environment

Analyze a formula for cross-platform compatibility. Get exact equivalents and warnings about incompatible functions.

Formula to analyze

Source platform

Convert to

Select all targets

Formula Library

Essential formulas you use every day

Powerful formulas that solve real problems — click any to instantly load it into the generator.

Fetch data from another table with a custom 'not found' message — smarter than VLOOKUP

=XLOOKUP(A2,Sheet2!A:A,Sheet2!B:B,"Not found")

Find a value where BOTH a row and column header must match — like a price matrix

=INDEX(B2:E10,MATCH(A2,A2:A10,0),MATCH(B1,B1:E1,0))

Get the most recent entry in a column — great for running balances or latest status

=LOOKUP(2,1/(A:A<>""),A:A)

Look up and return a column to the LEFT of your lookup column — impossible with VLOOKUP

=INDEX(A:A,MATCH(D2,C:C,0))

Find a row where a cell CONTAINS your search term (not exact match)

=XLOOKUP("*"&A2&"*",B:B,C:C,"Not found",2)

Sum values meeting multiple conditions without array entry — more powerful than SUMIFS

=SUMPRODUCT((A2:A100="East")*(B2:B100="Q1")*(C2:C100))

Cumulative sum that grows as you go down — for tracking budgets, inventory, or progress

=SUM($B$2:B2)

Rank values in a list, handling duplicates cleanly without same rank appearing twice

=SUMPRODUCT((B2>$B$2:$B$100)/COUNTIF($B$2:$B$100,$B$2:$B$100))+1

Average that gives more importance to some values — used in grading, finance, logistics

=SUMPRODUCT(B2:B10,C2:C10)/SUM(C2:C10)

Show each row's value as a percentage of the grand total — for contribution analysis

=B2/SUM($B$2:$B$100)

Split a full name into first and last — when you have 'John Smith' in one cell

=LEFT(A2,FIND(" ",A2)-1) OR =MID(A2,FIND(" ",A2)+1,100)

Remove all non-numeric characters from messy phone number formats

=TEXTJOIN("",TRUE,IF(ISNUMBER(--MID(A2,ROW(INDIRECT("1:"&LEN(A2))),1)),MID(A2,ROW(INDIRECT("1:"&LEN(A2))),1),""))

Extract any specific word from a sentence — useful for parsing structured text fields

=TRIM(MID(SUBSTITUTE(A2," ",REPT(" ",100)),(2-1)*100+1,100))

Count how many words are in a cell — for character limits, form validation

=LEN(TRIM(A2))-LEN(SUBSTITUTE(TRIM(A2)," ",""))+1

Join values from multiple cells with a comma or separator, skipping blanks automatically

=TEXTJOIN(", ",TRUE,A2:A10)

Calculate exact age in years from a date of birth — always current as of today

=DATEDIF(A2,TODAY(),"Y")

Count business days between two dates, excluding weekends and optionally holidays

=NETWORKDAYS(A2,B2,holidays)

Move a date forward by N months — handles month-end edge cases correctly

=EDATE(A2,3)

Get the first or last date of any month — for monthly reporting periods

=EOMONTH(A2,0) OR =EOMONTH(A2,-1)+1

Calculate how many days remain before a deadline — shows negative if overdue

=B2-TODAY()

Replace complex nested IF chains with IFS — much easier to read and maintain

=IFS(A2>=90,"A",A2>=80,"B",A2>=70,"C",A2>=60,"D",TRUE,"F")

Wrap any formula to show a custom message instead of #N/A, #VALUE!, or #DIV/0!

=IFERROR(your_formula_here,"Not found")

Mark duplicate values in a column — use in conditional formatting or as a helper column

=COUNTIF($A$2:$A$100,A2)>1

Assign 'High/Medium/Low' or traffic light labels based on numeric thresholds

=IF(A2>80,"🟢 High",IF(A2>50,"🟡 Medium","🔴 Low"))

Calculate what percentage of rows meet a condition — for pass rates, completion rates

=COUNTIF(B:B,"Complete")/COUNTA(B:B)

Extract all unique values from a column into a clean list — no duplicates, no blanks

=UNIQUE(FILTER(A2:A100,A2:A100<>""))

Return top N values AND their associated names together as a sorted table

=SORT(FILTER(A2:B100,RANK(B2:B100,B2:B100,0)<=5),2,-1)

Show only rows matching complex conditions — like an instant query/filter without VBA

=FILTER(A2:D100,(B2:B100="Active")*(C2:C100>1000))

Count DISTINCT unique values that match a condition — a common reporting need

=SUMPRODUCT((B2:B100="Active")/COUNTIFS(A2:A100,A2:A100,B2:B100,"Active"))

Show where a value falls in a distribution — what percentile is this person/product at?

=PERCENTRANK($B$2:$B$100,B2)*100

Smooth out noisy data with a rolling average — great for trend analysis

=AVERAGE(OFFSET(B2,-MIN(ROW(B2)-ROW($B$2),2),0,MIN(ROW(B2)-ROW($B$2)+1,3),1))

✦ About ExcelForm

The only free AI Excel formula generator with all 6 tools — no signup needed

ExcelForm is a free AI-powered Excel and Google Sheets formula generator that turns plain English descriptions into working spreadsheet formulas in seconds. Describe what you want to calculate — "sum sales by region for last quarter", "fetch the price from Sheet2 where the product ID matches", or "count overdue invoices where status is not Paid" — and ExcelForm generates the exact formula, correctly structured for your target environment.

Unlike other AI formula tools, ExcelForm is entirely free with no signup required. All six tools — VLOOKUP Generator, XLOOKUP Generator, Formula Fixer, Template Generator, Example-to-Formula, Step-by-Step Debugger, and Google Sheets formula support — are included in 10 free queries per day, with no credit card and no account.

ExcelForm is built for financial analysts who need complex SUMIFS and INDEX MATCH formulas, students learning Excel for the first time, HR professionals managing headcount trackers and payroll sheets, marketers analysing campaign data in Google Sheets, and operations teams building inventory and project dashboards. Whether you use Excel 365, Excel 2019, or Google Sheets, ExcelForm generates platform-specific formulas with the correct syntax for your environment.

The Excel formula debugger is unique in this space — it breaks any formula into its sub-expressions and evaluates each step against your sample data, making it easy to identify exactly where a formula is going wrong. Combined with the formula error fixer — which diagnoses every Excel error type including #VALUE!, #REF!, #N/A, #DIV/0!, and #NAME? — ExcelForm covers both formula creation and formula repair in one free tool.

Common Questions

Real questions from real users

Everything you need to know about using ExcelForm effectively

Formula Generation

How do I pull data from one sheet to another? ▾

Type something like: "Fetch the price from Sheet2 where the product ID in Sheet2 column A matches A2 in my current sheet". ExcelForm will generate the exact VLOOKUP or XLOOKUP formula with the correct Sheet2!A:B cross-sheet reference syntax — no guessing needed.

How do I sum values only for a specific month or date range? ▾

Describe it naturally: "Sum column D where the date in column A is in January 2024" or "Total sales in column C for the last 30 days". ExcelForm will use SUMIFS with the right EOMONTH or TODAY()-30 date logic automatically.

Can I count how many items match two conditions at once? ▾

Yes. Say: "Count rows where status in column B is Approved AND the amount in column C is greater than 1000". ExcelForm generates COUNTIFS(B:B,"Approved",C:C,">1000") — handling multiple conditions in one formula. You can add as many conditions as needed.

What's the difference between VLOOKUP and XLOOKUP? Which should I use? ▾

XLOOKUP is the modern replacement — it can look left or right, handles "not found" gracefully without IFERROR, and won't break when you insert columns. Use XLOOKUP if you have Excel 365, Excel 2021, or Google Sheets (2022+). Use VLOOKUP only if you need files to open in Excel 2019 or older. ExcelForm picks the right one based on your complexity setting.

Google Sheets

How do I use IMPORTRANGE to pull data from another Google Sheet file? ▾

Type: "Pull column B from a different Google Sheets file using IMPORTRANGE". ExcelForm will generate =IMPORTRANGE("spreadsheet_url","Sheet1!B:B") with instructions to authorize the connection on first use. For lookups across files, it combines IMPORTRANGE with VLOOKUP or INDEX MATCH.

Can ExcelForm write QUERY function formulas for Google Sheets? ▾

Yes. Describe what you need: "Filter rows where region is North and sort by sales descending". ExcelForm generates the full QUERY formula with the correct SQL-like syntax: =QUERY(A:D,"SELECT A,B,C WHERE C='North' ORDER BY D DESC",1).

Fixing Errors

My formula shows #N/A — how do I hide it or show a blank instead? ▾

Wrap your formula with IFERROR. For example: =IFERROR(VLOOKUP(A2,Sheet2!A:B,2,FALSE),"") returns blank when not found. Or use =IFERROR(formula,"Not found") for a message. Paste your formula in the Fix Formula tab and ExcelForm will add the wrapper automatically.

Why does my formula work on one row but give wrong results when I copy it down? ▾

This is usually a missing $ (dollar sign) to lock a cell reference. For example, if your lookup table is in A1:B100, it should be written as $A$1:$B$100 so it doesn't shift when you copy the formula down. Paste your broken formula in the Fix Formula tab — ExcelForm will identify exactly which references need locking.

I get a #VALUE! error — what does it mean and how do I fix it? ▾

#VALUE! usually means a formula is trying to do math on text, or you passed the wrong data type to a function. Common causes: a number stored as text, mixing dates and text, or using a range where a single cell is expected. Paste your formula and the error in the Fix Formula tab — the AI diagnoses the exact cause and returns a corrected version.

Tips & Best Practices

What's the best formula to find the second highest value in a column? ▾

Use the LARGE function: =LARGE(A:A, 2) returns the 2nd largest value. For the 3rd: =LARGE(A:A, 3). If you need to also return the name or row associated with that value, use INDEX MATCH combined with LARGE. Type your need in ExcelForm and it builds the full formula.

How do I calculate someone's age from their date of birth in Excel? ▾

Use DATEDIF: =DATEDIF(A2,TODAY(),"Y") returns the age in complete years. Or use =INT((TODAY()-A2)/365.25) as an alternative. For months and days too: =DATEDIF(A2,TODAY(),"Y")&" years, "&DATEDIF(A2,TODAY(),"YM")&" months".

Is ExcelForm free? How many formulas can I generate? ▾

Yes — completely free. You get 10 formula generations per day with no account or credit card required. The counter resets daily at midnight. All 6 tools (Generate, Fix, Template, Example-to-Formula, Debugger, Compatibility) count toward the daily limit.

Describe it.
Get the exact
formula.