Excel Formula Cheat Sheet 2026 — 50 Formulas

Lookup Formulas

Formula	What it does	Example
`VLOOKUP`	Search table right-side only	=VLOOKUP(A2,Sheet2!A:B,2,FALSE)
`XLOOKUP`	Modern lookup — any direction	=XLOOKUP(A2,B:B,C:C,"Not found")
`INDEX MATCH`	Flexible lookup — left or right	=INDEX(B:B,MATCH(A2,A:A,0))
`HLOOKUP`	Horizontal lookup across rows	=HLOOKUP(A1,A1:Z2,2,FALSE)
`MATCH`	Return position of value in range	=MATCH(D2,A:A,0)
`CHOOSE`	Pick from a list by index number	=CHOOSE(2,"Red","Blue","Green") → Blue

Math & Conditional Sum Formulas

Formula	What it does	Example
`SUM`	Add a range of numbers	=SUM(B2:B100)
`SUMIF`	Sum if one condition is met	=SUMIF(A:A,"East",C:C)
`SUMIFS`	Sum with multiple conditions	=SUMIFS(C:C,A:A,"East",B:B,"Paid")
`SUMPRODUCT`	Sum of multiplied arrays; OR logic	=SUMPRODUCT((A:A="East")*(C:C))
`SUBTOTAL`	Sum/average visible rows only	=SUBTOTAL(9,B2:B100)
`ROUND`	Round to N decimal places	=ROUND(A2,2)
`INT`	Round down to nearest whole number	=INT(A2)
`MOD`	Return remainder after division	=MOD(A2,3)
`ABS`	Absolute value (removes negative sign)	=ABS(A2)
`LARGE / SMALL`	Nth largest or smallest value	=LARGE(A:A,3) → 3rd largest

Count Formulas

Formula	What it does	Example
`COUNT`	Count cells with numbers	=COUNT(A:A)
`COUNTA`	Count non-empty cells	=COUNTA(A:A)
`COUNTBLANK`	Count empty cells	=COUNTBLANK(A:A)
`COUNTIF`	Count cells meeting one condition	=COUNTIF(B:B,"Complete")
`COUNTIFS`	Count with multiple conditions	=COUNTIFS(A:A,"East",B:B,">0")

Logic Formulas

Formula	What it does	Example
`IF`	Return different values based on condition	=IF(A2>100,"High","Low")
`IFS`	Multiple conditions without nesting	=IFS(A2>=90,"A",A2>=80,"B",TRUE,"F")
`AND`	True if all conditions are true	=AND(A2>0,B2="Active")
`OR`	True if any condition is true	=OR(A2="East",A2="West")
`NOT`	Reverses true/false	=NOT(ISBLANK(A2))
`IFERROR`	Suppress formula errors	=IFERROR(A2/B2,0)
`IFNA`	Handle #N/A errors only	=IFNA(VLOOKUP(...),"Not found")
`SWITCH`	Match against multiple values	=SWITCH(A2,1,"Jan",2,"Feb","Other")

Text Formulas

Formula	What it does	Example
`CONCATENATE / &`	Join text strings	=A2&" "&B2
`TEXTJOIN`	Join with delimiter, skip blanks	=TEXTJOIN(", ",TRUE,A2:A10)
`LEFT / RIGHT`	Extract N characters from left/right	=LEFT(A2,3)
`MID`	Extract N characters from position	=MID(A2,4,3)
`LEN`	Count characters in a string	=LEN(A2)
`TRIM`	Remove extra spaces	=TRIM(A2)
`UPPER / LOWER`	Convert case	=UPPER(A2)
`FIND / SEARCH`	Find position of text (SEARCH=case insensitive)	=FIND("@",A2)
`SUBSTITUTE`	Replace specific text	=SUBSTITUTE(A2,"old","new")
`TEXT`	Format number as text	=TEXT(A2,"$#,##0.00")
`VALUE`	Convert text to number	=VALUE(A2)

Date Formulas

Formula	What it does	Example
`TODAY`	Current date	=TODAY()
`NOW`	Current date and time	=NOW()
`DATE`	Create date from year/month/day	=DATE(2024,12,31)
`DATEDIF`	Difference between dates	=DATEDIF(A2,TODAY(),"Y") → years
`NETWORKDAYS`	Business days between dates	=NETWORKDAYS(A2,B2)
`EOMONTH`	Last day of month	=EOMONTH(TODAY(),0)
`EDATE`	Add/subtract months	=EDATE(A2,3) → 3 months later
`YEAR / MONTH / DAY`	Extract date parts	=YEAR(A2), =MONTH(A2)
`WEEKDAY`	Day of week as number	=WEEKDAY(A2,2) → 1=Mon...7=Sun

Dynamic Array Formulas (Excel 365 & Google Sheets)

Formula	What it does	Example
`FILTER`	Return rows matching conditions	=FILTER(A:B,C:C="East")
`UNIQUE`	List of unique values	=UNIQUE(A2:A100)
`SORT / SORTBY`	Sort a range dynamically	=SORT(A2:C100,2,-1)
`SEQUENCE`	Generate a series of numbers	=SEQUENCE(10) → 1,2,3...10
`XLOOKUP`	Flexible lookup in any direction	=XLOOKUP(A2,B:B,C:C,"N/A")

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FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the most important Excel formulas to know?▾

The highest-impact Excel formulas to learn are: VLOOKUP or XLOOKUP (data retrieval), SUMIFS (conditional aggregation), IF/IFS (logic), INDEX MATCH (flexible lookups), COUNTIFS (counting with conditions), IFERROR (error handling), and DATEDIF (date calculations). These cover 90% of everyday spreadsheet tasks.

What is the easiest way to learn Excel formulas?▾

Practice with real data problems rather than memorising syntax. Pick one formula at a time, understand what it does, and try it on your own data. ExcelForm can help — describe what you want to calculate and it generates the formula, which you can then study and learn from.

Is there a free downloadable Excel formula cheat sheet?▾

The formulas on this page cover the most essential 50 functions. ExcelForm at excelform.xyz also has a Formula Library of 30 ready-to-use formulas with one-click loading into the generator. You can screenshot or print this page as a reference.

What Excel formulas should beginners learn first?▾

Start with: SUM (add numbers), AVERAGE, IF (basic logic), VLOOKUP (pull data from a table), SUMIF (conditional sum), COUNTA (count non-empty cells), and TEXT (format numbers for display). Once these feel comfortable, move to SUMIFS, INDEX MATCH, and IFERROR.

Excel Formula Cheat Sheet 2026 — 50 Must-Know Formulas