Google Sheets vs Excel Formulas: Differences

Functions That Work Identically in Both

The vast majority of formulas work with exactly the same syntax in both Excel and Google Sheets:

Works the same in both

VLOOKUP, XLOOKUP (Excel 365 / Sheets 2022+), INDEX, MATCH, IFERROR SUMIF, SUMIFS, COUNTIF, COUNTIFS, AVERAGEIF, AVERAGEIFS IF, AND, OR, IFS, NOT, SWITCH SUM, AVERAGE, MIN, MAX, COUNT, COUNTA, LARGE, SMALL TEXT, TRIM, UPPER, LOWER, LEFT, RIGHT, MID, LEN, CONCATENATE, TEXTJOIN DATE, TODAY, NOW, DATEDIF, NETWORKDAYS, EOMONTH, EDATE FILTER, SORT, UNIQUE, SEQUENCE (Excel 365 / Sheets)

Google Sheets Only Functions

IMPORTRANGE

Pull data from another Google Sheets file: =IMPORTRANGE("url","Sheet1!A:B"). No Excel equivalent.

QUERY

SQL-like data filtering and aggregation: =QUERY(A:D,"SELECT A,SUM(D) WHERE C='East' GROUP BY A"). Extremely powerful — no Excel equivalent.

GOOGLEFINANCE

Live stock prices and financial data: =GOOGLEFINANCE("GOOG","price"). No Excel equivalent.

GOOGLETRANSLATE

Translate text in a cell: =GOOGLETRANSLATE(A2,"en","fr"). No Excel equivalent.

Excel Only Functions (not in Google Sheets)

STOCKHISTORY: Historical stock price data (Excel 365 only)
FIELDVALUE: Extracts data from Excel linked data types (stocks, geography)
LAMBDA: Available in Google Sheets since 2022, but syntax details differ slightly
Power Query: Not a formula but an Excel-only ETL tool with no Sheets equivalent
VBA macros: Excel-only. Google Sheets uses Google Apps Script (JavaScript-based)

The Biggest Syntax Difference: Array Formulas

In Excel 365, many formulas produce arrays automatically (dynamic arrays). In Google Sheets, you often need to wrap formulas with ARRAYFORMULA() to apply them to an entire column:

Multiply entire column — Google Sheets

=ARRAYFORMULA(A2:A * B2:B) ← Sheets: needs ARRAYFORMULA wrapper =A2:A * B2:B ← Excel 365: works automatically (dynamic arrays)

IF on entire column — Google Sheets

=ARRAYFORMULA(IF(A2:A>100,"High","Low")) ← Sheets =IF(A2:A>100,"High","Low") ← Excel 365 (spills automatically)

How to Convert Excel Formulas to Google Sheets

Use ExcelForm's Compatibility Checker — paste any Excel formula, select Excel as source and Google Sheets as target, and the AI identifies every incompatible function and generates the correct Sheets alternative. Free, no signup required.

Most common conversion issue: Excel VLOOKUP with col_index_num often needs the col_index_num recounted after conversion because Sheets may index columns differently in some edge cases. Always test converted formulas with a sample row.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Do Excel formulas work in Google Sheets?▾

Most Excel formulas work identically in Google Sheets — VLOOKUP, SUMIF, INDEX MATCH, IF, and hundreds of others. The key differences are: (1) array formulas may need an ARRAYFORMULA() wrapper in Sheets; (2) a handful of Excel-only functions do not exist in Sheets; (3) Sheets has unique functions like IMPORTRANGE and QUERY with no Excel equivalent.

Why does my Excel formula not work in Google Sheets?▾

Most likely causes: (1) the formula uses an Excel-only function like STOCKHISTORY; (2) you are using an old Excel array formula (Ctrl+Shift+Enter style) which needs ARRAYFORMULA() in Sheets; (3) you are using XLOOKUP and your Sheets version is from before 2022. Use ExcelForm's Compatibility Checker to identify and fix these issues automatically.

Is XLOOKUP available in Google Sheets?▾

Yes — XLOOKUP was added to Google Sheets in 2022 with identical syntax to Excel 365. If you are sharing files with users on older Sheets versions, use INDEX MATCH instead as it works universally.

How do I convert an Excel formula to Google Sheets automatically?▾

Use ExcelForm's Compatibility Advisor at excelform.xyz — paste your Excel formula, select Google Sheets as the target platform, and the AI converts it instantly with function-level warnings for any incompatible syntax.

Google Sheets vs Excel Formulas: What's Different?