Top 50 Excel Formulas for Beginners

Excel is a powerful tool for managing and analyzing data. For beginners, mastering basic formulas can significantly enhance your spreadsheet skills. Here are the top 50 Excel formulas for beginners:

1. SUM

Formula:

=SUM(A1:A10)

Calculates the total of a range of numbers.

2. AVERAGE

Formula:

=AVERAGE(A1:A10)

Finds the average of a range of numbers.

3. COUNT

Formula:

=COUNT(A1:A10)

Counts the number of cells that contain numeric values.

4. COUNTA

Formula:

=COUNTA(A1:A10)

Counts the number of non-empty cells.

5. MAX

Formula:

=MAX(A1:A10)

Finds the highest value in a range of numbers.

6. MIN

Formula:

=MIN(A1:A10)

Finds the lowest value in a range of numbers.

7. IF

Formula:

=IF(A1>10, "Over 10", "10 or less")

Returns one value if a condition is true and another if it's false.

8. VLOOKUP

Formula:

=VLOOKUP(A1, B1:C10, 2, FALSE)

Looks up a value in a table and returns a corresponding value from another column.

9. HLOOKUP

Formula:

=HLOOKUP(A1, B1:D10, 2, FALSE)

Looks up a value in the top row of a table and returns a value from a specified row.

10. INDEX

Formula:

=INDEX(B1:B10, 3)

Returns the value of a cell in a specified row and column of a range.

11. MATCH

Formula:

=MATCH("Apple", A1:A10, 0)

Searches for a value in a range and returns its relative position.

12. CONCATENATE

Formula:

=CONCATENATE(A1, " ", B1)

Joins multiple text strings into one string.

13. LEFT

Formula:

=LEFT(A1, 5)

Extracts a specified number of characters from the left side of a text string.

14. RIGHT

Formula:

=RIGHT(A1, 5)

Extracts a specified number of characters from the right side of a text string.

15. MID

Formula:

=MID(A1, 2, 5)

Extracts a specified number of characters from a text string, starting at a specified position.

16. TRIM

Formula:

=TRIM(A1)

Removes extra spaces from a text string, leaving only single spaces between words.

17. UPPER

Formula:

=UPPER(A1)

Converts all characters in a text string to uppercase.

18. LOWER

Formula:

=LOWER(A1)

Converts all characters in a text string to lowercase.

19. PROPER

Formula:

=PROPER(A1)

Capitalizes the first letter of each word in a text string.

20. TODAY

Formula:

=TODAY()

Returns the current date.

21. NOW

Formula:

=NOW()

Returns the current date and time.

22. DATE

Formula:

=DATE(2024, 9, 8)

Returns a date based on year, month, and day values.

23. YEAR

Formula:

=YEAR(A1)

Extracts the year from a date.

24. MONTH

Formula:

=MONTH(A1)

Extracts the month from a date.

25. DAY

Formula:

=DAY(A1)

Extracts the day from a date.

26. NETWORKDAYS

Formula:

=NETWORKDAYS(A1, B1)

Calculates the number of working days between two dates.

27. TEXT

Formula:

=TEXT(A1, "mm/dd/yyyy")

Formats a number and converts it to text in a specified format.

28. VALUE

Formula:

=VALUE(A1)

Converts text that appears in a recognized format (e.g., dates) into a number.

29. ROUND

Formula:

=ROUND(A1, 2)

Rounds a number to a specified number of digits.

30. CEILING

Formula:

=CEILING(A1, 10)

Rounds a number up, away from zero, to the nearest multiple of significance.

31. FLOOR

Formula:

=FLOOR(A1, 10)

Rounds a number down, toward zero, to the nearest multiple of significance.

32. ABS

Formula:

=ABS(A1)

Returns the absolute value of a number (i.e., the number without its sign).

33. RAND

Formula:

=RAND()

Generates a random number between 0 and 1.

34. RANDBETWEEN

Formula:

=RANDBETWEEN(1, 100)

Generates a random integer between the specified numbers.

35. IFERROR

Formula:

=IFERROR(A1/B1, "Error")

Returns a specified value if a formula results in an error; otherwise, returns the result of the formula.

36. CHOOSE

Formula:

=CHOOSE(2, "Red", "Green", "Blue")

Returns a value from a list based on an index number.

37. HYPERLINK

Formula:

=HYPERLINK("http://www.example.com", "Click Here")

Creates a clickable link to a URL or file.

38. INDEX MATCH

Formula:

=INDEX(B1:B10, MATCH("Apple", A1:A10, 0))

Combines INDEX and MATCH functions to look up values more flexibly than VLOOKUP.

39. TRANSPOSE

Formula:

=TRANSPOSE(A1:B2)

Converts a vertical range of cells to a horizontal range or vice versa.

40. OFFSET

Formula:

=OFFSET(A1, 2, 3)

Returns a cell or range that is offset from a starting cell by a specified number of rows and columns.

41. SUMIF

Formula:

=SUMIF(A1:A10, ">10")

Calculates the sum of a range based on a specified condition.

42. COUNTIF

Formula:

=COUNTIF(A1:A10, ">10")

Counts the number of cells within a range that meet a specified condition.

43. AVERAGEIF

Formula:

=AVERAGEIF(A1:A10, ">10")

Calculates the average of a range based on a specified condition.

44. SUMPRODUCT

Formula:

=SUMPRODUCT(A1:A10, B1:B10)

Multiplies corresponding components in given ranges and then sums the results.

45. NETWORKDAYS.INTL

Formula:

=NETWORKDAYS.INTL(A1, B1, "0000011")

Calculates the number of working days between two dates, allowing for custom weekend settings.

46. YEARFRAC

Formula:

=YEARFRAC(A1, B1)

Calculates the fraction of the year represented by the number of whole days between two dates.

47. TEXTJOIN

Formula:

=TEXTJOIN(", ", TRUE, A1:A5)

Joins text from multiple ranges and/or strings with a specified delimiter.

48. CONCAT

Formula:

=CONCAT(A1, B1)

Combines text from multiple ranges or strings into one string.

49. SHEET

Formula:

=SHEET(A1)

Returns the sheet number of a reference.

50. CELL

Formula:

=CELL("address", A1)

Returns information about the formatting, location, or contents of a cell.

Conclusion

These top 50 Excel formulas are essential for beginners to perform a variety of tasks, from basic calculations to complex data analysis. Mastering these functions will enhance your Excel proficiency and help you manage and analyze data more effectively.