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.