Top 25 Excel Formulas Everyone Should Know {High‑value SEO article listing vital formulas like SUM, IF, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, COUNTIF, with real examples.

January 17, 2026 admin

Most guides overlook how much you can improve your workflow when you master the Top 25 Excel formulas; this concise guide puts the high‑value functions like SUM, IF, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, COUNTIF front and center with real examples so you save time and avoid costly errors.

Key Takeaways:

Master core categories – aggregation (SUM, AVERAGE), logical (IF/IFS), conditional (COUNTIF/COUNTIFS, SUMIF/SUMIFS), lookup (VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, INDEX+MATCH), and text/date functions – use concrete examples like SUM(A1:A10) or TEXT(A1,”yyyy-mm-dd”).
Prefer XLOOKUP or INDEX+MATCH for flexible, accurate lookups (handles left/right searches and exact/approximate matches); use VLOOKUP only for simple left-to-right cases.
Build robust formulas by combining functions and adding error handling (IFERROR, IFNA); practice chaining formulas on real datasets, e.g., IFERROR(XLOOKUP(…),”Not found”).

Essential Excel Formulas

These foundational functions power everyday analysis: SUM, AVERAGE, COUNT, IF, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, SUMIF, COUNTIF, INDEX/MATCH. Use them to turn raw rows into insights – for example, SUM(B2:B31) to total monthly sales, IF to flag outliers, and COUNTIF to tally returns. Mastering these will make your spreadsheets faster and more reliable for routine reporting and ad hoc queries.

SUM: Aggregating Data

When you need totals, use =SUM(A1:A10) to add ranges quickly. For monthly sales across days use =SUM(B2:B31), or combine ranges like =SUM(B2:B31,D2:D31) for segmented totals. SUM ignores text and blanks, so it’s ideal for numeric aggregation but check for hidden zeros that can distort totals.

AVERAGE: Calculating Mean Values

Use =AVERAGE(B2:B100) to compute the mean of numeric cells; AVERAGE skips blanks but includes zeros, so your result can be pulled down by empty-value placeholders. Apply it to compute metrics like average order value (e.g., =AVERAGE(C2:C501)) and compare against median to spot skewed distributions.

When outliers matter, switch to alternatives: =AVERAGEIF or =AVERAGEIFS to include criteria, or =TRIMMEAN(range,0.1) to remove the top and bottom 10%. You should watch for extreme values because a single large number can skew the mean; median and trimmed means often give more robust insights.

COUNT: Tallying Data Entries

Choose =COUNT(A2:A100) to count numeric entries and =COUNTA(A2:A100) to count non-empty cells including text. For conditional tallies use =COUNTIF(range,”>=100″) or =COUNTIFS for multiple criteria. COUNT ignores text, so use COUNTA when you need every filled cell counted.

Apply COUNT functions for data quality checks and KPI validation, for example =COUNTIFS(StatusRange,”Closed”,PriorityRange,”>=3″) to count high-priority closed tickets. You can also combine COUNT with SUMPRODUCT for complex conditions; this helps you spot missing records or unexpected duplicates and ensures your datasets are production-ready.

Logical Functions

You rely on logical functions like IF, IFS, AND and OR to direct calculations and flag exceptions; misusing them causes subtle errors. Use IF for simple branches, combine with AND/OR for multi-condition tests, or switch to IFS/SWITCH for clarity. For a concise refresher see Top Basic Excel Formulas Everyone Should Know.

IF: Conditional Evaluations

You use IF to return different outputs based on a test: =IF(A2>1000,”Bonus”,”No Bonus”). Nesting more than 3-4 IFs becomes hard to maintain; prefer IFS or SWITCH in Excel 2016+. Incorrect nesting is a common source of logic bugs – validate with edge cases and sample rows.

AND/OR: Multiple Conditions

Combine conditions with AND or OR inside IF: =IF(AND(A2>50,B2=”Yes”),”Eligible”,”No”). OR returns TRUE when any test passes. Be careful: Excel evaluates all arguments, so a test that divides by zero can still produce an error; use IFERROR or reorder checks to prevent that. Use AND/OR to build precise filters.

When evaluating many rows, prefer COUNTIFS/SUMIFS or Boolean math with SUMPRODUCT: =SUMPRODUCT((A2:A100>0)*(B2:B100=”Y”)). For large datasets (>100,000 rows) helper columns often cut recalculation time by 50-90%. Performance and maintainability usually trump squeezing everything into one complex formula.

Lookup Functions

When you’re matching values across sheets, lookup functions are your primary toolkit: VLOOKUP for simple vertical matches, XLOOKUP for flexible, bidirectional searches, and INDEX/MATCH for robust alternatives. You can pull a price from a 10,000-row catalog or aggregate last-month sales with these. For a quick reference guide consult Top Excel Formulas and Functions :You Should Know 2025.

VLOOKUP: Vertical Lookup

Use =VLOOKUP(“SKU123”,A2:D10000,3,FALSE) to return the 3rd column for SKU123; FALSE forces exact match and TRUE requires a sorted first column for approximate matches. Be aware VLOOKUP cannot search left and slows across tens of thousands of rows, so you may prefer INDEX/MATCH for large, leftward lookups.

XLOOKUP: Next-Gen Lookup

XLOOKUP replaces many limits: =XLOOKUP(B2,A:A,C:C,”Not found”,0,1) defaults to exact match, lets you return arrays or multiple columns, and performs left/right lookups without rearranging data. You’ll get faster, clearer formulas and better error handling compared with older lookup patterns.

Dig deeper into XLOOKUP options: match_mode (0 exact, -1 exact or next smaller, 1 exact or next larger, 2 wildcard) and search_mode (1 first-to-last, -1 last-to-first, 2/-2 binary search for sorted data). For instance, use search_mode -1 to fetch the last match in a 50,000-row event log. Note XLOOKUP is available in Excel 365 and 2021+; otherwise fall back to INDEX/MATCH.

Text Functions

Text functions let you clean, join, and format strings so your reports read correctly; use TRIM to drop extra spaces, LEN to validate an ID length (e.g., 10 characters), and SUBSTITUTE to replace bad characters across 5,000 rows. You’ll also rely on TEXT (which converts numbers to text – potentially breaking calculations) and TEXTJOIN to combine fields while ignoring blanks.

CONCATENATE: Merging Text

You can join first and last names with =CONCATENATE(A2,” “,B2) or faster with =A2&” “&B2; for lists of up to 1,000 rows use =TEXTJOIN(” “,TRUE,A2:C2) to skip empty cells and reduce formulas. When you need delimiters or to collapse dozens of columns, TEXTJOIN is more efficient than CONCATENATE and simpler to maintain.

TEXT: Formatting Numbers

Use =TEXT(C2,”$#,##0.00″) to show currency, =TEXT(D2,”yyyy-mm-dd”) for dates, or =TEXT(E2,”0.0%”) for percentages; note that TEXT returns text, so subsequent arithmetic on that cell will fail unless you convert back to numbers.

Format codes let you control padding and placeholders: use 0 for required digits and # for optional ones (e.g., “00” forces two digits), ? aligns decimals in tables, and you can add color or conditional parts like “[Red]#,##0;[Blue](#,##0)”. Combine with CONCAT (e.g., =A2&” sold “&TEXT(B2,”0″)&” units”) for readable exports, but avoid TEXT if you plan further numeric calculations or sorting by value.

Date and Time Functions

When deadlines, aging analysis, or schedule calculations hit, you rely on date/time tools to anchor numbers to the calendar: use TODAY() for live dates, NOW() for timestamps, DATE/EOMONTH to build month ends, NETWORKDAYS(A2,B2) to count business days excluding holidays, and YEARFRAC for fractional years; combining these (for example, EOMONTH(TODAY(),-1) for last month end) makes rolling reports and SLA checks straightforward and fast.

TODAY: Current Date

=TODAY() returns the system date and recalculates on each worksheet change or open, so you get a live reference for dashboards and aging. Because it’s volatile, avoid using it to stamp transactions-paste-as-values or use a macro for fixed records. Practical formulas: =TODAY()-A2 gives days since a purchase, and =EDATE(TODAY(),-6) creates a rolling six‑month cutoff for comparative summaries.

DATEDIF: Calculating Date Differences

DATEDIF computes whole differences using units like “Y”,”M”,”D”,”YM”,”YD”,”MD”; for example, =DATEDIF(A2,B2,”Y”) yields full years between dates, and =DATEDIF(A2,B2,”YM”) gives leftover months. You can build readable outputs with =DATEDIF(A2,B2,”Y”) & ” yrs, ” & DATEDIF(A2,B2,”YM”) & ” mos”. Note the function is undocumented in Excel yet still widely used.

For more precision, combine DATEDIF parts into a single age string-if A2=2015-03-15 and B2=2023-12-05, =DATEDIF(A2,B2,”Y”) returns 8, DATEDIF(A2,B2,”YM”) returns 8 and DATEDIF(A2,B2,”MD”) returns 20, producing “8 yrs, 8 mos, 20 days”. Be aware that the “MD” option can produce counterintuitive results around month boundaries, so validate with helper DATE arithmetic or use YEARFRAC(A2,B2) (≈8.72 years in this example) when you need fractional-year precision.

Statistical Functions

When you profile data, functions like AVERAGE, MEDIAN, MODE.SNGL, MIN/MAX, PERCENTILE.EXC and STDEV.S give fast insights: for a 10,000‑row sales table use MEDIAN if a few huge orders inflate AVERAGE, and choose STDEV.S for sample variability. You can learn more best practices in Top 25 Excel Formulas 2026, and be wary that AVERAGE will be skewed by zeros or missing values.

COUNTIF: Conditional Counting

Use COUNTIF(range, criteria) to tally cells that match one condition; for example COUNTIF(A2:A100,”> =1000″) counts invoices at least 1,000, and COUNTIF(B2:B500,”*Widget*”) finds any product containing “Widget”. Be aware that COUNTIF is case‑insensitive and treats numeric criteria differently from text, so concatenate operators like “>=”&E1 when you reference a cell.

SUMIF: Conditional Summation

SUMIF(range, criteria, [sum_range]) sums values meeting a single condition – e.g., SUMIF(B2:B500,”Apples”,C2:C500) returns total sales for Apples. You should ensure sum_range aligns exactly with range length, and use wildcards or “>=”&A1 for dynamic criteria when needed.

For more complex needs, switch to SUMIFS for multiple conditions (faster on large sheets) or use SUMPRODUCT for array logic; also note SUMIF ignores booleans and text in numeric summations, and mismatched ranges can give silently wrong results, so always verify with a spot check.

Summing up

As a reminder, mastering the Top 25 Excel formulas lets you automate calculations, spot trends, and build reliable reports; applying SUM, IF, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, COUNTIF, INDEX/MATCH, and TEXT functions with real examples will speed workflows and reduce errors, so you can confidently solve common data tasks and scale your spreadsheets to professional standards.

FAQ

Q: Which formulas from “Top 25 Excel Formulas Everyone Should Know” deliver the most day-to-day value and how do I use them?

A: Core high-value formulas include: SUM – add a range: =SUM(B2:B10); AVERAGE – mean of a range: =AVERAGE(B2:B10); IF – conditional return: =IF(C2>100,”Bonus”,”No Bonus”); COUNTIF – count by condition: =COUNTIF(A2:A100,”Completed”); SUMIF/SUMIFS – conditional sums: =SUMIFS(C2:C100,B2:B100,”West”,C2:C100,”>1000″); VLOOKUP (or XLOOKUP) – fetch related values: =VLOOKUP(E2,A2:C100,3,FALSE) or =XLOOKUP(E2,A2:A100,C2:C100,”Not found”); INDEX/MATCH – flexible lookup: =INDEX(C2:C100,MATCH(E2,A2:A100,0)); TEXTJOIN/CONCAT – combine text: =TEXTJOIN(“, “,TRUE,D2:F2); COUNTIFS/AVERAGEIFS – multi-condition counts/averages: =COUNTIFS(A2:A100,”>0″,B2:B100,”West”); UNIQUE/FILTER – dynamic arrays for distinct lists and filtered sets: =UNIQUE(A2:A100) and =FILTER(A2:C100,C2:C100>1000). Use each with clear ranges and absolute references ($A$2:$A$100) when copying formulas.

Q: When should I use VLOOKUP versus XLOOKUP, and what are practical examples?

A: Use XLOOKUP when available (Excel 365/2019+) because it looks left/right, returns exact matches by default, and supports a custom “not found” value. Example XLOOKUP: =XLOOKUP(E2,A2:A100,C2:C100,”Not found”,0) – finds E2 in A2:A100 and returns corresponding C value. VLOOKUP works in older Excel but can only search the leftmost column and needs a column index: =VLOOKUP(E2,A2:C100,3,FALSE). If you must insert/delete columns, INDEX/MATCH is safer: =INDEX(C2:C100,MATCH(E2,A2:A100,0)). For large tables and robust matching prefer XLOOKUP; use VLOOKUP when compatibility with legacy workbooks is required.

Q: How can I build conditional summaries and counts (examples using COUNTIF, SUMIF, SUMIFS, and combinations)?

A: For single-condition counts/sums use COUNTIF/SUMIF: count orders for “Pending”: =COUNTIF(B2:B100,”Pending”); sum sales for “Apples”: =SUMIF(A2:A100,”Apples”,C2:C100). For multiple conditions use COUNTIFS/SUMIFS: sum sales in West region over 1000: =SUMIFS(C2:C100,B2:B100,”West”,C2:C100,”>1000″); count customers with >5 purchases in 2024: =COUNTIFS(YearRange,2024,PurchasesRange,”>5″). Combine IF with aggregation for row-level logic: =IF(D2=”Returned”,0,C2) then SUM that helper column, or avoid helpers with SUMPRODUCT: =SUMPRODUCT((RegionRange=”West”)*(SalesRange>1000)*SalesRange) – this handles multiple criteria without array-entering. Use these patterns to create dashboards, flagged lists, and conditional totals.