🧠 Introduction: Why Learn Excel Formulas?
Microsoft Excel is more than just rows and columns — it’s a powerful tool for organizing, calculating, and analyzing data. Whether you’re a student, office worker, or freelancer, knowing Excel formulas can save you time and increase your productivity.
In this article, we’ll cover the 10 most essential Excel formulas that every beginner should learn.
✅ 1. SUM() – Add Values
Formula: =SUM(A1:A5)
Use: Adds values from A1 to A5.
👉 Example: Add total sales or expenses in a list.
✅ 2. AVERAGE() – Find the Mean
Formula: =AVERAGE(B1:B5)
Use: Calculates the average of selected numbers.
👉 Example: Calculate average marks, salary, or performance.
✅ 3. IF() – Logical Test
Formula: =IF(C2>60, "Pass", "Fail")
Use: Checks if a condition is true or false.
👉 Example: Pass/Fail based on marks.
✅ 4. COUNT() – Count Numbers
Formula: =COUNT(A1:A10)
Use: Counts numeric entries in a range.
👉 Example: Count how many products have sales data.
✅ 5. COUNTA() – Count Text & Numbers
Formula: =COUNTA(A1:A10)
Use: Counts all non-empty cells (text, numbers).
👉 Example: Count how many entries exist in a list.
✅ 6. VLOOKUP() – Vertical Lookup
Formula: =VLOOKUP("John", A2:C10, 2, FALSE)
Use: Searches a value in the first column and returns data from another column.
👉 Example: Find salary of an employee named John.
✅ 7. HLOOKUP() – Horizontal Lookup
Formula: =HLOOKUP("Feb", A1:D2, 2, FALSE)
Use: Similar to VLOOKUP, but works across rows.
👉 Example: Get February sales from a table header.
✅ 8. CONCATENATE() or CONCAT() – Join Text
Formula: =CONCAT(A2, " ", B2)
Use: Combines values/text from different cells.
👉 Example: Combine first name and last name.
✅ 9. TODAY() – Current Date
Formula: =TODAY()
Use: Returns today’s date dynamically.
👉 Example: Use in date trackers or reports.
✅ 10. LEN() – Count Characters
Formula: =LEN(A1)
Use: Tells you how many characters are in a cell.
👉 Example: Validate phone numbers or text length.
📸 Example Image:
(You can upload a screenshot of an Excel sheet using these formulas side-by-side in practice.)
🏁 Conclusion:
Mastering these basic Excel formulas will set a solid foundation for automating tasks and handling data efficiently. As you grow comfortable, you can move on to more advanced functions like INDEX, MATCH, and ARRAYFORMULAS.
👉 Start using these formulas today and unlock the power of Excel!
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