Basic Excel Formulas Everyone Should Learn 2026

If you are starting with Excel, you might feel confused by all the functions and formulas at first. But once you understand the basics, excel becomes one of the most useful tools for studies, office work, and data analysis work.

In this guide, I’ll share some of the most important excel formulas that every beginner should learn in 2026. These are simple but very powerful in real-world use.

1. 1. SUM Function
2. 2. AVERAGE Function
3. 3. IF Function
4. 4. VLOOKUP Function
5. 5. COUNTIF Function
6. 6. TEXTJOIN Function
7. Conclusion
8. FAQ – Basic Excel Formulas Everyone Should Learn (2026)
   1. 1. What are Excel formulas?
   2. 2. Which Excel formulas should beginners learn first?
   3. 3. What is the difference between a formula and a function in Excel?
   4. 4. How do I write a formula in Excel?
   5. 5. Can Excel formulas update automatically?
   6. 6. Why should beginners learn Excel formulas?

1. SUM Function

The SUM function is used to quickly add numbers in a range of cells. I am sharing following formula to help you to understand it better.

Example:

=SUM(A1:A5)

This will add all values from cell A1 to A5. It is one of the most commonly used excel formulas.

2. AVERAGE Function

The AVERAGE function helps you find the average value of a group of numbers. The below formula will help you to understand it better.

Example:

=AVERAGE(B1:B10)

For example, you can use it to calculate average marks obtained by student.

3. IF Function

IF function is useful when you want Excel to make logical decisions.

Example:

=IF(C1>50,"Pass","Fail")

If the value in C1 cell is more than 50, it shows “Pass”, otherwise it shows “Fail”.

4. VLOOKUP Function

VLOOKUP function is used to search for a value in a table and return related data.

Example:

=VLOOKUP(E1,A1:C10,2,FALSE)

E1 is the value or cell you want to search
A1:C10 is the range of table
2 is the column number from which result will returned, counting from left to right.

This function is widely used in office reports and data management tasks.

5. COUNTIF Function

COUNTIF helps you count how many cells match a specific condition. It will count how many times a speific word occured in given range.

Example:

=COUNTIF(A1:A10,"Yes")

It will count how many times “Yes” appears in a selected range.

6. TEXTJOIN Function

TEXTJOIN is used to join text from different cells into one.

Example:

=TEXTJOIN(" ",TRUE,A1,B1)

For example, you can combine first name and last name easily.

Conclusion

Excel may look difficult at first, but once you start practicing these basic formulas, it becomes much easier to work with data.

I recommend you to try these formulas in a real excel sheet while learning, as practical use helps you understand them faster.Also you can use pivot table for your analysis.

FAQ – Basic Excel Formulas Everyone Should Learn (2026)

1. What are Excel formulas?

Excel formulas are expressions used to perform calculations, analyze data, and automate tasks in a spreadsheet.

2. Which Excel formulas should beginners learn first?

Beginners should start with SUM, AVERAGE, COUNT, MAX, MIN, IF, and VLOOKUP (or XLOOKUP in newer versions).

3. What is the difference between a formula and a function in Excel?

A formula is an equation you create, while a function is a built-in formula provided by Excel, such as SUM() or AVERAGE().

4. How do I write a formula in Excel?

Every formula starts with an equals sign (=), followed by cell references, values, or functions. For example: =SUM(A1:A10).

5. Can Excel formulas update automatically?

Yes. Excel recalculates formulas automatically whenever the referenced data changes.

6. Why should beginners learn Excel formulas?

Learning Excel formulas helps you perform calculations faster, reduce manual work, improve accuracy, and analyze data more efficiently.