Google Sheets and Excel: where formulas differ

Most formulas work the same in Google Sheets and Excel. SUM, IF, VLOOKUP, COUNTIF and the date and text functions are shared. The differences matter when a file crosses from one to the other, or when you follow instructions written for the other program. This guide lists them from the Sheets user's side.

It is written from general knowledge of both programs. Each changes often, so check anything important on your own copy.

Only in Google Sheets

Function	Job
QUERY	select, filter, sort and total with one instruction
ARRAYFORMULA	make a formula fill a column
IMPORTRANGE	read a range from another file
IMPORTHTML, IMPORTXML, IMPORTDATA	read data from web pages
GOOGLEFINANCE	prices and currency rates
GOOGLETRANSLATE	machine translation
SPLIT and JOIN	divide and join text
REGEXMATCH, REGEXEXTRACT, REGEXREPLACE	pattern matching (recent Microsoft 365 has its own versions)
SORTN, COUNTUNIQUE, FLATTEN	top rows, distinct counts, stacking
SPARKLINE	a chart in a cell, as a formula
ISEMAIL, ISURL	format checks

When a Sheets file is downloaded as an Excel file, formulas using these keep only their last values or show errors.

Only in Excel

Power Query and the larger PivotTable features.
AGGREGATE, which totals while skipping errors and hidden rows.
Structured table references such as Sales[Amount].
Microsoft 365 functions such as TEXTSPLIT, TEXTBEFORE, TEXTAFTER, TAKE, DROP and SORTBY.
Macros written in VBA. Sheets uses Apps Script instead, and macros do not convert.

Arrays

In modern Excel a formula given a range spills by itself: =C2:C9*2. In Sheets, ordinary formulas need the ARRAYFORMULA wrapper. Functions that are arrays by nature, such as FILTER, SORT, UNIQUE and QUERY, spill in both.

Excel refers to a spilled result with a hash, as in H2#. Sheets has no such sign. Use an open-ended range such as H2:H.

A blocked spill shows #SPILL! in Excel and #REF! in Sheets.

Open-ended ranges

A2:A, meaning from A2 to the bottom, is valid in Sheets and not in Excel. On conversion to Excel it becomes a fixed range.

Same name, different shape

Function	Google Sheets	Excel
FILTER	conditions listed with commas; no "if empty" argument	one condition argument, multiply for "and"; third argument for "if empty"
SORT	`SORT(range, column, TRUE or FALSE, ...)`; the sort column may be an outside range	`SORT(array, index, 1 or -1)`; outside range needs SORTBY
UNIQUE	case sensitive	ignores case
CONCAT	exactly two values	any number of values and ranges
IFERROR	second argument optional	second argument required
ROUND	places optional	places required
DATEDIF	documented	works, but undocumented
XLOOKUP	same arguments	same arguments

Behaviour that differs quietly

Text that looks like a number. Sheets often converts it in arithmetic without comment. Excel is stricter.
Locale. In Sheets the separator between arguments, date order and currency follow the spreadsheet's own setting, under File, Settings. In Excel they follow the computer's regional settings.
Cell limits. A Sheets file has a limit on its total number of cells, and very large data is better kept in Excel or a database. Google's help page gives the current figure.
Recalculation. Volatile functions such as NOW and RAND update on a schedule you choose under File, Settings, Calculation.

Bringing an Excel file into Sheets

Upload it to Google Drive and open it. You can edit it in place as an Excel file, or choose File, Save as Google Sheets to convert it. Ordinary formulas convert. Check for:

#NAME? where an Excel-only function was used;
macros, which are dropped;
Power Query connections, which do not come across;
charts and conditional formats, which may look slightly different.

Sending a Sheets file to an Excel user

File, Download, Microsoft Excel. Before sending:

Look for the Sheets-only functions in the table above. Where the receiver needs live figures, replace them, for example QUERY with SUMIFS. Where they only need the numbers, copy the results and paste values only.
Replace IMPORTRANGE with the actual data.
Open the downloaded file, if you can, and look for error cells.
Compare a few totals with the original.

Working alongside Excel users

If files will go back and forth for a long time, stay with the shared functions: SUMIFS, COUNTIFS, VLOOKUP or INDEX and MATCH, IF, TEXT and the date functions. They behave the same in both, and nobody has to repair anything.

This is an independent help site. It is not connected with or approved by Google. Google Sheets is a trademark of Google LLC, named here only to say which program a formula is for. The people and figures in the sample sheets are made up.