30+ useful Google Sheets functions

Google Sheets is a great alternative to Microsoft Excel. It's packed with useful features, including a wide range of functions that cover most of those available on Excel and more.

You can use functions in Sheets to simplify processes that can take a lot of time and effort. If you're just starting to use Google Sheets or are ready to switch to using the Microsoft program, these are essential functions you should keep in mind.

Useful Google Sheets functions

Name	Syntax	Describe
Array
GROWTH	GROWTH(known_data_y, [known_data_x], [new_data_x], [b])	Use existing partial data to predict exponential growth trends by providing predicted values.
TRANSPOSE	TRANSPOSE(array_or_range)	Reorder a cell selection by swapping columns and rows for rows and columns and vice versa.
Day
DATE	DATE(year, month, day)	Changes the selected value and returns it in date format.
NOW	NOW()	Provides the current date and time.
TODAY	TODAY()	Automatically updates a cell and returns the current date.
Filter
FILTER	FILTER(range, condition1, [condition2])	Shows a filtered version of the range that matches the conditions.
SORT	SORT(range, sort_column, is_ascending, [sort_column2], [is_ascending2])*	Sorts selected cell rows in a specific order according to the values in one or more columns.
UNIQUE	UNIQUE(range)	Show unique rows in range without duplicates.
Logic
IF	IF(logical_expression, value_if_true, value_if_false)	Provides true or false if the selected variable exists in the selected cells.
IFERROR	IFERROR(value, [value_if_error])	Displays the first value if there is no error, the second value if there is an error, and is blank if there is no argument.
Search
FORMULATEXT	FORMULATEXT(cell)	Displays formulas as text strings.
VLOOKUP	VLOOKUP(search_key, range, index, [is_sorted])	Searches for a value in a column and returns that value in the corresponding row.
XLOOKUP	XLOOKUP(search_key, lookup_range, result_range, missing_value, [match_mode], [search_mode])	Searches for a value within a range (vertical and horizontal) and returns that value or the closest match
Math
BASE	BASE(value, base, [min_length])	Converts a number to another base.
COUNTBLANK	COUNTBLANK(range)	Calculate the number of empty cells in the range.
COUNTIF	COUNTIF(range, criterion)	Count the number of cells that satisfy the condition.
RAND	RAND()	Generate a random number between 0 and 1.
ROUNDUP	ROUNDUP(value, [places])	Rounds a number up to the specified number of places.
SUM	SUM(value1, [value2, .])	Sum the values in a selected group of cells or numbers.
SUMIF	SUMIF(range, criterion, [sum_range])	Sum values in a group of cells if they meet a specific criteria or fit a specific category.
Statistical
AVERAGE	AVERAGE(value1, [value2, .])	Finds the average of the numerical values in the selected cells while ignoring text.
MAX	MAX(value1, [value2, .])	Finds the maximum value in the set.
MIN	MIN(value1, [value2, .])	Finds the minimum value in the set.
MODE	MODE(value1, [value2, .])	Finds the most common values in the set.
Text
CONCATENATE	CONCATENATE(string1, [string2, .])	Combines the values of two separate cells into one.
SEARCH	SEARCH(search_for, text_to_search, [starting_at])	Searches for a value and returns its position in the text.
SPLIT	SPLIT(text, delimiter, [split_by_each], [remove_empty_text])	Splits text of a certain value and divides it into multiple cells.
SUBSTITUTE	SUBSTITUTE(text_to_search, search_for, replace_with, [occurence_number])	Changes existing text and provides new text in a string.
TEXT	TEXT(number, format)	Change some numbers into different text formats.
Web
IMPORTFEED	IMPORTFEED(URL, [query], [headers], [num_items])	Import and provide an RSS or ATOM feed as a value.
IMPORTXML	IMPORTXML(URL, xpath_query)	Import different types of data from a selected URL, including HTML, XML, CSV, TSV, RSS, and ATOM XML feeds.