📎 This article includes 1 downloadable practice file ↓
In this article
If you know Excel, you already know 80% of Google Sheets: cells, formulas, SUM, IF, VLOOKUP, pivot tables and charts all work the same way. The other 20% is where people get frustrated, so this lesson is about the differences.
What’s the same
- Most functions: SUM, IF, VLOOKUP, XLOOKUP, SUMIFS, INDEX/MATCH, TEXT, dates.
- Most shortcuts: Ctrl+C/V/Z, Ctrl+Arrow, Ctrl+Shift+Arrow, Ctrl+B.
- Absolute references with $ and F4.
- Pivot tables (Insert › Pivot table), charts, conditional formatting, data validation.
What’s different
| Area | Excel | Google Sheets |
|---|---|---|
| Saving | Ctrl+S, AutoSave on OneDrive | Saves every change automatically |
| Sharing | Send file or link | Always a link with permissions (Lesson 3) |
| Size limit | ~1 million rows per sheet | 10 million cells per file in total |
| Macros | VBA | Apps Script (JavaScript, Lesson 6) |
| Power tools | Power Query, Power Pivot | QUERY, IMPORTRANGE, Connected Sheets |
| Speed | Fast on big files | Slows down past ~100k rows with many formulas |
| Help menu shortcuts list | – | Ctrl+/ shows all shortcuts |
Opening Excel files
Upload an .xlsx to Drive and open it: Sheets edits it in Office format (you’ll see a “.XLSX” badge). File › Save as Google Sheets converts it for full features. Most formulas convert; VBA macros, Power Query, slicers on tables and some chart types don’t.
Going back: File › Download › Microsoft Excel (.xlsx).
Version history
File › Version history › See version history shows every change with who made it. Restore any version, or name important ones (“Sent to client”). It’s the safety net for shared files.
Offline
Install the Google Docs Offline Chrome extension and turn on offline in Drive settings; files marked “Available offline” open without internet and sync later.
Where Excel users trip up
| Surprise | Explanation |
|---|---|
| “Where’s Save?” | No need; it’s continuous |
| Someone else’s edits appear while I work | Real-time collaboration; use filter views (Lesson 3) to avoid disturbing others |
| Locale-dependent formulas | File › Settings › Locale India gives ₹ and dd/mm dates; some locales use ; instead of , in formulas |
| Macros don’t work | VBA must be rewritten in Apps Script |
Practice
Download the practice file below and upload it to Google Drive (File › Import in Sheets). Import it, convert it to Google Sheets format and compare a few formulas with Excel.
📎 Practice files for this article
- 📗Practice sheet (import into Google Sheets)60 orders plus a Tasks sheet: QUERY, FILTER, UNIQUE, SPLIT, ARRAYFORMULA, GOOGLETRANSLATE, SPARKLINE and more.⬇ XLSX · 8 KB
Free to use for learning. Files with macros (.bas) are plain text — import them with Alt+F11 → File → Import File, and always test on a copy.
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