Excel’s top 12 most popular formulas with examples
Excel has over 475 formulas in its Functions Library, from simple mathematics to very complex statistical, logical, and engineering tasks such as IF statements (one of our perennial favorite stories); AND, OR, NOT functions; COUNT, AVERAGE, and MIN/MAX.
The basic functions covered below are the top 12 most popular formulas in Excel. To help you learn, we've also provided a spreadsheet with all the formula examples we cover below.
1. TODAY/NOW
There are 24 Date and Time functions listed on the drop-down menu under Formulas > Date & Time: 11 Date formats, 10 Time formats, and as many user-defined custom formats you can create. The TODAY function reveals the current month, day, and year; while the NOW function reveals the current month, day, year, and time of day. This is a handy function if you’re one of those individuals who always forgets to date your work.