Excel vs Google Sheets: What Matters for Job Tests

Excel vs Google Sheets matters less for job tests than most people fear. The skills employers test, such as cell references, IF, COUNTIFS, SUMIFS, VLOOKUP, XLOOKUP and pivot tables, work almost the same in both. What changes are the details: a few functions take different arguments, error messages look different, and some shortcuts and features exist in only one of them. This guide is for job seekers who have a spreadsheet test coming up and aren't sure which tool to practise in.

Excel vs Google Sheets at a glance#

The formula language is shared. The differences are around the edges.

What works the same in both#

Most of what a job test checks is identical, character for character:

• Basic formulas: =C2*D2, =(C3+10)*D3, =SUM(B2:B10), =AVERAGE(B2:B10).
• Relative and absolute references: $F$1 locks a cell in both, and F4 adds the dollar signs in both.
• Logic: =IF(B2>=100,"Yes","No"), IFS, AND, OR, IFERROR.
• Conditional maths: =COUNTIFS(B2:B20,"East",C2:C20,">1000") and SUMIFS.
• Lookups: VLOOKUP, INDEX MATCH and XLOOKUP. The VLOOKUP function guide applies to Sheets as written.
• Dates: TODAY, DATE, YEAR, EDATE, DATEDIF. Both store dates as day numbers, so date maths works the same.
• Text: LEFT, RIGHT, MID, TRIM, TEXTJOIN, & to join text.

Dynamic array functions also behave alike: UNIQUE, SORT and FILTER spill their results into the cells below in both tools.

You can upload an Excel file (.xlsx) to Google Drive and open it in Sheets, and most formulas, formats and pivot tables come across. Macros don't: Excel's VBA doesn't run in Sheets, which uses its own scripting language, Apps Script.

If you can write these from memory, you are ready for most of a test in either tool. Choosing between lookups is the same question in both; our comparison of VLOOKUP vs XLOOKUP applies equally to Sheets.

The same task, solved in both#

Here is a short price list:

A lookup: identical#

=XLOOKUP(F2,A2:A5,C2:C5,"Not found")

With SY-045 in F2, this returns 7.75 in both Excel and Google Sheets. With a SKU that isn't listed, both show Not found. The VLOOKUP(F2,A2:C5,3,FALSE) version also works unchanged in both.

A filter with two conditions: different#

Now you want the coffee products (SKUs that start with CF) that cost more than 5. In Excel, you multiply the conditions inside one argument:

=FILTER(A2:C5,(C2:C5>5)*(LEFT(A2:A5,2)="CF"),"None")

The third argument, "None", is the message to show when nothing matches.

In Google Sheets, each extra argument is another condition, joined with AND:

=FILTER(A2:C5, C2:C5>5, LEFT(A2:A5,2)="CF")

Both return the Espresso Beans row. If you type Excel's version into Sheets, "None" is read as a condition, not a message, so the formula returns an error. To show a message in Sheets, wrap the formula: =IFNA(FILTER(…),"None"). The multiplied form, (C2:C5>5)*(LEFT(A2:A5,2)="CF") as one condition, works in both.

A query: Sheets only#

Sheets has QUERY, which filters and summarizes with SQL-like text:

=QUERY(A1:C5,"select * where C > 5",1)

Excel has no QUERY function. In Excel you would use FILTER, a pivot table or Power Query instead. A test set in Excel won't ask for QUERY, and a Sheets test may give extra credit for it.

When to practise in Excel#

Practise in Excel when:

• The job ad or recruiter mentions Excel, or the company uses Microsoft 365.
• The test runs in Excel or an Excel-like simulation, where tasks may mention the ribbon, PivotTable field lists or Excel shortcuts by name.
• You don't know which tool the test uses. Excel skills carry over to Sheets more easily than the other way round.
• The role is in finance or analysis, where Excel-only tools such as Power Query, and keyboard-driven work, are common. See the Excel skills for data analysts.

Excel details worth knowing for a test include Alt+= for AutoSum on Windows, the Ctrl+Shift+L filter shortcut, and the Excel error names #SPILL! and #CALC!.

When to practise in Google Sheets#

Practise in Google Sheets when:

• The company uses Google Workspace, or the test link opens a Google Sheet.
• The role involves shared, collaborative files, such as operations or marketing teams working in one live sheet.
• The task mentions QUERY, IMPORTRANGE or ARRAYFORMULA, which are Sheets functions.
• You only have a browser, and want to practise core formulas for free. The skills will still transfer.

Common mistakes when switching between them#

These trip people up most often:

1. Using Excel's FILTER arguments in Sheets (or the other way round). Check what the third argument means in the tool you're using.
2. Misreading the error. A blocked result is #SPILL! in Excel but #REF! in Sheets. An empty FILTER is #CALC! in Excel but #N/A in Sheets.
3. Relying on Excel-only shortcuts in Sheets. Ribbon sequences such as Alt, H don't exist there. Basic shortcuts such as Ctrl+C, Ctrl+Z, Ctrl+B and Ctrl+arrow keys work in both.
4. Assuming XLOOKUP is Excel-only. It works in Sheets and in Excel 2021, Excel 2024 and Microsoft 365. It does not work in Excel 2019 or older.
5. Forgetting to save in Excel. Sheets saves automatically; desktop Excel doesn't unless AutoSave is on. Press Ctrl+S (⌘S on a Mac) before you submit.
6. Not checking the platform. If the test runs in Excel on a Mac, shortcuts change again. See Excel on Mac vs Windows.

How much time does switching take?#

If you already know one tool well, getting comfortable in the other usually takes a few hours of practice, not weeks: you are learning where menus are and which details differ, not a new formula language. Learning spreadsheets from scratch takes longer; our guide to how long it takes to learn Excel breaks it down by skill level.

What takes time in either tool is writing formulas from memory, quickly and correctly. That only comes from doing it, which is why we compare video courses with hands-on Excel practice in a separate article.

Our recommendation#

Ask the recruiter which tool the test uses. It's a normal question and the answer saves you guesswork.

• The test uses Excel, or you don't know: practise in Excel. The core skills will also work in Sheets.
• The test uses Google Sheets: practise the same core skills in Sheets, and learn its FILTER syntax and QUERY basics.
• Either way: be able to write SUM, IF, COUNTIFS, SUMIFS, VLOOKUP and XLOOKUP from memory, with $ references, and build a basic pivot table. Those are the same in both.

Practise it#

Try the XLOOKUP exercise on this page: the formula is the same in Excel and Google Sheets. Then build your core in the Your first formulas lesson, and get fast at lookups with the XLOOKUP lesson, including a friendly "Not found" message.