by Many tasks you perform in Excel involve comparing data in different cells. For this, Microsoft Excel provides six logical operators, which are also called comparison operators. This tutorial aims to help you understand the insight of Excel logical operators and write the most efficient formulas for your data analysis.
Excel logical operators - overview
A logical operator is used in Excel to compare two values. Logical operators are sometimes called Boolean operators because the result of the comparison in any given case can only be either TRUE or FALSE.
Six logical operators are available in Excel. The following table explains what each of them does and illustrates the theory with formula examples.
| Condition | Operator | Formula Example | Description |
| Equal to | = | =A1=B1 | The formula returns TRUE if a value in cell A1 is equal to the values in cell B1; FALSE otherwise. |
| Not equal to | <> | =A1<>B1 | The formula returns TRUE if a value in cell A1 is not equal to the value in cell B1; FALSE otherwise. |
| Greater than | > | =A1>B1 | The formula returns TRUE if a value in cell A1 is greater than a value in cell B1; otherwise it returns FALSE. |
| Less than | < | =A1<B1 | The formula returns TRUE if a value in cell A1 is less than in cell B1; FALSE otherwise. |
| Greater than or equal to | >= | =A1>=B1 | The formula returns TRUE if a value in cell A1 is greater than or equal to the values in cell B1; FALSE otherwise. |
| Less than or equal to | <= | =A1<=B1 | The formula returns TRUE if a value in cell A1 is less than or equal to the values in cell B1; FALSE otherwise. |
The screenshot below demonstrates the results returned by Equal to, Not equal to, Greater than and Less than logical operators:
It may seem that the above table covers it all and there's nothing more to talk about. But in fact, each logical operator has its own specificities and knowing them can help you harness the real power of Excel formulas.
Using "Equal to" logical operator in Excel
The Equal to logical operator (=) can be used to compare all data types - numbers, dates, text values, Booleans, as well as the results returned by other Excel formulas. For example:
| =A1=B1 | Returns TRUE if the values in cells A1 and B1 are the same, FALSE otherwise. |
| =A1="oranges" | Returns TRUE if cells A1 contain the word "oranges", FALSE otherwise. |
| =A1=TRUE | Returns TRUE if cells A1 contain the Boolean value TRUE, otherwise it returns FALSE. |
| =A1=(B1/2) | Returns TRUE if a number in cell A1 is equal to the quotient of the division of B1 by 2, FALSE otherwise. |
Example 1. Using the "Equal to" operator with dates
You might be surprised to know that the Equal to logical operator cannot compare dates as easily as numbers. For example, if the cells A1 and A2 contain the date "12/1/2014", the formula =A1=A2 will return TRUE exactly as it should.
However, if you try either =A1=12/1/2014 or =A1="12/1/2014" you will get FALSE as the result. A bit unexpected, eh?
The point is that Excel stores dates as numbers beginning with 1-Jan-1900, which is stored as 1. The date 12/1/2014 is stored as 41974. In the above formulas, Microsoft Excel interprets "12/1/2014" as a usual text string, and since "12/1/2014" is not equal to 41974, it returns FALSE.
To get the correct result, you must always wrap a date in the DATEVALUE function, like this =A1=DATEVALUE("12/1/2014")
Note. The DATEVALUE function needs to be used with other logical operator as well, as demonstrated in the examples that follow.
The same approach should be applied when you use Excel's equal to operator in the logical test of the IF function. You can find more info as well as a few formula examples in this tutorial: Using Excel IF function with dates.
Example 2. Using the "Equal to" operator with text values
Using Excel's Equal to operator with text values does not require any extra twists. The only thing you should keep in mind is that the Equal to logical operator in Excel is case-insensitive, meaning that case differences are ignored when comparing text values.
For example, if cell A1 contains the word "oranges" and cell B1 contains "Oranges", the formula =A1=B1 will return TRUE.
If you want to compare text values taking in to account their case differences, you should use the EXACT function instead of the Equal to operator. The syntax of the EXACT function is as simple as:
Where text 1 and text2 are the values you want to compare. If the values are exactly the same, including case, Excel returns TRUE; otherwise, it returns FALSE. You can also use the EXACT function in IF formulas when you need a case-sensitive comparison of text values, as shown in the below screenshot:
Note. If you want to compare the length of two text values, you can use the LEN function instead, for example =LEN(A2)=LEN(B2) or =LEN(A2)>=LEN(B2).
Example 3. Comparing Boolean values and numbers
There is a widespread opinion that in Microsoft Excel the Boolean value of TRUE always equates to 1 and FALSE to 0. However, this is only partially true, and the key word here is "always" or more precisely "not always" : )
When writing an 'equal to' logical expression that compares a Boolean value and a number, you need to specifically point out for Excel that a non-numeric Boolean value should be treated as a number. You can do this by adding the double minus sign in front of a Boolean value or a cell reference, e. g. =A2=--TRUE or =A2=--B2.
The 1st minus sign, which is technically called the unary operator, coerces TRUE/FALSE to -1/0, respectively, and the second unary negates the values turning them into +1 and 0. This will probably be easier to understand looking at the following screenshot:
Note. You should add the double unary operator before a Boolean when using other logical operators such as not equal to, greater than or less than to correctly compare a numeric and Boolean values.
When using logical operators in complex formulas, you might also need to add the double unary before each logical expression that returns TRUE or FALSE as the result. Here's an example of such a formula: SUMPRODUCT and SUMIFS in Excel.
Using "Not equal to" logical operator in Excel
You use Excel's Not equal to operator (<>) when you want to make sure that a cell's value is not equal to a specified value. The use of the Not equal to operator is very similar to the use of Equal to that we discussed a moment ago.
The results returned by the Not equal to operator are analogous to the results produced by the Excel NOT function that reverses the value of its argument. The following table provides a few formula examples.
| Not equal to operator | NOT function | Description |
| =A1<>B1 | =NOT(A1=B1) | Returns TRUE if the values in cells A1 and B1 are not the same, FALSE otherwise. |
| =A1<>"oranges" | =NOT(A1="oranges") | Returns TRUE if cell A1 contains any value other than "oranges", FALSE if it contains "oranges" or "ORANGES" or "Oranges", etc. |
| =A1<>TRUE | =NOT(A1=TRUE) | Returns TRUE if cell A1 contains any value other than TRUE, FALSE otherwise. |
| =A1<>(B1/2) | =NOT(A1=B1/2) | Returns TRUE if a number in cell A1 is not equal to the quotient of the division of B1 by 2, FALSE otherwise. |
| =A1<>DATEVALUE("12/1/2014") | =NOT(A1=DATEVALUE("12/1/2014")) | Returns TRUE if A1 contains any value other than the date of 1-Dec-2014, regardless of the date format, FALSE otherwise. |
Greater than, less than, greater than or equal to, less than or equal to
You use these logical operators in Excel to check how one number compares to another. Microsoft Excel provides 4 comparison operates whose names are self-explanatory:
- Greater than (>)
- Greater than or equal to (>=)
- Less than (<)
- Less than or equal to (<=)
Most often, Excel comparison operators are used with numbers, date and time values. For example:
| =A1>20 | Returns TRUE if a number in cell A1 is greater than 20, FALSE otherwise. |
| =A1>=(B1/2) | Returns TRUE if a number in cell A1 is greater than or equal to the quotient of the division of B1 by 2, FALSE otherwise. |
| =A1<DATEVALUE("12/1/2014") | Returns TRUE if a date in cell A1 is less than 1-Dec-2014, FALSE otherwise. |
| =A1<=SUM(B1:D1) | Returns TRUE if a number in cell A1 is less than or equal to the sum of values in cells B1:D1, FALSE otherwise. |
Using Excel comparison operators with text values
In theory, you can also use the greater than, greater than or equal to operators as well as their less than counterparts with text values. For example, if cell A1 contains "apples" and B1 contains "bananas", guess what the formula =A1>B1 will return? Congratulations to those who've staked on FALSE : )
When comparing text values, Microsoft Excel ignores their case and compares the values symbol by symbol, "a" being considered the lowest text value and "z" - the highest text value.
So, when comparing the values of "apples" (A1) and "bananas" (B1), Excel starts with their first letters "a" and "b", respectively, and since "b" is greater than "a", the formula =A1>B1 returns FALSE.
If the first letters are the same, then the 2nd letters are compared, if they happen to be identical too, then Excel gets to the 3rd, 4th letters and so on. For example, if A1 contained "apples" and B1 contained "agave", the formula =A1>B1 would return TRUE because "p" is greater than "g".
At first sight, the use of comparison operators with text values seems to have very little practical sense, but you never know what you might need in the future, so probably this knowledge will prove helpful to someone.
Common uses of logical operators in Excel
In real work, Excel logical operators are rarely used on their own. Agree, the Boolean values TRUE and FALSE they return, though very true (excuse the pun), are not very meaningful. To get more sensible results, you can use logical operators as part of Excel functions or conditional formatting rules, as demonstrated in the below examples.
1. Using logical operators in arguments of Excel functions
When it comes to logical operators, Excel is very permissive and allows using them in parameters of many functions. One of the most common uses is found in Excel IF function where the comparison operators can help to construct a logical test, and the IF formula will return an appropriate result depending on whether the test evaluates to TRUE or FALSE. For example:
=IF(A1>=B1, "OK", "Not OK")
This simple IF formula returns OK if a value in cell A1 is greater than or equal to a value in cell B1, "Not OK" otherwise.
And here's another example:
=IF(A1<>B1, SUM(A1:C1), "")
The formula compares the values in cells A1 and B1, and if A1 is not equal to B1, the sum of values in cells A1:C1 is returned, an empty string otherwise.
Excel logical operators are also widely used in special IF functions such as SUMIF, COUNTIF, AVERAGEIF and their plural counterparts that return a result based on a certain condition or multiple conditions.
You can find a wealth of formula examples in the following tutorials:
2. Using Excel logical operators in mathematical calculations
Of course, Excel functions are very powerful, but you don't always have to use them to achieve the desired result. For example, the results returned by the following two formulas are identical:
IF function: =IF(B2>C2, B2*10, B2*5)
Formula with logical operators: =(B2>C2)*(B2*10)+(B2<=C2)*(B2*5)
I guess the IF formula is easier to interpret, right? It tells Excel to multiply a value in cell B2 by 10 if B2 is greater than C2, otherwise the value in B1 is multiplied by 5.
Now, let's analyze what the 2nd formula with the greater than and less than or equal to logical operators does. It helps to know that in mathematical calculations Excel does equate the Boolean value TRUE to 1, and FALSE to 0. Keeping this in mind, let's see what each of the logical expressions actually returns.
If a value in cell B2 is greater than a value in C2, then the expression B2>C2 is TRUE, and consequently equal to 1. On the other hand, B2<=C2 is FALSE and equal to 0. So, given that B2>C2, our formula undergoes the following transformation:
Since any number multiplied by zero gives zero, we can cast away the second part of the formula after the plus sign. And because any number multiplied by 1 is that number, our complex formula turns into a simple =B2*10 that returns the product of multiplying B2 by 10, which is exactly what the above IF formula does : )
Obviously, if a value in cell B2 is less than in C2, then the expression B2>C2 evaluates to FALSE (0) and B2<=C2 to TRUE (1), meaning that the reverse of the described above will occur.
3. Logical operators in Excel conditional formatting
Another common use of logical operators is found in Excel Conditional Formatting that lets you quickly highlight the most important information in a spreadsheet.
For example, the following simple rules highlight selected cells or entire rows in your worksheet depending on a value in column A:
Less than (orange): =A1<5
Greater than (green): =A1>20
For the detailed-step-by-step instructions and rule examples, please see the following articles:
As you see, the use of logical operators in Excel is intuitive and easy. In the next article, we are going to learn the nuts and bolts of Excel logical functions that allow performing more than one comparison in a formula. Please stay tuned and thank you for reading!
1256 comments
Hi Svetlana,
Happy Holidays! I would like to know if you would be able to help me with my request no. 248, above. I appreciate it very much!
Sincerely,
Lorena
Happy holidays to you too, Lorena!
You can use the following nested IF functions (where A1 is total points):
=IF(A1>359, "A", IF(A1>319, "B", IF(A1>279, "C", IF(A1>239, "D", "F"))))
You can find the detailed explanation of the formula's syntax and logic in this tutorial:
https://www.ablebits.com/office-addins-blog/nested-if-excel-multiple-conditions/
Thank you so much, Svetlana! I am looking forward to trying this.
Sincerely,
Lorena
Please help.
This is my problem:
start time 08:00 am End time 19:00 pm
Start time 18:30 pm End time 22:00 pm
If the shift starts after 18:00 or ends after 18:00 a night allowance of R15,00 is payed.
How do I do this function.
this is what I have come up with ,but what I need is c2(start time) or d2(end time)is greater than 18:00 then the allowance needs to be paid.
=IF(C2>0,75;G2+15;G2)
Hi Lance,
If C2 and D2 are time values, you can use a formula similar to this one:
=IF(OR(C2>TIME(18;0;0); D2>TIME(18;0;0)); G2+15; G2)
Hi Elexed.Can you put this formula
=$G8+MIN(IF($F8<5,5000,IF($F8<10,7500,IF($F8<15,10000,IF($F8<20,12500,IF($F8<25,15000,IF($F8<30,17500,20000)))))),ROUND(IF($F8<5,0.2,IF($F8<10,0.3,IF($F8<15,0.4,IF($F8<20,0.5,IF($F8<25,0.6,IF($F8<30,0.7,0.8))))))*G8,0))
I need these condition:
1. If b=0 = a/2
2. if b<=0, a<=0 = 0
3. if b<=0 = 0
I use these 2 formula :
=IF(E1=0,"",IF(D1<=0,"")))
=IF(E1=0,D1/2,0),elseif(E1<=0&D1=0,0)
but when b<=0, a<=0 this is not working. that I want to mean- if both b&a cell negative or <=0 it is not working. Is it possible for those 3 condition apply in excel.
Please Help me.
Dider-E-Elahi
Hi,
I am trying to use IF/AND to look at two cells that each could contain either "TRUE", "FALSE" or 'blank'. and return either "G" if both are TRUE ... "A" if one cell is "TRUE" and the other either "FALSE" or 'blank' ... "R" if neither contain "TRUE" or both are "FALSE" or 'bank'etc..
I have tried this formula
=IF(AND(Sheet2!B11="TRUE", Sheet2!B14="TRUE"),"G", IF(AND(Sheet2!B11="TRUE", Sheet2!B14="FALSE"),"A", IF(AND(Sheet2!B11="", Sheet2!B14="TRUE"),"A", IF(AND(Sheet2!B11="", Sheet2!B14=""),"R", IF(AND(Sheet2!B11="TRUE", Sheet2!B14=""),"A", IF(AND(Sheet2!B11="", Sheet2!B14="FALSE"),"R", IF(AND(Sheet2!B11="FALSE", Sheet2!B14="FALSE"),"R", IF(AND(Sheet2!B11="FALSE", Sheet2!B14=""),"R", IF(AND(Sheet2!B11="FALSE", Sheet2!B14="TRUE"),"R")))))))))
But the only permutation that returns a result is if they are both blank.. the rest return "FALSE"
Please help
Hi!Kindly affix one formula in proposed salary column which may taken into account tenure in Hospital, present salary & auto increase & %age of present salary as per given policy schedule & pick the figure which is lower side & then apply the same amount as Marginal Increase in salary. In short i want to implement the policy schedule for proposed increase in salary.
1 A-0412 2/1/2014 29D.10M,1Y 34,225 (34,225)
2 A-0416 1/27/2015 3D.11M,0Y 33,472 (33,472)
3 A-0431 1/1/2007 29D.11M,8Y 38,824 (38,824)
Range of Years Worked Maximum Limit of Increase in Salary
Below 5 Lower of 5,000 or 20 % of present salary
5-10 Lower of 7,500 or 30 % of present salary
10-15 Lower of 10,000 or 40 % of present salary
15-20 Lower of 12,500 or 50 % of present salary
20-25 Lower of 15,000 or 60 % of present salary
25-30 Lower of 17,500 or 70 % of present salary
30-35 Lower of 20,000 or 80 % of present salary
Hello,
I have a bunch of numbers that are updating in column B (around 100 rows of percentages and their symbol in column A) every fifteen minutes. I want to display only the ones that are less than -5% or greater than 5% with their symbol. Is there a way to do this and display it in a new list so it only shows these values in a condensed list?
Hi Svetlana
Now it my issue is resolved, You are "GENIUS", Thanks a lot, Have a Great Happy Life and Happy New Year, God Bless You.
I really appreciate and thank you again.
Asad
Hi Svetlana
I mean to say, for example if I receive 10 items in "QTY RECEIVED" in Col-A and issue 11 items in "QTY ISSUED" in Col-B then your formula is showing -1 in "QTY BALANCE" in Col-F, I want that is should also show "error" in stead of -1.
Thanks
Asad
Hi Asad,
Here you go:
=IF(AND($B2<=$A2, SUM($C2:$E2)=$B2), $A2-$B2, "error")
Hi
How to check greater than 30 but less than 60 in a cell. Imagine value is in Cell A1.
Hi Ihsan,
You need to use an AND statement like this: AND(A1>30, A1<60)
For example, =IF(AND(A1>30, A1<60), "OK", "Not OK")
Hi Svetlana
can you please help me about find out formula against my Question No. 246, I will really appreciate.
Thanks
asad
Hi Asad,
If my understanding of your task is correct, the following formula should do a trick:
=IF(SUM($C2:$E2)=$B2, $A2-$B2, "error")
Hi Svetlana
Thanks a lot for your help, it is almost done, formula is working except a little more help, if value of column A and B does not match then it should also show error.
Thank you again.
Asad
Hi Asad,
My understanding was that A and B can be different values, because we calculate their difference. Please clarify what you mean by "A and B does not match".
Hi
I need a formula when, whereby the value ranges from -0.03 to 0.03, it should appear as True. And if there are other values, it should appear as False. Please help with this. Thank You.
Hello,
I'm working on a spreadsheet for grades in my class. I have a column that includes the total points earned by each student. I would like to set up a rule that would give an output if the total points are within a particular range. For example, if the total points are between 360 and 400, the output would be an "A," If the points are between 320-359, the output would be a "B" etc. I was able to make it work with an IF(AND but once I added a third condition, it wouldn't work. I'm also not sure how to format the rule when I want the cell I'm referencing to be in between a set of numbers. For example 319<Cell<360. What do you recommend?
This is my grading scale in case it helps.
A 400-360
B 359-320
C 319-280
D 279-240
F 239-0
Thanks for your help!!
I am trying to find a formula that will take a (24 hour) time in one cell, compare it to a (24 hour) time in a different cell and if the second cell is greater than "13:00:00", enter "13" in a separate cell.
From my information:
if 24:00:00 (in cell e9) is greater than 13:00:00 (in cell f9), then cell h9 will equal "13".
Hi Svetlana
I am making inventory sheet and facing problem about calculation the Balance QTY. let me explain here; I have made total 6 columns;
Col A - 10 QTY. Received
Col B - 7 QTY. Issued
Col C - 4 QTY. Installed
Col D - 1 QTY. Returned
Col E - 1 QTY. DEAD
Col F - QTY. Balance
I have purchased 10 items and issued 7, that means 3 items should be shown in balance, but my inventory record justifying total 6 items of column C,D and E. So it should show error in column F until I find 1 missing item? Because I have issued total 7 and if total items of C,D and E matches with column B then 3 items should show in column F Balance.
I will really appreciate for your help.
Thanks
Asad
i want compare Column F2 & E2 for 10% difference and display it fg in windings3 in column C hoow can this be achieved?
This is what i have at the moment.
=IF(F2=E2*0,9,F2<=E2*1,1),"fg","i"))
=IF(F2=E2*0,9,F2<=E2*1,1),"fg","i"))
Hi!
You probably meant this one:
=IF(AND(F2>=E2*0.9,F2<=E2*1.1),"fg","i")
Alternatively, you can embed the percentage change formula in the logical test:
=IF((F2-E2)/E2<=0.1,"fg","i")
Hi Svetlana,
I'm trying to calculate the following:
If cell A is greater than or equal to cell B, and cell C is greater than or equal 930, cell F will pay x amount.
Thanks in advance for your help.
Al
Hi Al,
You can use a formula similar to this:
=IF(AND(A1>=B1, C1>=930), 10, "")
Where 10 is x amount.
Hi Svetlana
I am making inventory sheet and facing problem about calculation the Balance QTY. let me explain here; I have made total 6 columns;
Col A - 10 QTY. Received
Col B - 7 QTY. Issued
Col C - 4 QTY. Installed
Col D - 1 QTY. Returned
Col E - 1 QTY. DEAD
Col F - QTY. Balance
I have purchased 10 items and issued 7, that means 3 items should be shown in balance, but my inventory record justifying total 6 items of column C,D and E. So it should show error in column F until I find 1 missing item? Because I have issued total 7 and if total items of C,D and E matches with column B then 3 items should show in column F Balance.
I will really appreciate for your help.
Thanks
Asad
Ok, I have multiple formulas going on.
Cells A:A I input different numbers from 0 to 38.
Cell ak1 =0, al1 = 1, am1 = 3 etc.
Under each cell example (ak2, I have =countif (a1:a120,ak1) giving me the results of how many times ak1 (0) appears in column a1:a120.
Each of these results in different amounts. I would like to sort the greatest amounts to the lesser amounts displaying the number in ak1 not ak2 thru cells b2:b39
For example if 9 shows up 7 times and is the most I want 9 to show in cell b2 and then then next lesser number to appear in b3, etc.
=IF(G10>=0=1000=1000=6000=9000,"EXCELLENT")