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,
i have a doubt how can i add the symbol of on or less than
Hi Sandeep,
If you mean "equal to or less than", use <=. If you want something different, please clarify.
I need the date to stay the same as the initial date, sorry for the confusion. Can this be done?
Regrettably, no Excel formula can do this. TODAY() and NOW() are volatile functions that update every time the worksheet recalculates. To enter the today date as a non-changeable timestamp, you can either use the Ctrl + ; shortcut or try to find a special macro.
hi,
A1=75
input formula A1>=75 then A1*4 and calculate value not morethan 500
I am not very savvy in Excel so I would appreciate your help with a formula. I use this formula, =IF(C4"",IF(A4="",NOW(),A4),"") , to populate today's date when C4 has data. I was wondering how to adjust the formula in a different cell to populate if forms control checkbox value is True and blank if value is false. So, I have a check box in cell J4, I have it associated in cell K4, and I want L4 to populate today's date if K4=true. Hopefully youcan help.
Thank you!
Hi Tina,
If my understanding of the task is correct, you can use the following formula for L4:
=IF(K4=TRUE, NOW(), "")
Also, make sure the Date format is applied to cell L4.
Thank you. Will the the date in L4 stay the same if workbook closed and opened on another day or will it update to the date it is reopened?
It will update to reflect the current date. The formula uses the NOW() function which updates every time the workbook is reopened or recalculated.
Hi,
I have data in cell A1, I want cell A12 to equal A1 however, if the next cell (A2) is filled out, I want A12 to equal A2 and repeat the process so if A3 is filled out A12 will read A3, is this possible? Any help will be appreciated.
Thank you!
Hi TJ,
You can enter the following IF formula in A12:
=IF(A3<>"", A3, IF(A2<>"", A2, A1))
Thank you but how many cells can I do this for? I may have up to 100 cells that this process needs to be repeated in.. Instead of A3, it can go up o A100. How would I continue the process?
Thank you
Since the modern versions of Excel allow only 64 nested IFs in one formula, it's not the way to go in your case. You can try the following formula instead:
=IFERROR(INDIRECT("A"&MATCH(TRUE, INDEX(ISBLANK($A$1:$A$100), 0, 0), 0)-1),"")
Please note, the formula will work correctly only if there are no empty cells in between column A. If there are blank cells, it will return the last value in the first block of contiguous non-empty cells.
Thank you! This is exactly what I needed. I really appreciate your help.
Many thanks in advance to anyone who can point me in the right direction.
I have two ranges of amounts, and I need to determine if any number in the second range is greater than any number in the first range.
For example:
Rate A | Rate B | Rate C | Rate 1 | Rate 2 | Rate 3
I need either:
is 1 greater than any cell A:C,
OR, ideally,
is any cell in Rate 1:3 higher than any cell in A:C
True if so, false if not (so that I could then use conditional formatting based on the formula)
I understand how to do 'is Rate 1> rate A', and I understand how to put that in conditional formatting, but I can't find a way to make it look at the whole range (rate 1 compared to rate a, rate b, and rate c) instead of the single cell.
I have a 1,000+ rows by 17 columns to compare, (12 in the first set of rates and 5 in the second set), so I need to be able to apply it in large scale and not have to create the unique conditional formatting rule in every single cell.
I am certain that someone smarter than me could make this work in a cinch, but I have read through every page and tutorial I can find and am just not able to put together a working solutions.
Thanks very much.
Hello Angela,
You can use the MIN and MAX functions, something like min(SECONDRANGE)>max(FIRSTRANGE).
Hy me to much tired to apply the formula but no successful apply the condition is that
If the amount is less then 20000then impose GSt 9% if amount is grater than equal to 20000 than impose 7% GST
I WANT TO FIND LESS WORKING HOURS i.e. those who are not working 8 hrs instead working less than 8 hrs. I want to know the formula . If i have given- IN TIME, OUT TIME. Then how will i find out the short time
Hello,
I need to know an formula for the below required input to get desired output,
A1 iN n1 n2 Type Reduction 23 24
A2 20 1500 75.00 K3 Triple 538
A3 20 1000 50.00 K3 Triple 394
A4 20 750 37.50 K3 Triple 20 306
A5 22.4 1500 66.96 K3 Triple 50 500
A6 22.4 1000 44.64 K3 Triple 10 363
A7 22.4 750 33.48 K3 Triple 275
In different excel workbook, i want to shown values of cell H1 "24" and value in cell H4 "306" as the condition is for 20 number selection of the component is 24 with rating of 306 which is greater than or equal to 302.
Hello, thank you for this post and the useful information. I am trying to format a cell to do the following and would appreciate any help:
If the numerical cell value of A1 is greater than the numerical cell value of B1 I would like whatever numerical value manually input by a user into cell C1 to automatically show up as a negative number in red.
Is this possible and if so what would the formula be?
What formula would I use for the following syntax:
if A1=X1 and B1=Y1 then sum C1-Z1
hi, I faced with a strange problem in excel which makes problem in my formula,
I have an if formula,
if a<=bb=>a ,x,y it workes?!?!
I don't know when I should use each one so I can not give correct formula.
please help me soon.
I was wondering if I could produce an if statement where I could produce the word "down" if the 11th character = "10", how would the formula look?
BW1-10-R1-10-P05
Any help would be appreciated.
Hi
If I need something to create a range with IF formula say if "0" "Too New to rate", If between 1-1.9 "Below Expectations"
How would I do it. I tried this but not working :(
=IF(G38=0,"Too New to Rate", IF(G38>=1=2=3=3.5=4.5<=5,"Far Exceeds Expectations"))))))
Thanks in advance!!
Need Help !
I wanna Data in according to Slab , If i Say
Donna ( Name ) is A Grade Sale Person
Maddona ( Name ) is B Grade Sale Person
Slab Should be :
If "A" Grade Sale Person achieve
>=100% , >=120% ,>=140%
"A"-25$ "A"-50$ "A"-100$
"B"-15$ "B"-25$ "B"-50$
IF "A" Grade Sale Person achieve Slab-1(>=110 ) will be get 25$
IF "B" Grade Sale Person achieve Slab-1(>=110) will be get 15$
Keep in mind if achieve Slab-2 or Slab-3 , automatic he/she achieved slab-1 , in this case Slab-1 should be ZERO or BLANK.
Thanks In advanced
I Have 1 query in excel formula:
if Column A is greater then 0 Show (Shortage) & again apply column A is less then 0 (Excess)
im use this formula but not work
=IF(OR(J430,),"shortage","excess")
Hi Kashif,
Try this one:
=IF(A1>0,"shortage","excess")
Hi , i have to preaper report which check below conditions form given actual resolved time and give result if issue resolved in given time meets below condition (yes/No).
Ie ... it checks the priority of ticket and then given amount of time and compare with its priority expected resolved time and output in YES/NO
Can you help me with exact formula
priority Parameter P1 P2 P3 P4
Resolution Time - Hrs 4.00 8.00 16.00 72.00
Parameter P1Priority 2 Priority 3 Priority 4
Response Time - Hrs 0.15 0.30 2.00 24.00
Resolution Time - Hrs 4.00 8.00 16.00 72.00
I have two numbers listed in each cell, A and B. I need the higher number listed in C.
Hi Joaquin,
Use the MAX formula like this:
=MAX(A1, B1)
I am trying to use an IF formula to determine if a site has not screened in 3 months =IF(I3<=90,"OK","Action") The problem is that the cell it is referring to (I3) also has a formula in it =IF(ISBLANK(F2),"0",P2-F2). I had to use the ISblank formula for instances in which there were cells that did not have a date. The problem is that I think this is affecting the first formula I mentioned because anytime there is a blank cell then the formula does not work. For example I would like the formula to realize that a blank cell is = 0 which is <90 which should register as okay. Instead, what is happening is that the cell is marking it as "Action" which is incorrect. Please help!
Hi Andrea,
I think the problem is in zero enclosed in double quotes in your ISBLANK formula. Once you enclose any value in "", it's turned into a text string and Excel does not interpret it as 0 any longer.
So, try changing the first formula to =IF(ISBLANK(F2),0,P2-F2) and I think your IF statement will start working properly.