by In this article, you will learn how to build an Excel IF statement for different types of values as well as how to create multiple IF statements.
IF is one of the most popular and useful functions in Excel. Generally, you use an IF statement to test a condition and to return one value if the condition is met, and another value if the condition is not met.
In this tutorial, we are going to learn the syntax and common usages of the Excel IF function, and then take a closer look at formula examples that will hopefully prove helpful to both beginners and experienced users.
IF function in Excel
IF is one of logical functions that evaluates a certain condition and returns one value if the condition is TRUE, and another value if the condition is FALSE.
The syntax of the IF function is as follows:
As you see, IF takes a total of 3 arguments, but only the first one is obligatory, the other two are optional.
Logical_test (required) - the condition to test. Can be evaluated as either TRUE or FALSE.
Value_if_true (optional) - the value to return when the logical test evaluates to TRUE, i.e. the condition is met. If omitted, the value_if_false argument must be defined.
Value_if_false (optional) - the value to return when the logical test evaluates to FALSE, i.e. the condition is not met. If omitted, the value_if_true argument must be set.
Basic IF formula in Excel
To create a simple If then statement in Excel, this is what you need to do:
- For logical_test, write an expression that returns either TRUE or FALSE. For this, you'd normally use one of the logical operators.
- For value_if_true, specify what to return when the logical test evaluates to TRUE.
- For value_if_false, specify what to return when the logical test evaluates to FALSE. Though this argument is optional, we recommend always configuring it to avoid unexpected results. For the detailed explanation, please see Excel IF: things to know.
As an example, let's write a very simple IF formula that checks a value in cell A2 and returns "Good" if the value is greater than 80, "Bad" otherwise:
=IF(B2>80, "Good", "Bad")
This formula goes to C2, and then is copied down through C7:
In case you wish to return a value only when the condition is met (or not met), otherwise - nothing, then use an empty string ("") for the "undefined" argument. For example:
=IF(B2>80, "Good", "")
This formula will return "Good" if the value in A2 is greater than 80, a blank cell otherwise:
Excel If then formula: things to know
Though the last two parameters of the IF function are optional, your formula may produce unexpected results if you don't know the underlying logic.
If value_if_true is omitted
If the 2nd argument of your Excel IF formula is omitted (i.e. there are two consecutive commas after the logical test), you'll get zero (0) when the condition is met, which makes no sense in most cases. Here is an example of such a formula:
=IF(B2>80, , "Bad")
To return a blank cell instead, supply an empty string ("") for the second parameter, like this:
=IF(B2>80, "", "Bad")
The screenshot below demonstrates the difference:
If value_if_false is omitted
Omitting the 3rd parameter of IF will produce the following results when the logical test evaluates to FALSE.
If there is just a closing bracket after value_if_true, the IF function will return the logical value FALSE. Quite unexpected, isn't it? Here is an example of such a formula:
=IF(B2>80, "Good")
Typing a comma after the value_if_true argument will force Excel to return 0, which doesn't make much sense either:
=IF(B2>80, "Good",)
The most reasonable approach is using a zero-length string ("") to get a blank cell when the condition is not met:
=IF(B2>80, "Good", "")
Tip. To return a logical value when the specified condition is met or not met, supply TRUE for value_if_true and FALSE for value_if_false. For the results to be Boolean values that other Excel functions can recognize, don't enclose TRUE and FALSE in double quotes as this will turn them into normal text values.
Using IF function in Excel - formula examples
Now that you are familiar with the IF function's syntax, let's look at some formula examples and learn how to use If then statements in real-life scenarios.
Excel IF function with numbers
To build an IF statement for numbers, use logical operators such as:
- Equal to (=)
- Not equal to (<>)
- Greater than (>)
- Greater than or equal to (>=)
- Less than (<)
- Less than or equal to (<=)
Above, you have already seen an example of such a formula that checks if a number is greater than a given number.
And here's a formula that checks if a cell contains a negative number:
=IF(B2<0, "Invalid", "")
For negative numbers (which are less than 0), the formula returns "Invalid"; for zeros and positive numbers - a blank cell.
Excel IF function with text
Commonly, you write an IF statement for text values using either "equal to" or "not equal to" operator.
For example, the following formula checks the Delivery Status in B2 to determine whether an action is required or not:
=IF(B2="delivered", "No", "Yes")
Translated into plain English, the formula says: return "No" if B2 is equal to "delivered", "Yes" otherwise.
Another way to achieve the same result is to use the "not equal to" operator and swap the value_if_true and value_if_false values:
=IF(C2<>"delivered", "Yes", "No")
Notes:
- When using text values for IF's parameters, remember to always enclose them in double quotes.
- Like most other Excel functions, IF is case-insensitive by default. In the above example, it does not differentiate between "delivered", "Delivered", and "DELIVERED".
Case-sensitive IF statement for text values
To treat uppercase and lowercase letters as different characters, use IF in combination with the case-sensitive EXACT function.
For example, to return "No" only when B2 contains "DELIVERED" (the uppercase), you'd use this formula:
=IF(EXACT(B2,"DELIVERED"), "No", "Yes")
If cell contains partial text
In situation when you want to base the condition on partial match rather than exact match, an immediate solution that comes to mind is using wildcards in the logical test. However, this simple and obvious approach won't work. Many functions accept wildcards, but regrettably IF is not one of them.
A working solution is to use IF in combination with ISNUMBER and SEARCH (case-insensitive) or FIND (case-sensitive).
For example, in case "No" action is required both for "Delivered" and "Out for delivery" items, the following formula will work a treat:
=IF(ISNUMBER(SEARCH("deliv", B2)), "No", "Yes")
For more information, please see:
Excel IF statement with dates
At first sight, it may seem that IF formulas for dates are akin to IF statements for numeric and text values. Regrettably, it is not so. Unlike many other functions, IF does recognize dates in logical tests and interprets them as mere text strings. In other words, you cannot supply a date in the form of "1/1/2020" or ">1/1/2020". To make the IF function recognize a date, you need to wrap it in the DATEVALUE function.
For example, here's how you can check if a given date is greater than another date:
=IF(B2>DATEVALUE("7/18/2022"), "Coming soon", "Completed")
This formula evaluates the dates in column B and returns "Coming soon" if a game is scheduled for 18-Jul-2022 or later, "Completed" for a prior date.
Of course, there is nothing that would prevent you from entering the target date in a predefined cell (say E2) and referring to that cell. Just remember to lock the cell address with the $ sign to make it an absolute reference. For instance:
=IF(B2>$E$2, "Coming soon", "Completed")
To compare a date with the current date, use the TODAY() function. For example:
=IF(B2>TODAY(), "Coming soon", "Completed")
Excel IF statement for blanks and non-blanks
If you are looking to somehow mark your data based on a certain cell(s) being empty or not empty, you can either:
- Use the IF function together with ISBLANK, or
- Use the logical expressions ="" (equal to blank) or <>"" (not equal to blank).
The table below explains the difference between these two approaches with formula examples.
| Logical test | Description | Formula Example | |
| Blank cells | ="" |
Evaluates to TRUE if a cell is visually empty, even if it contains a zero-length string. Otherwise, evaluates to FALSE. |
=IF(A1="", 0, 1)
Returns 0 if A1 is visually blank. Otherwise returns 1. If A1 contains an empty string (""), the formula returns 0. |
| ISBLANK() |
Evaluates to TRUE is a cell contains absolutely nothing - no formula, no spaces, no empty strings. Otherwise, evaluates to FALSE. |
=IF( Returns 0 if A1 is absolutely empty, 1 otherwise. If A1 contains an empty string (""), the formula returns 1. |
|
| Non-blank cells | <>"" | Evaluates to TRUE if a cell contains some data. Otherwise, evaluates to FALSE.
Cells with zero-length strings are considered blank. |
=IF( Returns 1 if A1 is non-blank; 0 otherwise. If A1 contains an empty string, the formula returns 0. |
| ISBLANK() |
Evaluates to TRUE if a cell is not empty. Otherwise, evaluates to FALSE.
Cells with zero-length strings are considered non-blank. |
=IF( Works the same as the above formula, but returns 1 if A1 contains an empty string. |
And now, let's see blank and non-blank IF statements in action. Suppose you have a date in column B only if a game has already been played. To label the completed games, use one of these formulas:
=IF(B2="", "", "Completed")
=IF(ISBLANK(B2), "", "Completed")
=IF($B2<>"", "Completed", "")
=IF(ISBLANK($B2)=FALSE, "Completed", "")
In case the tested cells have no zero-length strings, all the formulas will return exactly the same results:
Check if two cells are the same
To create a formula that checks if two cells match, compare the cells by using the equals sign (=) in the logical test of IF. For example:
=IF(B2=C2, "Same score", "")
To check if the two cells contain same text including the letter case, make your IF formula case-sensitive with the help of the EXACT function.
For instance, to compare the passwords in A2 and B2, and returns "Match" if the two strings are exactly the same, "Do not match" otherwise, the formula is:
=IF(EXACT(A2, B2), "Match", "Don't match")
IF then formula to run another formula
In all of the previous examples, an Excel IF statement returned values. But it can also perform a certain calculation or execute another formula when a specific condition is met or not met. For this, embed another function or arithmetic expression in the value_if_true and/or value_if_false arguments.
For example, if B2 is greater than 80, we'll have it multiplied by 7%, otherwise by 3%:
=IF(B2>80, B2*7%, B2*3%)
Multiple IF statements in Excel
In essence, there are two ways to write multiple IF statements in Excel:
- Nesting several IF functions one into another
- Using the AND or OR function in the logical test
Nested IF statement
Nested IF functions let you place multiple IF statements in the same cell, i.e. test multiple conditions within one formula and return different values depending on the results of those tests.
Assume your goal is to assign different bonuses based on the score:
- Over 90 - 10%
- 90 to 81 - 7%
- 80 to 70 - 5%
- Less than 70 - 3%
To accomplish the task, you write 3 separate IF functions and nest them one into another like this:
=IF(B2>90, 10%, IF(B2>=81, 7%, IF(B2>=70, 5%, 3%)))
For more formula examples, please see:
Excel IF statement with multiple conditions
To evaluate several conditions with the AND or OR logic, embed the corresponding function in the logical test:
For example, to return "Pass" if both scores in B2 and C2 are higher than 80, the formula is:
=IF(AND(B2>80, C2>80), "Pass", "Fail")
To get "Pass" if either score is higher than 80, the formula is:
=IF(OR(B2>80, C2>80), "Pass", "Fail")
For full details, please visit:
If error in Excel
Starting from Excel 2007, we have a special function, named IFERROR, to check formulas for errors. In Excel 2013 and higher, there is also the IFNA function to handle #N/A errors.
And still, there may be some circumstances when using the IF function together with ISERROR or ISNA is a better solution. Basically, IF ISERROR is the formula to use when you want to return something if error and something else if no error. The IFERROR function is unable to do that as it always returns the result of the main formula if it isn't an error.
For example, to compare each score in column B against the top 3 scores in E2:E4, and return "Yes" if a match is found, "No" otherwise, you enter this formula in C2, and then copy it down through C7:
=IF(ISERROR(MATCH(B2, $E$2:$E$4, 0)), "No", "Yes" )
For more information, please see IF ISERROR formula in Excel.
Hopefully, our examples have helped you get a grasp of the Excel IF basics. I thank you for reading and hope to see you on our blog next week!
Practice workbook
Excel IF statement - formula examples (.xlsx file)
4804 comments
I could really use some help since the formula I'm using doesn't seem to be working. I have a drop down box in column A and column B with numbers ranging from 1-5. I'm creating in column C the "quadrant" it would fall in depending on the numbers selected in column A and B.
For example. If A1=1 and B1=1 then C1= Quad1
This is the formula I have to input in C1 but nothing happens... help please! I have no idea what I'm doing wrong.
=IF(AND(A1="1",B1="1"),"Quad1","")
Hello,
If I understand your task correctly, please try the following formula:
=IF(AND(A1=1,B1=1),"Quad1","")
Hope this will work for you
Hello i have a list of over 272 phone contacts in 272 cells and i would like to put all of then in one cell with ease. How do i go about it?
Hello,
Please try to solve your task with the help of the Merge Cells tool which is a part of our Ultimate Suite for Excel. You can download its fully functional 14-day trial version using this direct link.
After you install the product, you will find Merge Cells in the Merge section under the Ablebits Data tab.
Hope this will help you with your task.
Hi Team,
Could you please help me to find a solution for the below,i am handling logistic.we have some courier partner.i want to get a formula for rate calculation like, Pickup location 122016 and Delivery Area Pin code(any one Pan India) weight 0.500gms.
Courier Partner Charging List
Courier Partner Gurgaon To Gurgaon (Zone A) Gurgaon to Haryana,NCR (Zone B) Metro City to Metro City (Zone C) Gurgaon to Other State (Zone D) Gurgaon to North east india (Zone E)
Zone A Zone B Zone C Zone D Zone E COD Rate COD %
Aramex 32 42 50 55 71 35 2%
Delivery35 43 52 59 73 39 2%
Ecom 38 42 56 74 80 35 2%
FEDEX 35 40 64 69 90 57 2%
Holisol 28 36 48 66 66 35 2%
Xpress 35 41 47 52 66 45 2%
Now i want to know if Holisol is not service able in zone A for any pin code then formula will pickup automatically select Aramex in excel sheet for cheapest value or if holisol not provide COD Service for any pin code then automatically pick another courier partner by formula.
Regards,
Dinesh
Hi Dinesh,
I'm sorry but your task is not entirely clear. For us to be able to help you better, please describe it in more detail and send us a small sample workbook with your source data and the result you expect to get to support@ablebits.com.
I kindly ask you to shorten each table to 10-20 rows / columns.
We'll do our best to help you.
Please help me for this formula error
=IF(L4 0<11,"Red",IF(L4 1112.5,"Green")))
help me with a formula to compute Pass/Fail in a table with eight mark column with conditions pass if leaner obtains three 40 one of which should be Home language and three other 30
Hello,
For me to understand the problem better, please send me a small sample workbook with your source data and the result you expect to get to support@ablebits.com. Please don't worry if you have confidential information there, we never disclose the data we get from our customers and delete it as soon as the problem is resolved.
Please also don't forget to include the link to this comment into your email.
I'll look into your task and try to help.
Good morning,
I am not sure if it is possible, but I am trying to use the IF function to name a product according to the bar code scanner. The scanner automatically enters the 15 digit number to an Excel column, but it does not name the product. For example, what I want to do, is create a formula that will apply the proper name for a given bar code. I assumed a nested "IF" formula would work, but apparently this is not the case. I can find no formula online that would handle such a seemingly simply application. Here is an idea of what I am trying to do:
Bar Code: 123456789123456
Product: Pinot Noir Wine
I tried =IF(cell reference containing bar code = typed in bar code, "Pinot Noir")
=IF(E2=123456789123456,"Pinot Noir, IF(E2..etc..etc..
Does such a formula exist for this?
RJ Lane
Hello,
For me to understand the problem better, please send me a small sample workbook with your source data and the result you expect to get to support@ablebits.com. Please don't worry if you have confidential information there, we never disclose the data we get from our customers and delete it as soon as the problem is resolved.
Please also don't forget to include the link to this comment into your email.
I'll look into your task and try to help.
Hi,
I am searching the excel assistance for calculation of actual revenue for next year.
Let's say.I rented one apartment from 9/Sep/17(C2) to 8/Sep/18(D2) at $ 1000(F2).I would like to make a spread sheet of monthly revenue for 2018 so that I have revenue columns from Apr 2017(G1) to Mar 2018(R1).The revenue should be shown starting from Sep 17 to Apr 18 according to my revenue column. I tried to use IF formula(=IF(G1<C2<R1=IF($C$2<G$1<$D$2,F2,"-")) in this case and I doesn't work out to get the correct revenue in respective column.
Thank you in advance.
I am going to create a tracker for my files with the following status "New File", "Pending", "Done", and "File sent to Author". What I want to do is, the STATUS Column should be generated automatically with the above status when the file is inputted on the excel file. I have here 5 examples of data. I cannot attach a file, but please take time to add this into excel so that this will be cleared and understand the format of this tracker. Every column has a header and next are the data. There are cells are intended to be blank depending on the status of the file. The image of the tracker is horizontal.
First Column
From month of
Dec
Dec
Dec
Dec
Dec
Second Column
Product Code
ABC
DEF
DEF
GHI
GHI
Third Column
File
RO123
RO456
RO456
RO789
RO789
Fourth Column
Check-out Date
N/A
7-Dec
7-Dec
7-Dec
7-Dec
Fifth Column
Print Check-out Date
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
Sixth Column
Copy Check-out Date
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
Seventh Column
Print/Copy/ Check-out by:
N/A
Marie
Marie
Marie
Marie
Eigth Column
Check-in Date
7-Dec
7-Dec
7-Dec
Ninth Column
Check-in by:
Marie
Marie
Marie
Tenth Column
Requested by:
Omar
Omar
Omar
Omar
Omar
Eleventh Column
Status
New File
Pending
Done
File/s sent to Author
Done
Thank you,
Hello,
I'm afraid there's no easy way to solve your task with a formula. Using a VBA macro would be the best option here.
However, since we do not cover the programming area (VBA-related questions), I can advice you to try and look for the solution in VBA sections on mrexcel.com or excelforum.com.
Sorry I can't assist you better.
Hi,
Need make a If statement where, if the cell is blank it should return 'X' cells value and if the cells alphanumeric character length is 12 it should return 'X' cells value.
Hello,
If I understand your task correctly, please try the following formula:
=IF(ISBLANK(A1),B1,IF(LEN(A1)=12,C1))
Hope this will work for you
Thank You Gennady, yes the formula works.
I need to make an IF statement where one column is the expiration date and one is the current date and If the expiration date is 10 days less than the current date, then the expiration date cell will turn red. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.
Hello,
Supposing that the expiration date is in column A, please try to do the following:
1. Select cells with your data.
3. Click Conditional Formatting -> New Rule.
4. Select the "Use a formula to determine which cells to format".
5. In the Formula field type the following formula:
=TODAY()-A1<=10
6. Click the Format button to set the format you need.
7. Click OK.
We have an article on our blog that describes how to use conditional formatting in Excel. Please have a look at it.
Hope it will help you.
I am doing a budget spreadsheet. I have column C as what I spent my money on with drop down menus (Alcohol, Food, Gas, etc.). Column D is how much I spent. I would like Column I to be the totals of each item in the drop down list. Example: If it says Alcohol in column C then add all the numbers in column D that coincide with Alcohol.
Alcohol 20.00 Alcohol 40.00
Gas 44.00 Gas 88.00
Food 100.00 Food 400.00
Alcohol 20.00
Gas 44.00
Food 100.00
Food 100.00
Food 100.00
Hello,
For me to understand the problem better, please send me a small sample workbook with your source data and the result you expect to get to support@ablebits.com. Please don't worry if you have confidential information there, we never disclose the data we get from our customers and delete it as soon as the problem is resolved.
Please also don't forget to include the link to this comment into your email.
I'll look into your task and try to help.
Can someone help me with a formula
if a purchase is $500 or more they can make the first payment in 180 days otherwise if less than $500 they make the first payment in 30 days. the result needs to show the new payment date
Hello,
Please try the following formula:
=TEXT(IF(A1<500,B1+30,B1+180),"mm/dd/yyyyy")
where cell B1 contains a date value, e. g. 1/30/2018
Hope it will help you.
Hi,
I've a situation where I have 4 cells to enter data in which If I enter data in Cell A then either B, C or D should have some entries or any of them should have entries. Can you please help me with this logic.
Thanks
Ramakrishna
Hello,
Please create a custom Data Validation rule for cell A1 using this formula:
=OR(NOT(ISBLANK(B1)),NOT(ISBLANK(C1)),NOT(ISBLANK(D1)))
Please check out this article of ours to learn how Data Validation works.
Hope it will help you.
Hello,
Can you please help me with a formula for a situation below.
I have a column A with list of info (e.g. a-z), I want the second column (Column B) be such that if the text in column A matches/or contains the same text as Column C, then one value; if the text in column A matches/contains same text as Column D, another value, if the text in column A matches/contains same text as Column E, another value, and so on.
Thanks you!
hello, i got some problem in use of excel formulas,
1 form=13.33 rs
2 form=26.66 rs
3 form=39.99 rs
4 form=53.32 rs
5 form=66.65 rs
6 form=79.98 rs
7 form=93.31 rs
8 form=106.64 rs
9 form=119.97 rs
10 form=133.3 rs
i want such type of formula that gives mi the proper value which i mentioned, by the typing of only value of no. of forms
Hi. Good day!
What would be the formula I can use for the details below.
if Column A is "Corporate A", then amount is 25,000;
if Column B is "Corporate B", then amount is 55,000;
if Column A is "Academe", then amount is 15,000;
if Column A is "Individuval/Startup", then amount is 5,000;
if Column A is "Support Sector", then amount is 60,000.
Your help will be much appreciated. Thanks!
Hello,
Please try the following formula:
=IFS(A1="Corporate A",25000,B1="Corporate B",55000,A1="Academe",15000,A1="Individuval/Startup",5000,A1="Support Sector",60000)
Hope it will help you.
Hey! I am trying to write an IF FUNCTION that will take the value of a cell in a table in the cell before equals a specific word. (I hope this makes sense)
Example: If C4 has the word "ESSENTIAL" within the cell, that I want D4 to be copied into another cell.
The plan is to track spending, on specific items, based on how they are catagorized. Then put all the ones that are catagorized into a new table with a sum for that catagory.
Hope this makes sense
Hi want to ask if a have an array of data, each of my samples have a row of value (few column of descriptive value). and I want to use IFBLANK() to check the each of the row to give it a "complete"(if all are filled) or "incomplete" (if it got any empty cells in the row) data.
How do i do it? IFBLANK(C2:X2) for example, it just gave "false" to the row but it still has an empty cell.
Hello,
Please try the following formula:
=IF(SUMPRODUCT(ISBLANK(C2:X2)*1)>0,"blank","non-blank")
Hope it will help you.
In excel, my cell contains either x or y text. If text is x, then I need to put multiplication of three cells and if y, then need to put multiplication of other three different cells. how to put formula in the cell?
EX:1
A
-10
0
IF(A1=0," ",)
help to us..