Excel course
Learn Excel by doing it, step by step.
Short lessons you do in a practice version of Excel, in your browser, with every step checked as you do it. From your first formula to lookups, pivot tables and charts.
- 217 lessonsabout 10 minutes each
- 22 skillsfrom formulas to pivot tables
- About 36 h 10 minat your own pace
- 5 free lessonsno sign-up
- No Excel neededa practice Excel in your browser
Try the first step here
This is a step from the free lesson Why your formula broke when you copied it. Pick an answer.
C2fx =B2*(1+F1)
| A | B | C | E | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Product | Price | With tax | Tax rate | 7% |
| 2 | Ballpoint pens | $6.49 | $6.94 | ||
| 3 | Sticky notes | $8.25 | |||
| 4 | Copy paper | $9.99 |
You're about to copy C2 down to C11. What will C3 show?
What you'll be able to do
From your first formula to the tasks analysts are tested on, in four stages. Each line opens the lessons that teach it.
Beginner
50 lessons · about 7 h 15 min
Confident
112 lessons · about 18 h 55 min
3 more Confident skills
Advanced
47 lessons · about 8 h 15 min
1 more Advanced skill
Projects you'll build
19 projects · about 4 h 15 min
How a lesson works
Every lesson teaches one skill in about 10 minutes and has the same four parts.
What you'll build
The lesson starts by showing you the result, with a small example of the idea, so you know what it's for before you click anything.
Guided steps
One action at a time: click a cell, open a menu, type a formula. Each step is checked the moment you do it. Open the wrong menu and the lesson tells you where that feature lives.
Your turn
Then a task on new data, with no instructions. Your answer is also tested on other data, so a typed-in number won't pass.
A cheat sheet to keep
Every lesson ends with a one-screen summary. When you're stuck, hints start small and build up to the full answer, with the reason it works.
From the free lesson Your first pivot table, in the practice Excel.
A Carnegie Mellon study of an online course found that practice activities were linked to far more learning than watching videos or reading. Read the study
How it compares
| This course | Videos and YouTube | Searching for fixes | Learning on the job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What you do | Every step yourself, in a practice Excel | Watch someone else | Copy a formula from a forum | Pick it up when there's time |
| Who checks your work | The lesson, on every step | Nobody | Nobody | Whoever spots the mistake |
| When you're stuck | Hints, then Show me, with the reason | Rewind and watch again | Search again | Ask a busy colleague |
| In what order | A Roadmap from Beginner up | The next suggested video | The next thing that breaks | Whatever your work needs that week |
| What's left at the end | A cheat sheet for every lesson | Notes, if you took them | A bookmark | What you remember |
Three ways to take the course
Every lesson is in the Roadmap, under its skill, and in each path that needs it. Take the course whichever way suits you.
The Roadmap
Every lesson in a recommended order, in four stages from Beginner to Analyst. Start at the top, or jump to any stage.
See the RoadmapSkills
The lessons grouped by topic, like lookups or pivot tables. Go straight to what you need today.
See all 22 skillsPaths
A short list of lessons for one goal, like passing an Excel test or cleaning up messy data.
See all 8 pathsFree lessons
Five lessons are free, and you don't need to sign up. Start with any of them.
Do the free lessons on your computer.
They run beside a practice Excel in your browser, and every step is checked as you go. Free, with no sign-up.
On your computer, go tolearnford.com/excel
Beginner · 7 min
Why your formula broke when you copied it Free
Lock a cell with $ so a formula keeps working when you copy it down.
Start the lessonConfident · 11 min
Look up a price with VLOOKUP and XLOOKUP Free
Bring each order's price over from a price list with VLOOKUP or XLOOKUP, and avoid the missing-FALSE trap.
Start the lessonConfident · 9 min
Remove duplicates Free
Delete repeated rows from a merged list, and choose which columns decide what counts as a duplicate.
Start the lessonConfident · 10 min
Your first pivot table Free
Turn 200 rows of sales into totals by region, read the answer, and re-ask the question by rep or product.
Start the lessonConfident · 7 min
Make a dropdown list Free
Give a column a dropdown of fixed choices, pick from it, and stop anything else from being typed.
Start the lessonWhat the course doesn't cover
- Macros and VBA, Power Query beyond the basics, Power BI and add-ins. The course is about the spreadsheet itself.
- Working on a phone or tablet. Lessons need a laptop or desktop: they fit best in a window 1280 px wide, and open from 900 px.
- A certificate. You leave with the skill, a cheat sheet per lesson, and work you did yourself.
- The look of Excel. The practice version follows Excel's menus, functions and shortcuts, with our own design and icons.
Get the full course
Every lesson in the Excel course, with new lessons added as they're written.
- All 217 Excel lessons open today, and every new one as it's written.
- The Roadmap, Skills and all eight paths.
- A cheat sheet for every lesson you finish.
- At checkout, add the Google Sheets course for US$49.
Questions
Do I need Excel on my computer?
No. Every lesson runs in a practice version of Excel in your browser. There's nothing to install, and you don't need a Microsoft account.
How close is the practice version to Excel?
The menus, menu paths, function names and keyboard shortcuts follow Excel for Microsoft 365, on Windows and Mac. The look is our own, and a few rarely used features are not there.
Can I use my phone?
Not for lessons. They need a laptop or desktop, so the practice program has room. You can read this page on your phone and send yourself the link for later.
I've never used a spreadsheet. Where do I start?
At the Beginner stage of the Roadmap. The first lessons walk you through your first formula, and every new term is explained when it comes up.
I already know the basics. Do I have to start at the beginning?
No. Go at your own pace, or jump ahead whenever you like. Search Skills for what you need, such as "remove duplicates" or "dropdown", and open that lesson.
What if it isn't for me?
30-day money-back guarantee if you've opened fewer than 10 paid lessons. You request it yourself from your Account page.