A formula is any expression in a cell that begins with = and computes a value. Formulas are the primary mechanism for calculation and data transformation in Google Sheets.
=A1 + 100
=SUM(B1:B10)
=IF(A1 > 0, "positive", "non-positive")
Formulas vs. Functions
Every formula contains at least one term. In Google Sheets, operators like + or & are syntactic sugar for underlying primitive functions (ADD, CONCAT, etc.) — so even =A1 + A2 ultimately invokes a function.
| Concept | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Formula | Any =-prefixed expression | =A1*1.1 |
| Function | A named, callable operation | SUM(...) |
| Operator | A symbolic shorthand for a function | + → ADD |
Note: in Excel’s framing, formulas and functions are often treated as distinct, with operators considered non-functions. In Google Sheets, operators are explicitly functions (with the exception of . and %).
Formula Evaluation
Formulas are evaluated dynamically — they recalculate automatically when their dependencies change. The recalculation order is determined by the dependency graph.
Volatile functions (like NOW or RAND) recalculate on every sheet change regardless of whether their inputs changed.
Array Formulas
Standard formulas operate on single values. Wrapping a formula in ARRAYFORMULA (or using functions that natively accept arrays) extends it to operate over ranges, producing multiple outputs.
=ARRAYFORMULA(A1:A10 * B1:B10)
Comparison with Excel
In Excel (pre-365), array behavior required entering formulas with Ctrl+Shift+Enter (CSE), which wrapped the formula in {}. Excel 365 and Google Sheets both support dynamic arrays natively — no special entry method is needed. Google Sheets uses ARRAYFORMULA as an explicit wrapper; Excel 365 handles spilling automatically.
See Also
- Function — the callable building blocks used within formulas.
- Operator — symbolic operations available in formulas.
- ARRAYFORMULA — extends formulas to operate over arrays.
- Volatile — functions that recalculate on every change.
- Term — technical breakdown of formula syntax.