Most people have used Microsoft Excel or something similar at least once in their lifetimes. They are useful for keeping track of information, monitoring data changes, getting averages and totals quickly, and many other tasks.
While most people understand the basics of Excel, getting it to do specific features or finding out shortcuts to make your job simpler isn’t as easy.
Thankfully, these 10 tutorials offer you ways to get started on Excel as well as some of the intricate details that may make your life easier.
About Excel
Microsoft Excel is designed to be able to help users format, calculate, and organize any data they may have in a spreadsheet. There are many other versions or copies of Excel, such as ones by Google and LibreOffice, but Microsoft Excel is considered the original and best.
It is designed specifically to work with numerical data and statistical data, though other types of data can be used as well for organization and clarification.
Some of the common uses for Excel are:
- Data entry
- Storage
- Collection of data
- Verification of data
- Data analysis
- Reporting
- Forecasting
- Budgeting
- Accounting
| Features | Description |
| System Requirements | Excel is available on most platforms including Windows, MacOS, Android, iOS, iPadOS, and a browser |
| Date Released | It was first released in 1985 on September 30th for MacOS systems, and to Windows in 1987 on November 19th |
| Last Update | The most recent update was Version 2303 on March 28, 2023 |
| Rating | 4.7 on G2 |
| Uses | Excel is designed to help with data collection and recording. It can help you easily calculate budgets, organize information, and format data and spreadsheets to your needs. It is easy to move, change, or view data on Excel. |
| Cost | Microsoft Excel is part of the Microsoft 365 bundle. However, you can also get it alone. By itself, Excel costs $160, and this allows you to use it on one device, usually a PC or Mac. Generally, you get a better deal by purchasing the whole of Microsoft Office together. This provides you with Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook, as well as OneDrive access and 1 TB of storage. For one person, it is just under $70 a year, or $7 a month. For up to 6 people a year, it is $100 a year, or $10 a month. You can purchase Office to own, instead of a yearly subscription, but you get no updates or upgrades and have to purchase the next version for full price. |
Excel for the Real World: Gain the Basic Skills of Microsoft Excel
- How Many Videos: 10 lessons
- How Long: 1 hour and 2 minutes
- Level: Beginner
There are actually three of these lessons, but this is the first one. It covers how Excel works and the basic tools. By the end of this lesson, you should know how autofill works, how to format, and how to organize your data.
Even some of the functions are covered here. If you want more details later, look at their other two basic courses.
The Ultimate Excel Tutorial – Beginner to Advanced – 5 Hours!
- How Many Videos: 1 lesson
- How Long: 5 hours and 43 minutes
- Level: Beginner to Intermediate
This class is free on YouTube. It also includes course files to follow along with if that is your learning style. This course is to help anyone, even a complete beginner, learn about Microsoft Excel.
You will go from learning how to open a spreadsheet to how to do some extreme functions and even edit some code.
Microsoft Excel 2016 Bootcamp – Zero to Hero Training
- How Many Videos: 24 lessons
- How Long: 1 hour and 54 minutes
- Level: Beginner
This lesson is a little outdated but still covers quite a few of the important basics of Excel. While small details and settings might have changed, it is similar enough that you can still go from knowing absolutely nothing about the software to becoming pretty experienced in just under two hours.
Building Interactive Dashboards Using Microsoft Excel
- How Many Videos: 9 lessons
- How Long: 1 hour and 23 minutes
- Level: Intermediate
Do you want to use Excel for more than just inputting numbers? If you already know the basics and want to understand how to create a dashboard and how it can be applied, then this lesson can help. If you haven’t used Excel in a while though, you may want a refresher course first.
Excel Essentials for the Real World (Complete Excel Course)
- How Many Resources: 145 lessons
- How Long: 11 hours and 3 minutes
- Level: Intermediate
This course covers anything in Excel you might find yourself needing in life. While it says it is for beginners, it goes over the basics pretty quickly, so it helps if you have a little Excel knowledge, even just the very basics.
It covers a lot of topics to help you learn, as well as what has changed since you last used the software.
Intermediate Excel for the Real World: Cleaning Data for Analysis and Forecasting
- How Many Videos: 11 lessons
- How Long: 1 hour and 23 minutes
- Level: Intermediate
If you just want some basics to up your Excel game while not having to get into the complicated processes or start over from the beginning, this lesson is perfect for you.
It covers how to make your sheet look nicer and function better as well as some common shortcuts to make your work faster.
Excel Basics for Data Analysis
- How Many Videos: 26 lessons
- How Long: 2 hours and 46 minutes
- Level: Beginner
This class is offered by IBM, but you don’t have to plan to work with them in the future for this class to be useful.
If you want to do anything in data analysis and data science, or just use data analysis for your own purpose, this course can be beneficial. The best part is that it is suitable for complete novices to Excel.
Personal Budget Excel Sheet from Scratch: Personal Finance, Accounting & Productivity
- How Many Videos: 5 lessons
- How Long: 37 minutes
- Level: Beginner
It’s no surprise that money is getting tighter every day. Learning to use Excel to keep track of your funds and save money can help you make ends meet and you can even see where you are spending most of your money and where you may be able to cut.
Excel in Real Estate Investing! Learn to Fix & Flip, Step by Step!
- How Many Resources: 20 lessons
- How Long: 1 hour and 25 minutes
- Level: Beginner
If you work in real estate, you may not realize how much Excel can help you out. This course walks you through how you can use Excel to benefit your real estate game and be an even better team member than you were before.
Excel Skills for Business Specialization
- How Many Videos: 4 courses
- How Long: 96 hours
- Level: Beginner
This course comes in multiple languages and subtitles so anyone can learn about Excel, specifically to increase their business skills.
By the end of the course, you should be able to create spreadsheets that work well and look nice and you will be able to handle complicated formulas without a problem.
Best Excel Tutorials FAQS
What is Microsoft Excel Used For?
Excel is used for almost anything that uses data, including analyzing, accounting, basic and complex math, data tracking, forecasting, and more. It works by using spreadsheets filled with rows and boxes to organize any numerical data you might need.
That data can then be used to create presentations and charts.
What Jobs Use Excel?
Many jobs do not use Excel, even those that aren’t heavily data-driven such as manager positions, analysts, economists, construction managers, operations researchers, office clerks, administrative assistants, human resources, management, and performance reporters.
It can be used to collect and track information for reports, get an idea of business performance, handle budgeting, and much more.
What Are Basic Excel Skills?
There are many skills that people in Excel can learn. However, some of the most basic ones include:
- SUM formulas for adding up values
- The AVERAGE formula for collecting averages across a series of numbers
- Turning data into charts and graphs for better viewing