Spreadsheet Formula Explainer
Paste any Excel or Google Sheets formula and get a plain-English breakdown of every function, argument, and cell reference. Covers 180+ built-in functions.
Someone left a VLOOKUP nested inside an IF wrapped in IFERROR and then left the company. You have questions.
Spreadsheet formulas can be dense. Each argument has a specific meaning, the order matters, and the same function behaves differently depending on what you pass it. This tool parses any formula and explains each function, each argument, and each cell reference in plain English so you can understand what the formula does before you change anything.
Questions
Does it work with Google Sheets formulas?
Yes. Most functions are shared between Excel and Google Sheets. Google-specific functions like ARRAYFORMULA and IMPORTRANGE are included where they differ meaningfully from their Excel equivalents.
What if a function is not recognised?
The formula still parses. Unrecognised functions are shown with their arguments, labelled as argument 1, argument 2, and so on, rather than by their proper names. The structure is still visible even without a database entry.
Does it support nested formulas?
Yes. Nested calls render as sub-cards inside the parent argument row, so you can follow the logic outward from the innermost function. Very deeply nested formulas may get visually dense but every level is shown.
What does the teal hint box mean?
Some arguments have a small set of specific values with distinct meanings, like 0 vs 1 in a match type. When your formula uses one of those values, the tool shows what that specific value does rather than just the general description.
Formula explained. Spreadsheet none the wiser.