Not Equal To In Excel

If you’re comparing two lists of data in Excel, you might need the help of a formula to speed up the process. Let’s learn how to check if cells are not equal to in Excel.

Check Not Equal To In Excel

Let’s start with a simple example. Let’s start with two lists of data in two columns.

The simplest way to compare two cells is to write a quick formula. Type =, then click on your first cell. Then, add another equals sign and click on another cell. You’re telling Excel to test for equality.

The formula you see below is:

=F2=G2

If two cells do match, you’ll get TRUE. Now, pull the formula down to see the rest of the results. Notice in the example below that FALSE shows not equal to in Excel results.

If two cells are not equal to one another in Excel, you’ll get a result of FALSE. This can help you compare cells and find ones that are not equal to in Excel. This works for comparing both text and numeric values.

How to Use An If Statement For Not Equal To In Excel

Want to show more than “TRUE” and “FALSE” in Excel? It’s time to learn a bit about IF statements, and use not equal to in Excel formulas.

Let’s look at this example for fun. Let’s say that we’re playing a game of rolling dice and want to see which rolls win.

I’ve set the magic number – a dice roll of 5 – in cell I1. I’ve also recorded seven dice rolls, and now I’m ready to write a formula to check to see which won.

Let’s write an IF Statement to check for not equal to in Excel. If statements are formulas that follow this format:

=IF(logical_test, [value if true], [value_if_false])

Basically, you’re asking Excel to test if something is true, and then to show values based on if it’s true.

My example formula is:

=IF(E2<>$I$1,"Lose","Win")

Notice that we’re using “<>” to test if two cells are not equal. This formula tells Excel to compare E2 to I1, then show LOSE if the cells aren’t equal.

(Note: the dollar signs in “$I$1” freeze the cell reference so that this works well as we autofill the formula.)

Now, let’s just pull down the formula. Notice that only the winning cells show “Win.” Combining tests for equality with an if statement is all you need.