How to learn Excel

Excel is useful in almost every office job. Learn formulas first, then pivot tables and charts, then automate repeating work.

Good for: Students, office workers and anyone who works with tables. Typical time: 50–70 hours in total, depending on where you start.

The usual order of steps

1
Excel basics≈ 10 h
Cells, formatting and simple formulas.
2
Formulas and functions≈ 15 h
SUM, IF, lookups and text functions.
3
Pivot tables≈ 10 h
Summarise large tables in a few clicks.
4
Charts and dashboards≈ 10 h
Show results clearly.
5
Automation≈ 15 h
Power Query and simple macros for repeating tasks.

Free or paid?

Many good courses for each step are free; paid ones usually add a certificate, feedback from a teacher or a fixed schedule. Check the current price, dates and age limits on the provider’s own site before you pay.

Where to look for courses

Search these platforms for “Excel”. Compare ratings, prices and the date of the last update before you choose.

Get a plan with real courses

Stepora turns this outline into a plan with specific courses in the right order, matched to your level, budget and free time. It is free and takes half a minute.

Build my plan

The hours are rough, typical figures, not promises. Plans are made by AI and may contain mistakes.