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Beverly is a writer, editor, and paralegal specializing in personal finance and tax law. She covers personal financial and legal topics, as well as tax breaks, tax preparation software, and tax law terms for general readers.
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The best online Excel classes allow you to learn Microsoft's popular spreadsheet program whether you are a beginner or an experienced user looking to hone your skills. Because courses are online, they allow you to learn at your own pace with video tutorials, written explanations, sample data, and more.
Courses should address key Excel tools such as pivot tables, macros, SUM, IF, INDEX, and more. Learning should be designed so students need not commit no more than a few hours per week, while still completing courses within a few months. Certification for completing a course provides students with a skill to add to their resumes.
These are the programs that we believe meet a variety of needs across a range of students.
Udemy
Udemy offers Microsoft Excel classes for all levels and lifetime access to instruction videos and other resources. Most anyone looking to learn or hone their Excel skills should be able to find what they need.
Classes for all levels
Lifetime access to resources
Certificate of completion
Expensive if no deal is being offered
Four classes can't be purchased separately
Udemy offers a variety of online Excel classes, but this one covers everything from A-to-Z.
It spans a significant range of experience levels across four classes: Microsoft Excel 101 is appropriate for beginners, Microsoft Excel 102 provides intermediate training, and Microsoft Excel 103 covers advanced learning. Finally, there’s the Master Microsoft Excel Macros and VBA if you really want to dig into learning how to automate your daily to-do list. Covered topics include interactive pivot tables and charts, VLOOKUP, SUM, IF, and INDEX, and MATCH.
What makes this class a standout is that it does all this without requiring a significant time commitment of a month or more, as some other courses do. And, you’re not necessarily done when you complete the course because you’ll have lifetime access to on-demand videos and numerous other downloadable resources.
The cost is around $150, and you’ll receive a certificate of completion to add to your resume. Note that Udemy is known for occasionally slashing prices from time to time. It also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Coursera
Companies that want to train employees on Microsoft Excel will find content in Macquarie University's courses that cater to business needs. Topics covered include macros, pivot tables, data forecasts, and more.
Four courses cover all levels
Financial aid available
Requires five hours per week for six months
Macquarie University’s Excel Skills for Business Specialization is available through Coursera, and it also includes four courses: Essentials, Intermediate I, Intermediate II, and Advanced. Its focus is on addressing business problems—or rather, having Excel do so for you. Topics include macros, pivot tables, data forecasts, and building dashboards—everything your business needs to help it thrive.
You’ll have to commit to six months of learning at a pace of about five hours a week for each course, so this one is a serious time commitment. But you can start by taking just one class, and you can set your own deadlines. Macquarie also offers financial aid and provides a free option as well if you don’t want certification. You can review the course content online at no charge.
Macquarie University, in Australia, has been around for more than 50 years, even before Bill Gates got around to creating Microsoft in 1975, and it claims to be one of the top 1% of universities worldwide. Its graduates are among “the most sought-after professionals in the world.”
Rice University
Rice designed introductory course specifically for those who have minimal knowledge of Microsoft Excel. If you want to advance beyond the basics, additional courses delve deeper into the program and its tools.
Designed with beginners in mind
Can complete in a month
Includes certification
Must subscribe to Coursera for access
May be slow for those with some Excel experience
“Introduction” says it all about Rice University’s contribution to our list. You’re not looking to immediately launch a rocket from your desktop or laptop: You just want some fundamental knowledge of and familiarity with Excel so you can move on to launching rockets later. Rice says its class is appropriate for “those who have very little functional knowledge of Excel.”
The course teaches the basic uses of spreadsheets, but if you want to learn more, you can. Introduction to Data Analysis Using Excel covers almost everything from PivotTables to VLOOKUP. The class spans four lessons, and the first one—for beginners—is the one we particularly like. It’s well-paced and provides a little hand-holding.
You’ll then move on to organizing data, then to filtering, and more complex tasks. The class is a top pick for walking you through knowing almost nothing, to being fully prepared to tackle advanced options after you’ve started out with and mastered the first three courses.
Plan to commit to one to three hours a week for four weeks. The class is part of the university’s Business Statistics and Analysis Specialization, and it’s free (sort of). You have to be a Coursera member to enroll and that requires a subscription (around $49 to $79 per month), but you’ll get a certification.
GoSkills
Microsoft offers versions of its Excel software for Android and iOS devices, and GoSkills's course caters to users of those versions. For those frequently on the go, this is a good way to master the mobile version of the software.
Available on Android and iOS devices
Both basic and advanced skills
Certification
Need to be comfortable working on a small screen
For those who prefer to learn on the move, GoSkills’ classes are ideal. Microsoft Excel Classes—Basic and Advanced makes our list because it’s available on IOS and Android devices. It teaches all the basics on your phone.
This class is appropriate for beginners, but it also teaches topics like PivotTables and VLOOKUP. You can devote as much or as little time to learning as you like without adhering to a set schedule, testing yourself along the way through the use of various exams and quizzes. Overall, the class takes close to 26 hours, with lessons of about 30 minutes each. Most of the videos are less than six minutes long.
And, yes, you’ll earn a certification. You can start with a seven-day free trial before settling on one of two available subscription plans, which cost around $29 per month or about $199 if you sign up for a year.
Ben Currier’s Excel Exposure
This course caters well to those who like to learn while doing—and while watching others show you how to do it. Video-based lessons shows you how to master basic skills in Microsoft Excel.
Video-based lessons
Frequent updates
Some free options
Limited offerings for advanced users
Premium version is expensive
Not everyone thrives on reading textbooks—even online—which is why Excel Exposure is an ideal pick when it comes to video-based learning. The course is short and self-paced, and it covers a good variety of topics. Written courses are an option, too, if you don’t wince at that type of study. The “Master Workbook” involves working directly in Excel.
Excel Exposure offers a premium course for around $129 per month, but it offers many free lessons as well. And, this class isn’t stagnant: Excel Exposure is constantly adding new lessons. Its website offers a comprehensive list of what’s available, including courses that won’t cost you anything and others that are tagged “premium.”
This class is also appropriate for beginners, but many of the offerings accommodate intermediate and advanced learners as well.
Chandoo.org
The programming language behind Microsoft Excel is Visual Basic for Applications, or VBA, and Chandoo's course caters to those who know VBA. Even those with limited experience with VBA, can start with the basics and move up to more advanced skills.
Easy-to-follow lessons
Accommodates non-English-speaking students
Expensive
Chandoo says his goal is to “make you awesome in Excel,” and his online VBA Classes go a long way toward getting you there. VBA stands for “Visual Basic for Applications” and happens to be Excel’s programming language. If you know VBA, you can make Excel sing.
It’s a complex topic, but Chandoo prevents it from feeling intimidating. He offers a blog, forums, how-to guides, and a free e-book on creating charts. The program is learning at a relaxed, enjoyable pace, and it accommodates those whose first language isn't English. Really, Chandoo makes learning fun.
You can get your feet wet with the basics, then soar to expert-VBA-level from there. Start with basic Excel functions and then learn to write and debug VBA code. Chandoo has been awarded the Microsoft MVP award 13 times.
You can access some basic materials for free, although he charges around $247 to $347 for more advanced learning, depending on how long you want to study. Chandoo offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you have a month to change your mind after you sign up.
Microsoft Excel is a necessary tool in many business settings and a helpful one in plenty of others. Learning even just the basics can make a big difference, and online classes allow you to gain knowledge and experience with the skills that are important to you. Udemy is our top pick because it has the most well-rounded offerings and lifetime access to resources. If you have specific needs like learning VBA, Chandoo is the best option. Maybe you need a course you can take on your phone, then we like GoSkills' offerings.
Livezey points out that the online learning option works best if you’re a self-motivator. You can set and keep your own goals and objectives. And these classes offer a variety of formats that you can tailor to your own tastes, from mobile apps and visual learning to online textbooks.
Optimal classes should explore a range of topics, from the absolute basics of working in Excel to mastering VBA and PivotTables. Udemy, Excel Exposure, and Macquarie all touch on VBA, while Chandoo provides a comprehensive, in-depth VBA study. Some classes offer ample supplemental resources that remain available to you forever, such as Udemy.
The best classes feature at least four levels of learning, depending on the experience you go in with and acquire along the way.
Positions that require superior and advanced digital skills have increased significantly in recent years. The Council on Foreign Relations reported in April 2018 that these positions increased from 5% to 23% by that year with the addition of approximately 32 million jobs in the United States alone. The number of jobs requiring little or no digital skills plummeted by 26%.
Of the 13 million or so new jobs created since 2010, about two-thirds require at least medium skills in this arena.
“If you’re learning to add to your resume and help land a new job or position, I would enroll in a program with a recognized completion certificate,” Livezey says. All of our choices above offer certificates, although some have a catch.
Chandoo.org requires that you specifically ask for a certificate, but this is simply a matter of clicking on the “Request Certificate” tab. The functionality isn’t available until the 12th week of enrollment, however, and this requires signing up for a membership.
Microsoft lets you take classes for free, but you’ll have to pay for the certificate after completion. Likewise, Macquarie provides a free option if you don’t want certification.
You can take many classes for free if you’re learning for your own edification, if you’re starting your own business, or if you already own one. But again, you’ll have to pay if you want a certification to add to your resume.
GoSkills offers the least expensive option at around $29, but we’ve tagged Microsoft as being the best on a budget, even though it will cost you slightly more for that certificate (about $99). Financial support is available, and you get what you pay for. Other classes can cost in the neighborhood of roughly $150.
Seeing is believing, so we explored various websites to find out which ones appealed most to various readers’ concerns, including budgets, goals, and their level of existing experience. Then we reached out to John Livezey, an Information Systems and Aviation adjunct instructor at Atlantic Cape Community College in New Jersey, for his opinions. He’s taught Excel for years in “live” classrooms.
Macquarie University. "Our Reputation."
Council on Foreign Relations. “Independent Task Force Report No. 76.”
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