When conducting keyword research for my Google Sheets website content, I often stumble across keywords like 'VLOOKUP formula' or similar phrases.
In this article, I've decided to clarify this concept, as there's a subtle distinction between these two terms, even if they're often used interchangeably.
Google Sheets Formulas
Formulas in Google Sheets refer to any combination of values, cell references, operators, and functions used to perform calculations, manipulate data, or generate any kind of result within a cell.
They can be as simple as basic arithmetic operations like addition or multiplication, or they can involve more complex calculations and functions.
Google Sheets Functions
Functions are specific built-in tools or predefined operations provided by Google Sheets to perform certain tasks or calculations. They're often used to carry out specific actions, such as looking up values, performing mathematical calculations, manipulating text, or aggregating data. Examples of functions in Google Sheets include SUM, VLOOKUP, IF, REGEXEXTRACT, IMPORTRANGE, etc.
Conclusion
In a technical sense, all functions used in Google Sheets are indeed part of formulas because they're integrated into the overall formula structure to achieve specific tasks. However, when discussing them, it's common to refer to them simply as 'functions' due to their specialized roles in performing specific operations within the spreadsheet.