Excel vs Google Sheets: the shortcuts that match and the ones that change
Google Sheets shares much of Excel's keyboard layer: Ctrl + Home and Ctrl + End, column and row selection, fill down and right, the date key, F2 and F4 are identical in both. Most of the first half of the table is the part you do not have to relearn. The second half is where they part ways, and part of that gap is only notation: Microsoft's list writes number formats as Ctrl + Shift plus the symbol on the number key (! $ % #), while Google's writes Ctrl + Shift plus the digit itself (1 4 5 3), and on a US keyboard those symbols sit on those digits. The time key (Ctrl + Shift + : against Ctrl + Shift + ;) and Show formulas (Ctrl + ` against Ctrl + ~) are printed differently in the two lists as well.
| Task | Excel | Google Sheets |
|---|---|---|
| Edit cell | F2 | F2 |
| Go to A1 | Ctrl + Home | Ctrl + Home |
| Last cell | Ctrl + End | Ctrl + End |
| Go to cell / range | Ctrl + G | Ctrl + J |
| Select column | Ctrl + Space | Ctrl + Space |
| Select row | Shift + Space | Shift + Space |
| Insert rows/columns | Ctrl + Shift + + | Ctrl + Alt + = |
| Delete rows/columns | Ctrl + - | Ctrl + Alt + - |
| Fill down | Ctrl + D | Ctrl + D |
| Fill right | Ctrl + R | Ctrl + R |
| Today's date | Ctrl + ; | Ctrl + ; |
| Current time | Ctrl + Shift + : | Ctrl + Shift + ; |
| Toggle absolute reference | F4 | F4 |
| Show formulas | Ctrl + ` | Ctrl + ~ |
| Find and replace | Ctrl + H | Ctrl + H |
| Bold | Ctrl + B | Ctrl + B |
| Strikethrough | Ctrl + 5 | Alt + Shift + 5 |
| Number format | Ctrl + Shift + ! | Ctrl + Shift + 1 |
| Currency format | Ctrl + Shift + $ | Ctrl + Shift + 4 |
| Percent format | Ctrl + Shift + % | Ctrl + Shift + 5 |
| Date format | Ctrl + Shift + # | Ctrl + Shift + 3 |
| Paste values only | Ctrl + Alt + V then V | Ctrl + Shift + V |
| Array formula | Cmd + Shift + Return Mac only | Ctrl + Shift + Enter |
| Flash Fill / Smart Fill | Ctrl + E | Ctrl + Shift + Y |
| Format Cells dialog | Ctrl + 1 | — |
| AutoSum | Alt + = | — |
| Create table | Ctrl + T | Ctrl + Alt + T |
| Toggle filter | Ctrl + Shift + L | — |
| Hide columns | Ctrl + 0 | Ctrl + Alt + 0 |
| New sheet | Shift + F11 | Shift + F11 |
Some features have a key on only one side. Excel's Format Cells dialog (Ctrl + 1), AutoSum (Alt + =) and filter toggle (Ctrl + Shift + L) have no counterpart in Google's list, where Ctrl + Shift + L is Left align. Others exist in both under different keys: a table is Ctrl + T in Excel and Ctrl + Alt + T in Sheets, and pattern filling is Flash Fill on Ctrl + E in Excel but Smart Fill on Ctrl + Shift + Y in Sheets, where Ctrl + E collapses an expanded array formula. Paste values only is one key in Sheets (Ctrl + Shift + V) and two steps in Excel (Ctrl + Alt + V for Paste Special, then V). Array-formula entry is Ctrl + Shift + Enter in Sheets; Microsoft lists it for Excel on the Mac only (Cmd + Shift + Return). A new sheet is Shift + F11 in both. Strikethrough is Ctrl + 5 in Excel and Alt + Shift + 5 in Sheets.
Hiding rows and columns is a place where the two tables disagree in a way that is easy to get wrong: Excel hides columns with Ctrl + 0 and rows with Ctrl + 9; Sheets hides them with Ctrl + Alt + 0 and Ctrl + Alt + 9, and its Ctrl + Shift + 0 and Ctrl + Shift + 9 are the unhide keys. Inserting and deleting split the same way: Ctrl + Shift + + and Ctrl + - in Excel, Ctrl + Alt + = and Ctrl + Alt + - in Sheets. The full tables on each tool's page list the rest of the formatting, workbook and formula shortcuts.
Full references: Excel (295) · Google Sheets (140) · all comparisons