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Looking for free Excel practice exercises to sharpen your spreadsheet skills? You’re in the right place.
At GoSkills, we believe the best way to learn Excel is by doing. That’s why we’ve built a growing library of hands-on Excel challenges. Each one is based on a real-world scenario that helps you practice problem-solving and apply what you’ve learned in meaningful ways.
This list is updated with a new challenge every month, so there’s always something fresh to explore. Whether you’re just getting started or ready to master advanced techniques, you’ll find an Excel practice exercise here to match your level.
Browse the full archive below and choose your next challenge.
| Challenge# | Challenge name | Skills tested | Scenario | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Use Raw Data to Create Dynamic Reports | MID, SEARCH, SUMIF, Charts | Sales team | |||
| 2 | Clean and Transform Data with Power Query | Power Query | Helpdesk Log | |||
| 3 | Power Query & Pivot Tables | Power Query, PivotTables | Sales summary | |||
| 4 | Analyze Data With Power Query | Merge queries, basic conditional logic | Student exam database | |||
| 5 | Formula Super Challenge | Various functions | Monthly sales summary | |||
| 6 | Introduction to Logical Functions | SUMIF, OR | Employee vacation entitlement | |||
| 7 | Expandable Dropdown & XLOOKUP Spill | Data validation, XLOOKUP | Library database | |||
| 8 | Create a Performance Incentive Worksheet | VLOOKUP, IF, Conditional Formatting | Employee performance incentive | |||
| 9 | Making Use of Advanced Sorting Techniques | Sorting, SUMIF | Schools by district | |||
| 10 | Automating Repetitive Tasks With Macros | Macros, Charts | Website traffic analytics chart | |||
| 11 | Super-Challenge! Create an Interactive Worksheet | Dependent Lists, Conditional Formatting | Course selection worksheet | |||
| 12 | Methods for Splitting Cell Values | Flash Fill, LEFT/RIGHT, Text to Columns | Countries by population | |||
| 13 | Use Partial Match to Find Multiple Criteria | Advanced filter, FILTER function, Wildcards | Customer database by subscription level | |||
| 14 | Perform a Lookup From Multiple Sources | Power Query, Data validation | Price and supplier lookup (inventory) | |||
| 15 | Track Expenses with Data Visualization | Conditional Formatting, Tables, Charts | Personal budget planning | |||
| 16 | Techniques for Manipulating Text | Split values, Autofill, concatenate | Customer database | |||
| 17 | Summarize Data with Interactive PivotTables and Charts | Pivot Charts, PivotTables | Customer database | |||
| 18 | Perform a Two-Way Lookup and Approximate Match | INDEX/MATCH, IFS | City weather forecast | |||
| 19 | Using Advanced Logic to Return Different Results | IF, AND, OR, LET | Student test/exam performance | |||
| 20 | Calculate Years Between Two Dates | DATEDIF | Employee tenure & entitlement | |||
| 21 | Unpivoting Data Within a Table | Power Query, Filter | Monthly expenses by supplier | |||
| 22 | Create a Dynamic Excel Chart Range | OFFSET function | Monthly sales trend (last 3 months) | |||
| 23 | How to Break Ties When Ranking | RANK, COUNTIF | Employee ranking | |||
| 24 | Extract Unique Values From a Dataset | UNIQUE, XLOOKUP/FILTER | Olympic countries | |||
| 25 | Convert Dates Stored as Text | DATE, DATEVALUE, FILTER, Text-to-Columns | Project duration estimates | |||
| 26 | VLOOKUP with Duplicates | VLOOKUP, Concatenation | Employee database with salaries | |||
| 27 | Create a Dataset Using Random Selection | Concatenation, SEQUENCE, RANDBETWEEN | Employee salary rounded to nearest 1000 | |||
| 28 | Create a Column Chart With Conditional Formatting | Clustered column charts, formatting charts | Formatted chart actual sales vs target | |||
| 29 | Make a Progress Bar in Excel | Checkboxes, customize bar chart | Task tracker/progress bar | |||
| 30 | Create a Dynamic Chart Using Multiple Criteria | Data validation, FILTER with multiple criteria, Charts | Dynamic sales chart by team | |||
| 31 | Data Analysis with Power Query and Pivot Tables | Text to columns with Power Query, PivotTables, and slicers | Product sales summary | |||
| 32 | Counting Values That Meet Conditions | COUNTIF, OR | Attendee list summary | |||
| 33 | What-If Analysis to Calculate Monthly Payments | PMT function, Goal Seek | Monthly loan payment calculator | |||
| 34 | Advanced Data Validation | Dropdown lists, worksheet protection | Inventory query | |||
| 35 | Create an Invoice Tracker | IF function, conditional formatting | Invoice tracker | |||
| 36 | Calculate and Maximize Commission With What-If Analysis | Goal Seek, XLOOKUP/VLOOKUP | Sales commission calculator | |||
| 37 | Keeping Track of Inventory | Data validation, nested IF, Return multiple values from lookup | Inventory query form | |||
| 38 | Data Lookup From Multiple Sources | Append datasets | Customer database (masked card numbers) | |||
| 39 | Generate Unique Random Values | Randomize unique values, reshape array | Assign partipants to random groups | |||
| 40 | Create a Custom Excel Calculator | Data validation, XLOOKUP, Nesting formulas | Calculate insurance premiums | |||
| 41 | Transforming Data With Excel Functions | Randomize unique values, create Excel tables, number formatting, extract selected columns, reshape array | Assign marathon athletes | |||
| 42 | Prepare an Excel Worksheet for Printing |
Formatting worksheet, page breaks, auto-fit, headers & footers |
Print worksheet | |||
| 43 | Assign Random Values from a List | RANDARRAY, CHOOSE, FILTER | Randomize values for roster | |||
| 44 | Build an Employee Performance Review Sheet | IF, radar charts | Employee evaluation form | |||
| 45 | Create an Interactive Sales Chart | Dynamic array formulas, dynamic charts | Summarize restaurant sales | |||
| 46 | Inventory Optimization With Excel Solver | Solver | Manage inventory costs | |||
| 47 | Calculate Vacation Entitlement | Date functions, IF/IFS, XLOOKUP | Determine employee vacation balance | |||
| 48 | Build a Library Book Tracker | Formula nesting, COUNTIF | Library management system | |||
| 49 | Create a Dynamic Lookup Tool With Images | INDEX/MATCH, PivotTable slicers |
Retrieve athlete demographic data and profile image |
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| 50 | Break-Even Analysis Using Data Tables | What-if analysis | Calculate break-even point for coffee shop | |||
| 51 | Build an Amortization Schedule | PMT function, date functions | Loan amortization | |||
| 52 | Data Analysis With PivotTables | PivotTables | Sales managers' cumulative sales by year | |||
| 53 | Dependent Dropdown Lists | Data validation, conditional formatting | Dynamic city selection by state | |||
| 54 | Clean Up Messy Data With Power Query | Unpivot with Power Query | Bonuses for sales managers | |||
| 55 | Analyze Sales With SUMIF & SUMIFS | SUMIF, SUMIFS |
Analyze profitability by product sales, region, or time period |
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| 56 | Conditional Functions (Beginner-friendly) | Excel IF functions | View salary information using specific criteria | |||
| 57 | Consolidate Data from Multiple Files | Power Query, PivotTables | Build a professional sales report | |||
| 58 | Customer Segmentation Using One Formula | Dynamic array formulas, user-defined functions | Categorize customers by spend | |||
| 59 | Consolidate Data From Multiple Sheets | INDIRECT function | Total sales spread across sheets by year |
With 55+ free Excel practice exercises (and counting!), there’s no shortage of ways to test your knowledge and stretch your spreadsheet muscles.
Bookmark this page to keep track of new Excel challenges added each month. Want to dive deeper? Explore our full selection of Excel courses to keep building your confidence — one formula, chart, or macro at a time.
Need help or want to share your solution? Join our friendly Excel Slack community to connect with other learners, ask questions, and grow together.
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Join the Excel conversation on Slack
Ask a question or join the conversation regarding Excel challenges on our Slack channel.
