Best Apps to Learn Excel in 2026: What to Look For
Comparing the types of apps that teach Excel: video courses, reference apps and practice apps. What each is good for and how to pick the right one for you.
By Ayoub Farid · · 3 min read
Search "learn Excel" in the App Store and you'll find dozens of apps. They aren't all trying to do the same thing, and picking the wrong type is why so many people download one, open it twice and forget it.
Here's how the main types compare, so you can choose based on how you actually learn.
The four types of Excel learning apps
| Type | Best for | Weak spot |
|---|---|---|
| Video courses | Seeing a full workflow once | Passive: you watch, you don't do |
| Reference / cheat-sheet apps | Looking up syntax quickly | No practice, no feedback |
| Quiz apps | Checking what you know | Multiple choice isn't writing a formula |
| Practice apps (interactive) | Building the skill itself | Need daily use to pay off |
Video courses
Long-form courses (on phone or web) are good when you need to see a complete task end to end, like building a dashboard. The problem is retention. Watching someone write a VLOOKUP feels like learning, but most people can't reproduce it the next day.
Reference apps
Apps that list hundreds of functions with examples are handy when you're at work and forget the order of arguments. They're dictionaries, not teachers.
Quiz apps
Quizzes are better than video because you must answer. But choosing "B" from four options doesn't train the hard part: writing the formula yourself and getting the references right.
Practice apps
These give you a sheet and a task, and you write the formula. The good ones check your answer by calculating it and tell you why it's wrong.
What to look for in a practice app
- You write formulas, not just pick answers. Writing is what you'll do at work.
- Answers are checked by calculation. Excel accepts many correct formulas for the same question.
=B2+B3+B4and=SUM(B2:B4)are both right. An app that compares text will mark one of them wrong. - Specific feedback. "Wrong" teaches nothing. "Your range is one row short" does.
- Short sessions. If a lesson takes 20 minutes, you won't do it daily.
- Covers $ references and fill down. This is where beginners fail job tests. See absolute references.
- Works for Google Sheets too. If you might use either, the skills should transfer.
Where Cellio fits
We built Cellio as a practice app for the phone. Lessons take about two minutes. You tap cells to build each formula, and your answer is calculated on the sheet and then re-checked on hidden versions of the data, so a typed-in number can't pass. When you're wrong, it tells you the reason (range too short, missing $, dividing by an empty cell) and shows the correct formula.
What it covers today: formulas from = through SUM, AVERAGE, MIN, MAX, COUNT, fill down and $ locks. IF, COUNTIF/SUMIFS, lookups and data cleaning are coming. If you need VLOOKUP tomorrow, pair it with our VLOOKUP guide.
Our honest advice
Use two things together: a practice app daily for skill, and a reference (or this blog) for looking things up. Skip collecting courses you won't finish. For a free route, see how to learn Excel for free.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best free app to learn Excel?
For pure practice, the free Excel or Google Sheets apps plus a list of exercises cost nothing. Learning apps usually let you start free and charge for advanced units.
Is there a Duolingo for Excel?
Several apps use a short-lesson, streak-based style. See Duolingo for Excel for what that style does well and where it falls short.
Can an app replace an Excel course?
For formulas, yes, if you practise daily. For big workflows like pivot tables and dashboards, add a course or hands-on project.
Do I need Microsoft 365 to learn Excel?
No. You can practise most formulas in free Excel for the web, the mobile apps, Google Sheets or a learning app.