Nested IF in Excel: three or more outcomes without the mess

One IF gives two outcomes. For three or more, put another IF in the “no” slot. That is a nested IF.

What you will make

Grades: 70 and over is A, 40–69 is B, under 40 is C.

Steps

1. Scores in column A.
2. Click B1. Type:

=IF(A1>=70, "A", IF(A1>=40, "B", "C"))

Read it left to right: 70 or more? A. Otherwise, 40 or more? B. Otherwise C.

The rule that keeps it straight

Test from the highest value down. Each IF only sees the scores the previous one rejected, so “>=40” really means 40–69.

Counting brackets

Two IFs, two closing brackets at the end. Three IFs, three. Excel colours matching pairs while you type.

The easier way: IFS (Excel 2019 and newer)

=IFS(A1>=70, "A", A1>=40, "B", TRUE, "C")

Pairs of test, result. The final TRUE is the catch-all.

Check it worked

Type 70 → A. 69 → B. 40 → B. 39 → C. Boundary values catch most mistakes.

Common mistakes

Testing low to high. IF(A1>=40,"B",IF(A1>=70,"A",...)) never reaches A — 85 is already ≥40.

More than 4 levels. Use a lookup table with XLOOKUP match mode -1 or VLOOKUP with TRUE instead.