Excel IFS Function: many conditions without nested IFs

With plain IF, three outcomes means an IF inside an IF. IFS (Excel 2019 and 365) lists the tests in one flat row.

The formula

=IFS(test1, result1, test2, result2, ...)

Excel checks the tests in order and stops at the first TRUE.

Example: grades

=IFS(A2>=90,"A", A2>=70,"B", A2>=50,"C", TRUE,"Fail")

• 92 → A (first test true).
• 78 → B (first false, second true).
• 30 → Fail.

Always end with TRUE

If no test is true, IFS returns #N/A. The last pair TRUE,"Fail" acts as “everything else”.

Order matters

Put the strictest test first. If you write A2>=50 before A2>=90, a 92 stops at the first test and gets “C”.

Same thing with nested IF (older Excel)

=IF(A2>=90,"A",IF(A2>=70,"B",IF(A2>=50,"C","Fail")))

Works everywhere, harder to read. Guide: nested IF.

When a lookup is better

More than 5 bands, or bands that change often? Put them in a small table and use XLOOKUP with match mode -1 (exact or next smaller). You edit the table, not the formula.

Exact values instead of ranges

Turning codes into words (N → North, S → South)? SWITCH is cleaner: =SWITCH(A2,"N","North","S","South","Other").