How to Compare Dates in Google Sheets

To compare dates in Google Sheets, you can use various functions such as IF, DATEDIF, or even simple comparison operators. In this guide, we'll go through three different methods to compare dates in Google Sheets.

Method 1: Using Comparison Operators

You can directly use comparison operators like greater than (>), less than (<), or equal to (=) to compare dates in Google Sheets.

Example:

Let's say we have the following dates in cells A1, A2, and A3:

A1: 1/1/2022
A2: 2/15/2022
A3: 3/1/2022

To compare if the date in A1 is earlier than the date in A2, you can use the following formula:

=A1<A2

This will return TRUE if the date in A1 is earlier than the date in A2, or FALSE otherwise.

Method 2: Using the IF Function

The IF function allows you to perform a comparison and return a value based on the result of the comparison.

Example:

Using the same dates as above, we can compare the dates using the IF function as follows:

=IF(A1<A2, "A1 is earlier", "A1 is not earlier")

This formula will return "A1 is earlier" if the date in A1 is earlier than the date in A2, or "A1 is not earlier" otherwise.

Method 3: Using the DATEDIF Function

The DATEDIF function calculates the difference between two dates in various units, such as days, months, or years.

Example:

Using the same dates as above, we can compare the dates using the DATEDIF function as follows:

=DATEDIF(A1, A2, "d")

This formula will return the number of days between the date in A1 and the date in A2. If the result is positive, it means the date in A1 is earlier than the date in A2. If the result is negative, the date in A1 is later than the date in A2. If the result is 0, both dates are the same.