In Excel: type = in the destination cell, click the other sheet's tab, click the cell you want and press Enter — Excel writes =Sheet2!B2 for you.
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In the destination cell type =.
Click the other sheet's tab, then click the cell you want.
Press Enter — Excel writes the reference, quoting the sheet name if it needs quoting.
To pull a matching row rather than a fixed cell, use =XLOOKUP(key, OtherSheet!keys, OtherSheet!values, "not found").
Anchor the ranges with $ (or use whole columns) before filling the formula down.
For another workbook, keep both files open while you build the reference so Excel writes the path correctly.
What this does
A reference to another sheet is the sheet name, an exclamation mark, then the cell: =Sheet2!B2. If the sheet name contains a space it must be quoted: ='Q1 Sales'!B2. Building it by pointing rather than typing is worth the habit, because Excel adds the quotes and gets the name exactly right. There are three levels to this. A direct reference copies one cell. A lookup — XLOOKUP or VLOOKUP with the table argument on the other sheet — pulls the matching ROW for a key, which is what "pull data from another sheet" usually means in practice. And a reference to another FILE adds the workbook in square brackets, ='[Budget.xlsx]Sheet1'!$B$4, which brings the whole external-link problem with it: the path is stored, so moving the source breaks the link, and a closed source shows the last cached value. Within one workbook there is no such fragility. Keep the inputs visible and clearly labelled and the whole thing stays auditable — anyone who opens the file later, including you, can see at a glance exactly what feeds the result and change one assumption without hunting through the formula. Treat “use data from another sheet in excel” as a small repeatable workflow rather than a one-off click you hope to remember next time. Use a small test block before the live file, so any surprise in the affected sheet shows up while it is still harmless. When a formula is involved, keep the inputs labelled beside it, reference cells instead of typing values, and apply number formatting only after the result checks out. That turns a workflow that saves repeating the same clicks every week into a method you can reuse, explain, and defend when the workbook leaves your screen.
A worked example
Summary needs each product's price from a Prices sheet keyed by SKU. In Summary!C2: =XLOOKUP(A2, Prices!$A:$A, Prices!$C:$C, "not found"). The $ anchors keep the lookup columns fixed as the formula fills down, and the fourth argument replaces #N/A with something a reader can act on. For a single fixed cell instead — a rate that lives in one place — =Rates!$B$1 is all you need. Keeping reference data on its own sheet and pointing at it beats copying it around, because there is then exactly one place where a wrong number can live. Check the referenced cells, argument order and result type in your workbook. Start with the worked example before changing an input, then compare the changed result with the calculation you expected. An error value or a result of a different type is a reason to inspect the inputs and arguments.
In Google Sheets
References to another workbook do not carry over: Excel's [Workbook.xlsx]Sheet1!B4 syntax is not valid in Google Sheets, where data from another spreadsheet is pulled in with IMPORTRANGE. References to another tab in the same file (Sheet2!B4) work in both. Function availability: XLOOKUP: Excel 2021+. These are Microsoft's version markers; earlier perpetual releases do not include these functions. Check the actual product and update channel before using the formula. A marker does not establish an identical Web/Mac workflow or Google Sheets support. Nothing on this page is behind a login or a download: the exact answer is at the top, and the detail below it is there for when you need it. That is the whole promise here — the answer first, and just enough context to make it stick. For “use data from another sheet in excel”, keep the input cells and the result visible while you check the formula in Excel. Follow the worked example and change one input at a time. The steps explain the workbook calculation; this page does not run a live calculator for that task.
Common mistakes
- Typing the sheet name by hand and missing the quotes a name with spaces needs.
- Filling a lookup down without $ anchors, so the lookup range slides off the bottom of the source data.
- Renaming the source sheet after building references with
INDIRECT— normal references update,INDIRECTdoes not. - Linking to another workbook where a sheet in the same file would do, and inheriting broken links when the file moves.
- Leaving the lookup's not-found case as a bare
#N/A, which breaks every total that includes the column.
Frequently asked questions
How do I pull data from another sheet in Excel?
Type = in the destination, click the other sheet tab, click the cell, press Enter. Excel writes =Sheet2!B2.
How do I reference a sheet whose name has a space?
Wrap the name in single quotes: ='Q1 Sales'!B2. Building the reference by clicking does this for you.
How do I pull a matching row from another sheet?
Use a lookup: =XLOOKUP(A2, Prices!$A:$A, Prices!$C:$C, "not found"), or VLOOKUP if XLOOKUP is not available in your version.
Can I pull data from another workbook?
Yes, and the reference gains the file name in brackets: ='[Budget.xlsx]Sheet1'!$B$4. The path is stored, so moving or renaming the source breaks the link.