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.
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. If there is any chance you will reuse this, drop it into a small template tab right now: a labelled input area on the left and the formula beside it, checked once against the tool above. Next time the same question comes up, the answer is a single paste away instead of a rebuild from memory.
In Google Sheets
Everything above works in Google Sheets too. Excel and Sheets share the formula syntax used here; only the surrounding menus are arranged differently. That portability is deliberate — learn it once and it follows you between the two tools and across Windows and Mac. Nothing on this page is behind a login: the tool runs entirely in your browser, the formula is shown in full with one-click copy, and the steps work the same on Windows and Mac. That is the whole promise here — the exact answer, a way to prove it on your own numbers, and just enough context to make it stick. The short version of “use data from another sheet in excel”: the answer is at the top of this page, the tool proves it on your own numbers, and the sections above explain why it holds so the next variation does not stump you. Excel rewards people who reference cells instead of typing values and who keep inputs separate from formulas, because that is what makes a result you can audit months later. Build it once, deliberately, with the live tool as a check, and you convert a one-off lookup into a reusable skill — which is the whole point of learning the why and not just the what.
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.