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Microsoft Excel 2016 for Beginners: Master the Essentials (Udemy.com)

Learn the essentials of Microsoft Excel 2016 in easy to follow steps

Created by: Simon Sez IT

Last updated December 2025

Our take

Based on the ratings of 30,769 students, a sample of their written reviews and the syllabus, as the course stood in December 2025. No course pays to be reviewed.

This is a from-scratch Excel 2016 course from Simon Sez IT, taught by Toby, that starts at installing the program and moves through the ribbon, data entry, and basic formatting before building up to VLOOKUP, IF, SUMIF, and COUNTIF. At 15.7 hours across 79 lectures and 22 quizzes, it's built for someone who has genuinely never opened a spreadsheet, or who's coming from an older Excel version and wants the interface re-explained from scratch.

Reviewers like the pace. People describe it as detailed, easy to follow, and good for pausing and rewinding, which matters since a few call themselves slow learners and appreciate being able to revisit sections. The numbers back that up: 4.7 stars across nearly 31,000 ratings, with most landing 4 or 5 stars. Still, over 2,000 ratings sit at a middling 3 stars, a real gap in an otherwise strong spread.

Value-wise it's a reasonable beginner pick: downloadable practice files, quizzes built into the flow, lifetime access, and a course last updated in December 2025, so it isn't running on stale screenshots. What it doesn't do is get into pivot tables or macros, and it specifically calls for the Windows desktop version of Excel 2016 rather than 365 or Mac. Treat it as a solid first stop on Excel, not a complete education in it.

Best forComplete beginners, or anyone upgrading from an older Excel version, easing into the basics.
Skip it ifYou already handle basic formulas and want pivot tables, macros, or Excel 365 features.

Pros

  • Starts from zero: installing Excel through your first workbook and formulas
  • Covers practical formulas like VLOOKUP, IF, SUMIF, and COUNTIF with practice files
  • 22 quizzes built in, plus lifetime access to rewatch tricky sections
  • Recently refreshed, last updated December 2025 on a course first published in 2015

Cons

  • No pivot tables or macros, strictly core formulas, charts, and formatting
  • Requires the Windows desktop version of Excel 2016 specifically, not 365 or Mac
  • Over 2,000 of the roughly 31,000 ratings land at a middling 3 stars
I am currently still battling to find my feet with regards to Excel.
David Samuel Rodrigues, a student

Labeled Beginner Level, and the requirements confirm it: no prior Excel knowledge assumed at all.

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What you will learn

  • Discover new and improved features in Excel 2016.
  • How to effectively use Excel 2016 on a touchscreen device.
  • How create, save, and open a workbook.
  • Learn how to personalize your use of Excel using Excel Options.
  • How to use and how to customize the Quick Access Toolbar.
  • Complete data entry, cell formatting, working with multiple worksheets and the “Ribbon” interface.
  • The basics of entering and editing data in a workbook.
  • Discover how to format dates and numbers.
  • Learn practical methods in which you can backup and recover your Excel spreadsheets.
  • Effectively use autofill and flashfill so you are more productive.
  • Discover the essentials of using fomulas and functions.
  • How to rename, insert, move, and reference an Excel 2016 worksheet.
  • Discover how to create charts and graphs
  • Learn practical methods to sort and filter your data
  • How to protect and secure your Excel data

Course content

34 sections · 79 lectures · 16 hours of video 22 quizzes, 6 articles

  1. 1Introduction 1 free preview6 lectures · 1 quiz · 16 min
  2. 2What's New 1 free preview1 lecture · 3 min
  3. 3Using Touch 1 free preview1 lecture · 6 min
  4. 4Getting Started 1 free preview2 lectures · 25 min
  5. 5Using Help1 lecture · 1 quiz · 6 min
  6. 6Excel Options1 lecture · 1 quiz · 11 min
  7. 7The Ribbon and Toolbars 1 free preview5 lectures · 1 quiz · 36 min
  8. 8Entering and Editing Data5 lectures · 1 quiz · 43 min
  9. 9Backup and Recovery1 lecture · 1 quiz · 8 min
  10. 10Fill and Series 2 free previews2 lectures · 1 quiz · 13 min

Who it is for

The instructor says it suits

  • Those new to using Microsoft Excel 2016.
  • No previous knowledge of Excel required. This course is created for absolute beginners.
  • If you want to refresh your memory and understanding of Excel.
  • Users of earlier versions of Excel looking to update their skills.

What you need before you start

  • Microsoft Excel 2016 desktop version for Windows installed and ready to use on your computer.

How it compares

Against the other 355 rated Udemy courses in Excel on CourseDuck:

  • Rating4.7 out of 5higher than 81% of them
  • Reviews30,769#15 of 356 by number of reviews
  • Length15.7 hourslonger than 85% of them
  • Last updatedDecember 2025more recently than 70% of them

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Course Description

**Course includes downloadable project files and quizzes to test your knowledge as well as LIFETIME access**


Why Simon Sez IT for Excel?

  • We know Excel. We've been teaching it for over 10 years and your expert instructor Toby has taught thousands of people to learn Microsoft products.

  • We don't rush through content. We take the time to ensure you understand important principles before moving on.

  • Follow along. We provide downloadable practice files so you can practice as you learn.


Customer reviews

Here's what our students are saying about us:

★★★★★ “I bought the course because I wanted to learn more about the use of Excel to assist me in my job. So far, I am very happy with the instructions. They are very detailed and easy to follow. I am able to pause to make notes and rewind if needed. I have used Excel with basic knowledge of the system, but I feel that when I am done with this course I will be able to create better spreadsheets and documents.” -Doris Santangelo 


★★★★★ “I was able to learn a lot from this course and to do so at my own pace. I was able to review areas where I needed more time than someone more advanced than I. For the monetary investment, this is a great course for beginners.” -David F. Wilson      


★★★★★ “I have been using Excel for some time and this course has shown me just how much I did not know or was unaware of. A terrific learning experience. Thanks for the opportunity!” -Allan Thomson      


★★★★★ “I enjoyed to course and it was presented in an orderly fashion with incremental information that gave an intuitive feel to the progression. Thank you.” -John Brown      


★★★★★ “Course is well done and since you can go back and review at any time or after the course is done is helpful for us slow learners.” -Rick Clarke


Master Excel 2016 For Complete Beginners In This Helpful, Info-Packed Video Course

  • Learn to navigate Excel 2016

  • Learn what's new in Excel 2016

  • Learn how to navigate and personalize Excel for your needs

  • Learn to enter and edit data

  • Learn to create amazing looking charts and graphs from tables of data

  • Learn how a function and formula works

  • Learn to protect and secure your data in Excel

  • Learn how Excel categorizes and handles dates and other number formatting

  • Learn to use the fill handle and flash fill

  • Learn essential Excel formulas such as VLOOKUP, IF, SUMIF, COUNTIF and so many more

  • Learn to clean, filter and sort your data to perform basic data analysis

  • Learn to create beautiful, color coded spreadsheets using Conditional Formatting

  • Learn how to safely share a workbook.


Excel 2016 From The Beginning

This course assumes you've never worked with Microsoft Excel in your life, or you are upgrading from a previous version. Your professional trainer, Toby, will start at the very beginning from installing the program to creating your first Workbook and entering data. Before you know it, you'll be using Excel 2016 like a pro with advanced functions.


At Simon Sez IT we know Excel and we know learning it can't be rushed, so we take the time to explain how everything works. This is an in-depth introduction to the world's most powerful spreadsheeting software, not a quick walk through. If other Excel courses seem to be designed for people who already have experience with the program, this course will be a breath of fresh air. The videos keep things simple and carefully step you through each process.


Contents and Overview

This course starts with where to find Microsoft Excel and installing the program. Then you learn step-by-step, simple 1-2-3 methods for getting up and running with Excel 2016. Watch just the first few videos to have a basic knowledge of Excel. Then continue through the detailed 32 chapters of video lessons and 9 exercise files to gradually become a proficient user.

It's important to note that we don't assume you know anything about Excel 2016. We start from the basics. After installation we discuss what is new with 2016, using Touchscreen, opening a Workbook, and how to use Help to get additional answers when you need them.

Then we show you how to personalize Excel for your own use with exciting Excel Options. We discuss all the Ribbons and Toolbars, entering and editing data, backup and recovery, fill and series, and printing your projects. We also work with formulas, functions, sorting and filtering data, creating charts and graphs, and much more.

Upon completion of this course you will know the essentials of Microsoft Excel 2016.


** Updated July 2017. English close captions added
** Updated February 2016. Course transcripts now available.

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Instructor Details

Simon Sez IT

Since 2008, individuals, small businesses, and Fortune 500 companies with thousands of employees have benefited from the easy and hands-on software training offered by Simon Sez IT. With over 12,000 video tutorials on a range of software programs, Simon Sez IT ensures stress-free eLearning and enhanced employee productivity - no matter whether you are implementing new software or a technological upgrade for your workplace. With over 1 million Udemy students in over 190 countries, Simon Sez IT is the preferred online learning choice for individuals and businesses everywhere. 

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Reviews

4.7

30,769 ratings on Udemy

Select a bar to show only those reviews.Select the bar again to show every rating.

By Anonymized User on 4/7/2026

It was good and I learned new things.

By Anonymized User on 4/2/2026

amazing knowledgge

By Anonymized User on 3/18/2026

Good to learn the basics information.

By David Samuel Rodrigues on 3/10/2026

I am currently still battling to find my feet with regards to Excel.

By Anonymized User on 2/26/2026

nice learning experience

By Anonymized User on 11/26/2025

Yes it was a really big help.

By Anonymized User on 11/10/2025

good to know for information

By Anonymized User on 11/7/2025

yes it is very helpful

By Anonymized User on 10/30/2025

Best learning process

By Anne-Marie Botha on 10/2/2025

hi this course was good yes

Still not too sure about conflicting statements:

1. You need the desktop version of Excel vs. ????

2. Online version OK at end of video.

Older versions I remember not exactly compatible to Desktop version.

The explanations are way clear, the course covers even more content than I expected and even though I had some previous experience with Excel and found the beginning of the course too basic, even this initial part came along with some details I was unaware of. The rest of, however, had plenty of new information, mostly superficial (since this is a Beginners course), which has already proven to be useful to me.

The whole course was basically watched the in 2x, which saved a lot of time, but this is probably because I was familiarized with Excel. The point is that's possible to do it that way and still understand what's being said, which is great.

I recommend it to anyone who still feels insecure when dealing with Excel, because it gives straightforward explanations in a wide variety of Excel features, so that there's no room for doubt.

Showing 12 of 62 reviews

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Quality Score

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Overall Score : 94 / 100