Useful Excel for Beginners (Udemy.com)
Learn the basics of Microsoft Excel and become an effective user
Created by: Dinesh Natarajan Mohan
Last updated November 2020
Our take
Based on the ratings of 86,150 students, a sample of their written reviews and the syllabus, as the course stood in November 2020. No course pays to be reviewed.
This is a free Udemy course that covers the Excel basics from scratch. The 13 sections run through entering data, formatting, editing, saving, calculations, visualizing, analyzing, and tables. Dinesh Natarajan Mohan records it in Excel 2010 for Windows and works through a bookstore dataset you can download and follow along with. The syllabus shows 89 lectures over 9.6 hours, with the biggest chunks on entering data (about 165 minutes) and calculations (about 126 minutes). It is aimed squarely at people who have never used Excel or only poke at it occasionally, and around 851,000 people have enrolled.
Reviewers say the explanations are simple, unhurried, and easy to follow, and one mentions that the step by step procedure is what let them practice as they learned. One reviewer who already uses Excel at work still picked up small things they didn't know. The complaints are consistent. The subtitles and transcript often don't match what he says, which one learner found confusing enough to stop reading them. One found it a bit repetitive in places, and one two-star review calls the delivery flat enough to drift off. One learner also warns not to attempt it on an iPad; the course assumes Windows Excel.
The bigger issue is age. The course was published in 2013 and last updated in November 2020, and the videos use Excel 2010, so a current copy of Excel will not look quite the same. The concepts still apply, but expect to hunt for a button now and then. There is no certificate because the course is free. Next to the Beginner to Advanced course it sits beside, this one stops at the basics, but it costs nothing and is a sensible first step before spending money on formulas or pivot tables.
Pros
- Free, with 9.6 hours and 89 lectures covering data entry, calculations, visualizing, and tables
- Bookstore exercise files to download and practice alongside the videos
- Reviewers call the explanations simple and not rushed, good for true first-timers
- Ten quizzes and a 4.6 rating from over 86,000 reviews
Cons
- Recorded in Excel 2010 for Windows and last updated in 2020, so it shows its age next to current Excel
- Subtitles and transcript often don't match the audio, several reviewers say
- Slow, repetitive delivery that at least one reviewer found dull; no certificate
It was really good. Very easy to understand and the step by step procedure helps me practice as I learn.
Genuinely beginner: you need a Windows PC with Excel 2007 or later and nothing else; regular Excel users will find much of it familiar.
What you will learn
- Learn the fundamentals of Excel
- Become an effective user
Course content
13 sections · 89 lectures · 9.6 hours of video 10 quizzes
- 1Introduction 1 free preview1 lecture · 7 min
- 2Basics of Excel 3 free previews3 lectures · 1 quiz · 11 min
- 3Entering Data 2 free previews26 lectures · 1 quiz · 2.8 hours
- 4Formatting6 lectures · 1 quiz · 37 min
- 5Editing 1 free preview10 lectures · 1 quiz · 1.2 hours
- 6Saving1 lecture · 1 quiz · 10 min
- 7Viewing1 lecture · 7 min
- 8Calculations17 lectures · 1 quiz · 2.1 hours
- 9Visualizing 1 free preview14 lectures · 1 quiz · 1.4 hours
- 10Analyzing 1 free preview5 lectures · 1 quiz · 31 min
- 11Tables2 lectures · 1 quiz · 16 min
- 12Sharing2 lectures · 1 quiz · 12 min
- 13Final Thoughts1 lecture · 3 min
Who it is for
The instructor says it suits
- Never used Excel before
- Beginner level Excel user
What you need before you start
- Knowledge of operating a personal computer
- Microsoft Excel for Windows (Preferably 2007 or 2010 or 2013)
Quality Score
No CourseDuck member has rated this course yet. Taken it? Give each part a thumbs up or down.
Overall Score : 92 / 100
Course Description
Welcome to the Useful Excel for Beginners course.
In this course, you will learn the fundamentals of Excel and become an effective user. The target audience for the course are those who have never used Excel before and those who are beginner level users. You would need a copy of Microsoft Excel for Windows since you will be practicing along with the course. I use Excel 2010 for Windows in the videos but any version with Excel 2007 for Windows or later would work. Excel Versions prior to 2007 have a different user interface but concepts will apply.
As the course is targeting beginners, it has been developed to be very easy to follow. We will be working with data related to a book store in the exercises. The files are available for download and you can follow along the videos while practicing.
The course covers the topics that you would need to know, to become a functional user. You can download the Table of Contents document from Chapter 1, to see all the topics the course will address. The course has 89 videos and runs for 9.5 hours.
Since this is a free course, Udemy does not offer certificates anymore.
Instructor Details
- 4.6 Rating
86,150 Reviews
Dinesh Natarajan Mohan
I, Dinesh Natarajan Mohan, have been working with Microsoft Excel since 2001. My specialty is in the field of Reporting and Analytics. I have experience leading Reporting and Analytics teams in different domains such as Finance, Marketing and Operations in the U.S.
From 2013, I have been publishing Excel templates on my website indzara. As of writing this, I have published more than 60 Excel templates, both free and premium. The templates have been downloaded and appreciated by users from more than 100+ countries. So far, there have been more than 7000 premium customers and more than 500,000 downloads of the free templates.
I also publish video demos of all my Excel templates in my YouTube Channel which has more than 19,000 subscribers and been viewed more than 2 Million times. I have published more than 235 free videos.
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Reviews
By Mohammed Sobhy on 8/1/2026
Informative course gives you a look about mostly every element and tool in excel. After you finish this course, you will be able to know what any tool in excel do. even if you don't have all the information about this tool, you will be able to use it as a beginner.
By Melanie Blackmore on 7/8/2026
This is amazing, found it very informative explanations were simple and not rushed, definitely made me more equipped in my confidence in using excel, personally I had some experience with use but not in a way to effectively use professionally However now I don’t feel I have that issue, I did find it easier to not read the subtitles as they do not match what he is saying which confused rather than aided I also only had access to excel through an Ipad and I found the application super frustrating so would highly recommend not learning on an ipad Thank you this was perfectly presented for beginners Much appreciated the effort you put into explaining everything
By Aaron Lohan on 6/29/2026
As meticulously detailed as your course is, I think you're an incredibly boring man to listen, so much so that I started to drift off.
By Bhargav Abhay pathak on 6/14/2026
I love the way it is explained. I also like that Mr Dinesh shows it on the screen instead of just telling, and he shows it while explaining, which was the best part, not that showing then explaining or vice versa. In my opinion, it was awesome and very good.
By Carnette Ball on 5/5/2026
This has been very helpful. There were specific things I was expecting and hoping to learn, but I have learned so much more. This will speed up my work efforts. Thank you
By Carolyn Zinzell on 4/28/2026
This was a good match for me as a beginner. The instructor meticulously and specifically explains the details of what he is teaching and also has a broader outline of what the course should cover.
By Almitra Buys on 4/23/2026
Five star, I can't stress how impressed I am with this course. I've learnt SO MUCH! And I appreciate the recourses that I can keep and refer back to when I'm stuck - incredible. Thank you so much to the team who created this.
By Blessing Sunday on 4/10/2026
listening to the video is quit uncomfortable, but they gives a better explanation of each topic i must recomend udemy as a good website where u can learn anything you want.
By Hai Vo on 4/7/2026
Thank you very much for the course. Its easy to follow even for a beginner like me. I will try to apply these knowledge to my work. Appreciate that you made it for free so people with low budget can learn.
By Yuvraj Singh Gill on 4/5/2026
I did think that I knew excel already, but going through this course still taught me some new things, and clarified some preconceived assumptions of mine. Went a bit more in depth about the features I already knew and introduced some new ones. I feel comfortable in proceeding towards a more advanced usage of the software now that the basics are done.






