A nested IF with four or five levels is hard to read and easy to break. IFS checks conditions one after another and returns the result for the first one that is true, with no extra brackets. It works in Excel 2019 and Microsoft 365.
Syntax
=IFS(test1, result1, test2, result2, ...)
Example: grade from a score
Score in B2:
=IFS(B2>=90,"A", B2>=75,"B", B2>=60,"C", B2>=40,"D", TRUE,"Fail")
The last pair uses TRUE as a catch-all. Without it, a score below 40 returns #N/A.
Order matters
IFS stops at the first true test. If you write B2>=40 first, every passing score would return that first result. Always write the strictest condition first when you test numbers with greater-than.
Compare with nested IF
The same grade formula with nested IF is =IF(B2>=90,"A",IF(B2>=75,"B",IF(B2>=60,"C",IF(B2>=40,"D","Fail")))). It gives the same answer, but IFS is much easier to edit when a rule changes.
When not to use IFS
- For a simple yes or no, a plain IF is shorter.
- For a long list of fixed codes, a lookup table with XLOOKUP or VLOOKUP is cleaner than 20 IFS conditions.
- If the file will be opened in Excel 2016 or older, IFS will show as #NAME?.