# What is conditional formatting in Excel and Google Sheets? > Conditional formatting colours a cell or row when its value meets a rule, like over budget. How it works in Excel for the web and Google Sheets. Source: https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/conditional-formatting · Updated 2026-10-23 · Free from Stepthrough (https://learn.ynteractive.com) [Data, Sheets and Gmail](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary#topic-data-sheets-and-gmail) · [AI glossary](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary) Quick answer Conditional formatting is a spreadsheet feature that changes how a cell looks, such as its fill colour, when its value meets a rule you set, for example "greater than 0" or "Status is Done". The colour updates by itself whenever the data changes. Last updated October 23, 2026 [Take the free module →](https://learn.ynteractive.com/courses/excel-for-the-web-jump-start/1)Module 1 of the free [Excel and Word for the Web Jump Start](https://learn.ynteractive.com/courses/excel-for-the-web-jump-start) course, about 15 minutes. No account needed. Updated October 23, 2026 · By [Robert Breen](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/about) ## Why it matters for a small business A list of numbers hides its problems until someone reads every line. A rule that turns the bad lines red, or the unbilled jobs yellow, makes the answer visible at a glance, and it keeps working next month without anyone checking by hand. Excel has ready-made Highlight Cell Rules (Greater Than, Less Than, Text that Contains) and colour scales. Google Sheets has the same basics, plus "Custom formula is", which can colour a whole row based on one column, such as =$D2="Done". ## In a real lesson: Excel for the Web: Your First Budget Spreadsheet In the free [Excel for the web budget lesson](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/excel-web-budget), Tom (made up) owns a small bakery and his bookkeeper wants to know where he went over budget. The table has a Difference column, Actual minus Budget. You select the Difference cells and choose Home, Conditional Formatting, Highlight Cell Rules, Greater Than. In Excel for the web that opens a panel on the right: type 0, keep the light red style and click Done. Ingredients (+$360) and Utilities (+$62) turn red; Wages and Marketing, which came in under, stay plain. The [Google Sheets job tracker lesson](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/google-sheets-job-tracker) uses a custom formula instead, =$D2="Done", to turn every finished-but-unbilled job yellow across the whole row. [Try this lesson free](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/excel-web-budget) or [read the step-by-step guide](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/excel-web-budget). ## Common confusions ### Conditional formatting vs a filter A filter hides rows that do not match. Conditional formatting keeps every row and colours the ones that do. ### Highlight Cell Rules vs a custom formula A Highlight Cell Rule looks at each cell's own value. A custom formula can look at another column, which is how you colour a whole row from one Status cell. ## Tips - Use one colour per meaning, such as red for over budget, so nobody has to guess. - In a custom formula, put a dollar sign before the column letter ($D2) so every cell in the row checks the same column. ## Related terms [SUMIF](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/sumif) · [Data validation](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/data-validation) · [Google Sheets (as an automation database)](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/google-sheets) · [Pivot table](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/pivot-table) ## More Data, Sheets and Gmail terms [CSV](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/csv) · [Dashboard](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/dashboard) · [Document parsing](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/document-parsing) · [Email thread](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/email-thread) ## Where you use it: free lessons - [Excel for the Web: Your First Budget Spreadsheet](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/excel-web-budget) (Excel, 15 min) - [Google Sheets: Build a Job Tracker That Totals Itself](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/google-sheets-job-tracker) (Google Sheets, 15 min) - [Claude's Excel Skill: Turn a Messy Export into a Clean Workbook](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/claude-excel-skill-messy-export-to-clean-workbook) (Claude, 8 min) ## Frequently asked questions **How do I highlight cells greater than 0 in Excel?** Select the cells, choose Home, Conditional Formatting, Highlight Cell Rules, Greater Than, type 0, pick a style and click OK (Done in Excel for the web). **Can conditional formatting colour a whole row?** Yes, with a custom formula rule applied to the whole range, such as =$D2="Done" in Google Sheets or "Use a formula to determine which cells to format" in Excel. **Does conditional formatting change the data?** No. It only changes how cells look. The values, totals and formulas stay the same. [All AI glossary terms, A to Z](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary) · [Free prompt templates](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts)