Error decoder

What that red text in your cell actually means

Excel error messages are short for a reason — but short doesn't mean clear. Pick a code below or use the dropdown for the full breakdown: meaning, the most common real-world causes, and a copy-paste fix.

#DIV/0! #N/A #NAME? #REF! #VALUE! #NUM! #NULL! #SPILL! #CALC! #GETTING_DATA #FIELD! #BUSY!
Pro habit

One rule that prevents most error-debugging sessions

Don't wrap everything in IFERROR by default. IFERROR swallows the message — including bugs you actually want to see. Only wrap the outermost part of a formula, and only when you've already understood why it might fail. A formula that occasionally errors is louder, and easier to fix, than one that silently returns an empty string.