EQ in Google Sheets: Compare Numbers and Reconcile Totals

=EQ(value1, value2)

Both values are required. There are no optional arguments or defaults. The Google EQ reference documents TRUE for equal values and FALSE otherwise.

For example, =EQ(B2,C2) compares the values in B2 and C2. The leading equals sign starts the formula; it is different from the comparison inside =B2=C2. Those two formulas express the same equality test. EQ produces a Boolean result, not the numerical difference between the inputs.

Enter this table in A1:C5:

In D1 enter Matches. In D2 enter the following and fill down:

=EQ(B2,C2)

The expected results in D2:D5 are TRUE, FALSE, FALSE, TRUE. Equality detects both shortages and excesses; it does not tell you which occurred. If that distinction matters, add =C2-B2 in E2 and fill down. Expected differences are 0, -5, 5, 0.

A zero-to-zero match is a genuine equality result. Whether an item with no order should appear in a reconciliation report is a separate business rule.

In F2, enter and fill down:

=IF(EQ(B2,C2),"Matched","Review")

Expected labels are Matched, Review, Review, Matched. Keep the source quantities beside the label so the reviewer can understand the mismatch. Replacing the original values with labels would lose the information needed to investigate it.

The equality function can also compare calculated totals:

=EQ(SUM(B2:B5),SUM(C2:C5))

Expected result: TRUE, because both totals are 255. Yet two line items do not match. This is why a total-level check should supplement, rather than replace, row-level checks. Opposite discrepancies can cancel out.

Suppose G2 contains 12.344 and H2 contains 12.341. Their unrounded numeric values are different:

=EQ(G2,H2)
=EQ(ROUND(G2,2),ROUND(H2,2))

Expected results are FALSE and TRUE. Both rounded values are 12.34. Formatting the original cells to show two decimals does not itself establish that their stored values are equal; use an explicit formula when rounding is part of the comparison rule.

For a measurement rule, use a tolerance instead of rounding. If G3 is 10.004 and H3 is 10, then:

=ABS(G3-H3)<=0.005

The expected result is TRUE because the difference is 0.004. This is a different question from exact equality. Select the tolerance from the measurement or reporting requirement, not merely to make a failed test pass. Avoid numerical examples exactly on a floating-point tolerance boundary unless their precision has been verified.

• If values look equal but the comparison fails, inspect additional decimals and the formulas that produced them.
• Confirm both source columns represent the same units and the same point in the process.
• Check that references stayed on the intended rows when filling down.
• Do not assume imported numeric-looking text has already become a number.
• For text matching, verify the required case and whitespace rules separately. The short EQ reference does not specify the complete case-sensitivity or text-coercion contract.

The reviewed page does not enumerate a full error-token, blank-cell, Boolean coercion or array-expansion matrix. These examples deliberately use scalar numeric inputs. Errors in source calculations need investigation; FALSE should not be used as a catch-all replacement for a broken input.

EQ is documented for the current rolling Google Sheets service. An original introduction date, first release and last functioning numbered version were not established. The documented = equivalence concerns Google Sheets; it does not establish every coercion rule in another spreadsheet program.

NOT_TESTED_IN_GOOGLE_SHEETS. Google’s individual EQ page was inspected on October 17, 2026. Expected comparison results and arithmetic were checked independently, without a native Sheets session or screenshot.

Related published guides: IF, ROUND, ABS and SUM.