How to change text to lowercase in Excel
Formula (Excel and Google Sheets)
=LOWER(A2)Use =LOWER(A2). It returns the text with every letter in lowercase, which is the standard way to clean up email addresses.
- Result on the example
- one result per row in
B2, filled down toB6 - Works in
- Every current version
- Google Sheets
- Same formula
See it work
The formula is already in B2, filled down to B6. Change any input and the result updates, or edit the formula to experiment.
How it works
LOWER converts every capital letter to lowercase and leaves everything else alone. Email addresses aren't case-sensitive, so storing them in lowercase means "OMAR@…" and "omar@…" are recognized as the same address by every tool, including case-sensitive ones.
=LOWER(A2)Result"lena.park@northwind.example"
A2"Lena.Park@Northwind.example"The value in A2.
LOWER(A2)"lena.park@northwind.example"LOWER: Converts to lowercase.- text
A2"Lena.Park@Northwind.example"
- text
In Google Sheets
The same formula works in Google Sheets: =LOWER(A2). We ran it in Google Sheets mode on the same data and it returns the same results.
Other ways to do it
Each one was run on the same example sheet.
| Formula | Result | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| =LOWER(TRIM(A2)) | lena.park@northwind.example, omar@contoso.example, p.shah@fabrikam.example… | Also strips spaces copied in with the address, a common cause of failed matches. |
Common mistakes
- Paste the results as values before deleting the original column, or the formulas lose their source.
- EXACT and case-sensitive systems treat "Lena.Park" and "lena.park" as different. Lowercase both sides before comparing.
Try it yourself
Same data, empty answer cell. Your formula is graded instantly, then re-checked on changed data, so a typed-in number won't pass.
Change text to lowercase
B2, convert the email address to lowercase and fill down to B6.Questions
How do I find addresses that differ only by case?
They already count as duplicates for COUNTIF: =COUNTIF($B$2:$B$6,B2)>1.
Is LOWER the same in Google Sheets?
Yes.
Checked by running on 2026-10-30: every formula and result on this page was calculated by the Spreadsheet Practice formula engine, in both Excel and Google Sheets modes.