# How to change text to lowercase in Excel

Use =LOWER(A2). It returns the text with every letter in lowercase, which is the standard way to clean up email addresses.

**Excel:** `=LOWER(A2)` (Every current version)

**Google Sheets:** the same formula works.

## Example

Sample data (row 1 is the header):

| A | B |
| --- | --- |
| Email (as entered) | Lowercase |
| Lena.Park@Northwind.example |  |
| OMAR@CONTOSO.EXAMPLE |  |
| p.Shah@fabrikam.example |  |
| Tom.Becker@Litware.Example |  |
| ines@adatum.example |  |

Formula in B2, filled to B6: `=LOWER(A2)`

Result: lena.park@northwind.example; omar@contoso.example; p.shah@fabrikam.example; tom.becker@litware.example; ines@adatum.example

## 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.

## Other ways

- `=LOWER(TRIM(A2))`: 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.

## 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.

Every formula and result on this page was checked by running it in the Spreadsheet Practice formula engine on 2026-10-30.

Source: https://spreadsheetpractice.com/formulas/change-text-to-lowercase