Excel IF Statements with Multiple Outcomes

The problem with simple IF

IF gives you two outcomes: true or false. Most real situations have more: A, B, C, D, F grades. Overdue, Due Soon, On Track, Complete. High, Medium, Low, Critical. You need more than two buckets.

Nested IF — the traditional approach

=IF(A2>=90,"A",IF(A2>=80,"B",IF(A2>=70,"C",IF(A2>=60,"D","F"))))

-- Readable version:
=IF(A2>=90, "A",
  IF(A2>=80, "B",
    IF(A2>=70, "C",
      IF(A2>=60, "D",
        "F"))))

Works in all Excel versions but becomes unreadable beyond 3-4 levels. Maximum 64 levels allowed (never use more than 5).

IFS — the readable replacement

=IFS(A2>=90,"A", A2>=80,"B", A2>=70,"C", A2>=60,"D", TRUE,"F")
-- Same result, much more readable
-- Each condition-result pair is clear
-- TRUE at the end = default/catch-all

SWITCH — for exact value matching

=SWITCH(A2,
  1, "January",
  2, "February",
  3, "March",
  "Unknown month")
-- Matches month number to name
-- Last argument (no pair) = default

SWITCH is cleaner than IFS when you're matching exact values rather than ranges.

CHOOSE — lookup by position

=CHOOSE(A2, "Low", "Medium", "High", "Critical")
-- If A2=1, returns "Low"
-- If A2=2, returns "Medium"
-- Works when your input is already a sequential number 1,2,3...

Situation	Best function
2 outcomes	IF
3+ outcomes based on ranges (>90, >80...)	IFS
3+ outcomes matching exact values	SWITCH
Input is already a number 1,2,3...	CHOOSE
Need Excel 2016 compatibility	Nested IF (IFS not available)

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IF statements with multiple outcomesnested IF, IFS, and SWITCH