Track Stock Prices with GOOGLEFINANCE in Google Sheets

Do you want to track stock prices like a pro — without leaving your spreadsheet? With a little help from Google Sheets and the GOOGLEFINANCE function, you can do just that. It’s quick, easy, and even fun!

Whether you’re a beginner or a portfolio-tracking wizard, this guide will help you use GOOGLEFINANCE to monitor the market efficiently.

What is GOOGLEFINANCE?

GOOGLEFINANCE is a built-in function in Google Sheets. It pulls real-time (and historical) data from the web right into your spreadsheet. This means you can track changing stock prices live — all within your browser!

Why Use GOOGLEFINANCE?

• Real-time prices – Always know what your favorite stocks are doing.
• Historical data – See trends over time.
• Custom dashboards – Get creative and build your own stock tracker.
• No coding required – Enter some formulas and you’re set!

Perfect for personal use, class projects, or even small investment teams.

How to Use It: The Basics

The syntax is really simple:

=GOOGLEFINANCE("ticker", "attribute")

Let’s break it down:

• “ticker” is the stock’s symbol. For example, “GOOG” for Google.
• “attribute” tells the function what info you want. Examples: “price”, “name”, or “volume”.

Here are some quick examples:

• =GOOGLEFINANCE("AAPL", "price") will give you Apple’s current price.
• =GOOGLEFINANCE("MSFT", "name") outputs Microsoft Corporation.
• =GOOGLEFINANCE("TSLA", "volume") returns Tesla’s trade volume.

Creating Your Own Stock Tracker

Let’s build a mini live stock dashboard. Here’s a simple setup:

Ticker	Company Name	Price	Change %
AAPL	=GOOGLEFINANCE(“AAPL”, “name”)	=GOOGLEFINANCE(“AAPL”, “price”)	=GOOGLEFINANCE(“AAPL”, “changepct”)
GOOG	=GOOGLEFINANCE(“GOOG”, “name”)	=GOOGLEFINANCE(“GOOG”, “price”)	=GOOGLEFINANCE(“GOOG”, “changepct”)

As you add more rows and tickers, the table updates with real-time data!

Pulling Historical Data

Want to see how a stock performed over time? You can! Just use this format:

=GOOGLEFINANCE("ticker", "attribute", "start_date", "end_date", "interval")

Let’s check Apple’s price history over the last 30 days:

=GOOGLEFINANCE("AAPL", "close", TODAY()-30, TODAY(), "DAILY")

• “close” is the closing price.
• TODAY() grabs today’s date.
• “DAILY” gives you each day’s data.

This creates a chart-ready table of past prices. Now visualize those trends with a line graph!

Automating a Stock Watchlist

Set up a list of your favorite stocks in one column, and use GOOGLEFINANCE formulas alongside them.

Example setup:

Stock	Price
AMZN	=GOOGLEFINANCE(A2, “price”)
NFLX	=GOOGLEFINANCE(A3, “price”)

If you drag that formula down, Google Sheets will apply it to the list below. Easy!

Bonus Tricks

Want to spice it up? Here are some cool extras:

• Conditional formatting – Make prices green when they go up and red when they fall.
• Sparkline graphs – Create little mini charts in single cells!
• Alerts with Apps Script – Set up email alerts if a stock hits a target price.

Limitations to Keep in Mind

As great as it is, the GOOGLEFINANCE function does have some limits:

• It may have a slight delay on real-time pricing.
• It only works in Google Sheets (not Excel).
• Some international stocks might not be supported.
• You can’t pull cryptocurrency data natively (e.g., BTC, ETH).

Still, for basic U.S. and popular international stock tracking, it works like a charm.

Tips for Making It Awesome

Want your spreadsheet to shine? Try these:

• Use freeze panes to keep headers visible as you scroll.
• Use custom number formatting to turn long decimals into clean dollar amounts.
• Bundle your sheet with charts and filter views for better interactivity.

Time to Build Your Tracker!

Now you know how powerful GOOGLEFINANCE really is. With just a few functions, Google Sheets becomes a window into Wall Street.

No more hitting refresh on your favorite finance app. No more manually copying data into a doc. It’s all right there — live, flexible, and totally customizable.

So, fire up Google Sheets and start building. Happy tracking!