Hello, there! Welcome to TeqTog, your very own learner’s guide to everything about Google spreadsheets! In this article, I am going to talk about the less than comparison operator in Google Sheets, its functions and how you can use it.
Let us get right into it!
First of all, you need to know what kind of feature is Less Than in Google Sheets. Well, the less than is an operator available in Google Sheets; which lets you decide on the type of calculation you want to make.
If you have read our previous articles on operators, then you would know what they are, but, I am going to give you a little brief about them just in case you have not.
Table of Contents
What are Operators in Google Sheets?
Operators are determining factors which identify the type of calculation you wish to perform on a set of values. There are primarily four kinds operators found in a spreadsheet program; which are:
- Text Concatenation Operators
- Formula Operators
- Arithmetic Operators
- Comparison Operators
To learn more about arithmetic operators and how to do math in Google Sheets; you can check out TeqTog’s “Math in Google Sheets”
The operator that I am discussing about in this article falls in the comparison operator category.
| Operator Name | Operator Type | Operator Symbol | Condition of the Operator |
| Less than | Comparison Operator | < | Is less than the value |
Comparison Operators
Here is the most uses six mathematical operators available in Google Sheets.
| Operator Name | Comparison Operators Symbol |
| Less than | < |
| Greater than | > |
| Equal to | = |
| Not Equal to | <> |
| Greater than, or equal to | >= |
| Less than, or equal to | <= |
If you are curious to know more about the comparison operators “Equal to” and “Does Not Equal to” in detail, then make sure to read “Does Not Equal in Google Sheets” and “Equal to in Google Sheets” from TeqTog
How to Use the Less Than Operator in Google Sheets
As shown in my example below, I have two sets of values in two columns: Set A and Set B. From these values, I want to know which values in column A is less than the values in Column B.
You can use the “<” operator or the “LT” function alternatively, to draw the same comparison. That is why; I have two columns to show you how you can use both the operator and the “LT” function.
Formula for the Less Than “<” Operator and How to Use (Example)
1. In column C, I will type in the formula for the less than operator to draw the comparisons between Set A and Set B.
The syntax for the “<” operator will be:
=IF(A2<B2, “Yes”, “No”)
This formula implies that my spreadsheet will check whether the value in cell A2 is less than the value in B2. If so, it will return the result as “Yes” and if that’s not the case, it will give me “No” as the result.
2. Press “Enter” to get the results and use “auto-fill” to get the same results for the rest of the column.
Formula for the “LT” Function (Example)
If you choose to use the “LT” function, then the syntax for the formula will be:
LT(value 1, value 2)
and then,
=IF(LT(A2,B2), “Yes”, “No”)
“LT” has the same function as the “<” operator, therefore, this formula will confirm whether the value in A2 is LESS THAN (LT) the value in B2.
1. Similar to using the “<” operator, I will put in my formula.
2. I will press “Enter” to get my results and use the pop-up option of “auto-fill” to get the same results for the rest of my list.
Ad there you go! That’s pretty much all about using the less than operator in Google Sheets.
I hope my article will be of helpful to you. Best of luck!
Check Out Our More Article of Google Sheets Tips:
How to Search IF Cell Contains in Google Sheets
