GROUPBY
Unsupported (not recognized)Category: Lookup and reference · Last tested 2026-09-01
Real compatibility results for the GROUPBY function: executed in Excel for the web, Google Sheets and LibreOffice Calc, with desktop Excel behavior from Microsoft’s official documentation (we do not run desktop Excel — Excel for the web is a different application and is executed separately). Syntax and links to that documentation are below.
Support matrix
| Engine | Documented | Live-tested | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Excel (desktop) | Yes | No — documented only | n/a |
| Excel for the web | — | Yes (recalc, 2026-09-01) | Unsupported (not recognized) |
| Google Sheets | No | Yes (Drive import, 2026-08-29) | Unsupported (not recognized) |
| LibreOffice Calc | No | Yes (25.8.7.3, 2026-07-29) | Unsupported (not recognized) |
LibreOffice version history
We executed the same test cases under each LibreOffice release to show exactly when GROUPBY’s support changed — not documentation claims, real results.
| LibreOffice version | Verdict | Tested |
|---|---|---|
| 24.2.0.3 | Unsupported (not recognized) | 2026-08-29 |
| 24.8.7.2 | Unsupported (not recognized) | 2026-08-29 |
| 25.2.0.3 | Unsupported (not recognized) | 2026-08-29 |
| 25.8.7.3 | Unsupported (not recognized) | 2026-07-29 |
Why isn't GROUPBY working in LibreOffice?
LibreOffice Calc does not implement GROUPBY as of 25.8.7.3 — in our
executed tests it returns a #NAME? (unrecognized function) error. This is not a typo or a
settings problem, and saving the file as .xlsx does not change it: the function simply isn’t
available yet.
The same formula is documented for Excel.
Watch the LibreOffice version support page —
we re-run every test on each new release, so it will flip to Supported here as soon as it lands.
Why isn’t GROUPBY working in Google Sheets?
Google Sheets does not implement GROUPBY: we imported the formula into
Sheets on 2026-08-29 and every case came back #NAME?
(unrecognized function). Sheets is a rolling service with no version to pin, so this is a
statement about the service on that date, and Google’s own
function list does not document it either. Rewrite the formula with a documented
Sheets equivalent — see the
Excel ↔ Sheets equivalents table.
Executed test cases
Excel for the web (executed 2026-09-01 via OneDrive recalculation)
These values come from Excel for the web, not from desktop Excel. They are two different implementations of the calculation engine, and this run measured only the web one: the corpus was uploaded to OneDrive as .xlsx, recalculated by Excel for the web on open, and downloaded again for readback. Excel for the web is a rolling service with no pinnable version, so the run is identified by its date. Where a value here disagrees with the Expected column — which is Microsoft’s documentation of the desktop product — we cannot tell you whether the web engine diverges from the desktop one or the documentation is wrong about both, because we do not run desktop Excel.
| Formula | Description | Result | Expected | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| =GROUPBY(A1:A4,B1:B4,SUM) | Existence probe: group a,b,a,b over 1,2,3,4 with SUM. In Excel 365 this spills grouped rows (a=4, b=6) plus a grand-total row by default; the exact spill layout depends on optional field_headers/total_depth arguments, so we only assert the engine recognizes the function (not #NAME?) | #NAME? | ProvenanceProbe only: layout of the spilled result (headers/totals) varies with optional args; the key datum is whether the engine has GROUPBY at all |
Error |
Google Sheets (executed 2026-08-29 via Drive import)
Google Sheets is a rolling service with no pinnable version, so this run is identified by its date. The corpus was imported to Drive as .xlsx, recalculated by Sheets, and exported back for readback.
| Formula | Description | Result | Expected | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| =GROUPBY(A1:A4,B1:B4,SUM) | Existence probe: group a,b,a,b over 1,2,3,4 with SUM. In Excel 365 this spills grouped rows (a=4, b=6) plus a grand-total row by default; the exact spill layout depends on optional field_headers/total_depth arguments, so we only assert the engine recognizes the function (not #NAME?) | #NAME? | ProvenanceProbe only: layout of the spilled result (headers/totals) varies with optional args; the key datum is whether the engine has GROUPBY at all |
Error |
LibreOffice Calc 25.8.7.3 (tested 2026-07-29)
| Formula | Description | Result | Expected | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| =GROUPBY(A1:A4,B1:B4,SUM) | Existence probe: group a,b,a,b over 1,2,3,4 with SUM. In Excel 365 this spills grouped rows (a=4, b=6) plus a grand-total row by default; the exact spill layout depends on optional field_headers/total_depth arguments, so we only assert the engine recognizes the function (not #NAME?) | #NAME? | ProvenanceProbe only: layout of the spilled result (headers/totals) varies with optional args; the key datum is whether the engine has GROUPBY at all |
Error |
Docs & syntax
- Excel (desktop): official documentation
Where GROUPBY behaves differently
- Which LibreOffice version for VSTACK, TEXTSPLIT, TAKE & DROP?
VSTACK, HSTACK, TEXTSPLIT, TAKE and DROP return #NAME? in LibreOffice 24.2, 24.8 and 25.2 - our executed runs show all fourteen working only from 25.8.7.3. Full version map by wave.