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Quick answer
The only widely recognized, vendor-issued Excel certifications are Microsoft’s Office Specialist (MOS) exams: Excel Associate (exam MO-210) for core skills and Excel Expert (exam MO-211) for advanced formulas, macros and data tools. Each is a single 50-minute exam taken live inside Excel; the official US exam voucher costs $104, or $120 with one retake7. Certificates from Coursera, Udemy, LinkedIn Learning or GoSkills are proof of completing a course, not of passing an exam. If your goal is a finance or FP&A role, a financial-modeling program is usually a better use of the money than MOS; if you only need to pass an employer’s Excel test, practice tests are enough.
Excel certifications compared at a glance
| Credential | Issuer | What it proves | US price | Format | Time | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MOS Excel Associate (MO-210) | Microsoft / Certiport | Core Excel: worksheets, cells and ranges, tables, common functions, charts | $104 voucher; $120 with retake | 50-min exam, live in Excel, testing center or from home | Depends on starting level; exam itself is 50 min | Office, admin and operations roles; students; anyone who needs a recognized proof of everyday Excel skill |
| MOS Excel Expert (MO-211) | Microsoft / Certiport | Advanced formulas and macros, data management and formatting, advanced charts and PivotTables | $104 voucher; $120 with retake; $156 with practice tests | 50-min exam, live in Excel; English only | Depends on starting level; exam itself is 50 min | Analysts, accountants and power users who already use lookups, PivotTables and macros |
| MOS Associate (stacked) | Microsoft / Certiport | Three Associate-level exams in different apps (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook) | 3 × $104 | Three 50-min exams | Three exams | People who want a broad Office credential, not Excel specifically |
| MOS Expert (stacked) | Microsoft / Certiport | MOS Associate plus two Expert exams (Excel Expert and Word Expert) | 5 × $104 | Five 50-min exams | Five exams | Trainers and Office specialists; rarely required by employers |
| Microsoft Excel Professional Certificate | Microsoft via Coursera | Completion of four Copilot-centred Excel courses | Included in Coursera Plus ($59/mo list, $399/yr) | Self-paced video and graded assignments | “3 months at 7 hours a week” | Beginners who want a structured course with a Microsoft-branded certificate; no exam |
| Excel Skills for Business Specialization | Macquarie University via Coursera | Completion of four courses from Essentials to Advanced | Included in Coursera Plus; financial aid available | Self-paced video and graded assignments | “3 months at 10 hours a week” | Learners who want the best-rated university Excel course (4.9 from 64,115 reviews) |
| Udemy, LinkedIn Learning, GoSkills certificates | Platform | Course completion | Per course (Udemy) or $39–$40/month subscriptions | Self-paced video | 1–22 hours per course (examples on the courses hub) | Learning the skills; the certificate itself carries little weight |
| FMVA® and other financial-modeling certificates | CFI, Wall Street Prep, BIWS, FMI | Financial modeling and valuation in Excel, not Excel itself | $297–$847 | Courses plus provider exams, or (FMI) a proctored 4-hour model build | 40–120+ hours | Finance, FP&A, banking and valuation roles — see the financial modeling hub |
How we compared them
We read the official certification, exam and store pages for every credential in the table and recorded what each one certifies, what it costs in the United States, how the exam or assessment works, the time the issuer states, and the retake and refund rules. We then judged who each option is for. We have not sat these exams ourselves; where a fact depends on the issuer’s own claim rather than a checkable rule, we say so. The full approach is on our editorial methodology page.
Microsoft Office Specialist: the only vendor-issued Excel certifications
Microsoft issues its Excel certifications through the Microsoft Office Specialist program, delivered by Certiport (part of Pearson VUE). Two Excel credentials exist for current versions of Excel12:
- Microsoft Office Specialist: Excel Associate (Microsoft 365 Apps) — earned by passing exam MO-210, “Microsoft Excel (Microsoft 365 Apps)”.
- Microsoft Office Specialist: Excel Expert (Microsoft 365 Apps) — earned by passing exam MO-211, “Microsoft Excel Expert (Microsoft 365 Apps)”. MO-211 has no prerequisite; you do not need MO-210 first2.
Both are 50-minute exams14 using what Certiport calls “Live-in-the-Application” testing: you perform tasks in a real copy of Excel rather than answering multiple-choice questions3. You can take them at a Certiport Authorized Testing Center or remotely through Certiport’s “Exams from Home”6.
What the exams test
Microsoft publishes the objective domains with weightings. For MO-210: manage worksheets and workbooks (25–30%), manage data cells and ranges (25–30%), manage tables and table data (10–15%), perform operations by using formulas and functions (15–20%), and manage charts (15–20%)8. For MO-211: manage workbook options and settings (10–15%), manage and format data (30–35%), create advanced formulas and macros (25–30%), and manage advanced charts and tables (25–30%)2. The MO-211 guide breaks the Expert objectives down and gives a study sequence.
Scoring, retakes and validity
Verified fact — with a conflict between official sources
Scores are reported on a scale of 1 to 1,000. Certiport’s scoring policy states that “the passing value is always equated to 700 on this scale”5, while Microsoft’s own scoring page says that for Office exams “the actual score you need to pass depends on the specific exam you’re taking”9. Treat 700 as the working assumption, not a guarantee.
If you fail a MOS exam you must wait 24 hours before retaking it, and 48 hours before each later attempt; there is no annual limit on attempts10. Microsoft’s certification page for Excel Associate lists a “Renewal Frequency” of 60 months, but neither Microsoft nor Certiport publishes a prose statement that MOS certifications expire, so we do not claim that they do or do not1.
What MOS costs in the United States
Microsoft’s exam pages only say the price is “based on the country or region in which the exam is proctored”1. The Certiport Store, the official retail channel, lists a Microsoft Office Specialist exam voucher at $104, a voucher with one retake at $120, official CertPREP practice tests (powered by GMetrix) at $40 for one title, and a voucher-plus-retake-plus-practice-tests bundle at $1567. Vouchers are generic: the same voucher works for MO-210 or MO-211. Testing centers set their own fees, which can be higher or lower.
Older “Office 2019” exams
Microsoft still lists the Office 2019 exams MO-200 (Excel Associate) and MO-201 (Excel Expert) with “Retirement date: none”, and they still count toward the stacked MOS Associate and Expert credentials11. Unless an employer or school asks for the 2019 version, take the Microsoft 365 Apps exams: they match the Excel most people use.
Course certificates are not certifications
Coursera, Udemy, LinkedIn Learning and GoSkills all issue a certificate when you finish a course. These are useful as evidence that you studied the material, and some (Macquarie University’s Excel Skills for Business, rated 4.9 from 64,115 reviews12) are excellent ways to learn. But they are not proctored assessments of skill, and the platforms say so: Udemy states that it “is not an accredited institution” and that its certificates “cannot be used for formal accreditation”13. Microsoft’s own Microsoft Excel Professional Certificate on Coursera is a four-course program built around Copilot in Excel; its page does not mention the MOS exams, so do not assume it prepares you for MO-21014.
Editorial analysis
Our reading: use a course to learn, and a MOS exam to prove. If you can only afford one, the course usually delivers more skill; the exam delivers more signal. Details of the platforms, their pricing models and refund rules are on the Excel courses hub.
When a financial-modeling credential is the better choice
MOS certifies Excel. It does not certify that you can build a three-statement model, value a company or run a budget. If the job you want is in FP&A, corporate finance, investment banking or valuation, employers and job ads talk about financial modeling, and the relevant credentials are CFI’s FMVA® ($497/year Self-Study, 18 required courses, 70% final exam)15, Wall Street Prep’s Premium Package ($499, about 46 hours of video)16, BIWS and the exam-only accreditations from the Financial Modeling Institute. We compare them on the financial modeling hub and in CFI vs Wall Street Prep vs BIWS. Excel Expert remains a sensible, cheap complement for accountants and analysts, because the MO-211 objectives cover the lookups, PivotTables and macros that modeling work relies on.
How to choose
- You need a recognized line on your résumé for an office, admin, operations or entry-level analyst role. Take MO-210. It is the cheapest credential in this table and the one hiring managers are most likely to recognize. Guide: MOS Excel Associate (MO-210).
- You already use XLOOKUP or INDEX/MATCH, PivotTables and the occasional macro. Skip Associate and take MO-211 directly; there is no prerequisite and the Expert objectives match your work. Guide: MOS Excel Expert (MO-211).
- You want to move into finance, FP&A or banking. Spend the money on a financial-modeling program first; add MO-211 later if you want an Excel-specific credential. Start at the financial modeling hub.
- An employer has asked you to take an Excel test. You do not need a certification. Practice timed tests that mirror the format (10–20 minutes, mixed difficulty). Start at Excel tests & career.
- You mainly want to learn Excel. A Coursera specialization or a subscription platform will teach you more per dollar than an exam. Compare them on the Excel courses hub.
Verdict
For proving Excel skill, MOS is the only certification that is issued by the vendor, tested in the application and priced for individuals; the Associate exam is the default choice and the Expert exam the better one for analysts. Everything else in this comparison is either a course certificate (worth having for what you learn, not for the paper) or a different credential altogether.
- Office, admin, operations
- MOS Excel Associate (MO-210), $104. Worth it if a job ad or your manager values a Microsoft credential; otherwise spend the time on the skills.
- Accountant, data or business analyst
- MOS Excel Expert (MO-211), $104–$156 with practice tests. The objectives map to real analyst work.
- Aspiring finance / FP&A / banking
- A financial-modeling program (FMVA or Wall Street Prep) before any MOS exam.
- Student
- MO-210, through your school if it is a Certiport testing center; otherwise a free or Coursera course first.
- Skip certification if
- You only need to pass a hiring test, or your employer does not ask for a credential and you already have a portfolio of real work.
See the official MO-210 exam page Check current voucher prices at Certiport
These are official, non-affiliate links. Where we link to course providers elsewhere on the site, affiliate links are marked. Disclosure.
Exam and certification guides
Value and preparation
What would change our view
We would revise this page if Microsoft retired the Office 2019 exams or changed the MO-210/MO-211 objectives, if Certiport changed US voucher prices or the retake policy, if Microsoft published an explicit expiry rule, or if a platform certificate became a proctored exam. These are the items we re-check each quarter.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need MO-210 before MO-211?
No. Microsoft lists MO-211 with “Related exams: none”. You can take the Expert exam directly.
Do MOS certifications expire?
Microsoft’s certification page shows a “Renewal Frequency” of 60 months, but neither Microsoft nor Certiport publishes a statement that the certification lapses or how to renew it. We do not treat MOS as expiring until Microsoft says so in plain terms.
Can I take the exam at home?
Yes. All MOS exams are eligible for Certiport’s “Exams from Home”, which runs the exam in a virtual machine with a proctor. Testing centers remain the other option.
What score do I need to pass?
Scores run from 1 to 1,000. Certiport’s policy equates passing to 700; Microsoft says the pass mark for Office exams depends on the specific exam. Aim comfortably above 700 on practice tests.
Is there an official study guide?
Microsoft publishes the skills outline for each exam and free downloadable exam-prep course materials for MO-210 and MO-211 on its educator center. There is no Microsoft Learn learning path for either exam. Certiport sells official CertPREP practice tests.
Is the Microsoft Excel Professional Certificate on Coursera the same as MOS?
No. It is a four-course Coursera program with a certificate of completion; the MOS certifications are proctored exams delivered by Certiport. The Coursera page does not mention the MOS exams.
Sources
- Microsoft Office Specialist: Excel Associate (Microsoft 365 Apps) and Exam MO-210 — Microsoft Learn. Accessed September 3, 2026.
- Exam MO-211: Microsoft Excel Expert (Microsoft 365 Apps) — Microsoft Learn. Accessed September 3, 2026.
- MOS Microsoft 365 Apps certifications — Certiport (Pearson VUE). Accessed September 3, 2026.
- Exam lengths — Certiport. Accessed September 3, 2026.
- Scoring policy — Certiport. Accessed September 3, 2026.
- Exams from Home — test candidate guide (PDF) — Certiport. Accessed September 3, 2026.
- Microsoft Office Specialist products and prices — Certiport Store. Accessed September 3, 2026.
- Exam MO-210 skills outline (PDF; file name is mislabelled on Microsoft’s server but the content is the MO-210 outline) — Microsoft. Accessed September 3, 2026.
- Exam scoring and score reports — Microsoft Learn. Accessed September 3, 2026.
- Exam retake policy — Microsoft Learn. Accessed September 3, 2026.
- Exam MO-200, Exam MO-201 and MOS Expert (Microsoft 365 Apps) — Microsoft Learn. Accessed September 3, 2026.
- Excel Skills for Business Specialization — Macquarie University on Coursera. Accessed September 3, 2026.
- Certificates of completion — Udemy Support. Accessed September 3, 2026.
- Microsoft Excel Professional Certificate — Microsoft on Coursera; Coursera Plus pricing. Accessed September 3, 2026.
- CFI pricing and FMVA program page — Corporate Finance Institute. Accessed September 3, 2026.
- Premium Package — Wall Street Prep. Accessed September 3, 2026.
Update log
- Published. Exam objectives, policies and US prices verified against the sources above.