How to Track Stocks in Google Sheets (Step by Step)

Quick answer

Put a ticker with its exchange in A2, like NASDAQ:GOOG.
In another cell, type =GOOGLEFINANCE(A2, "price").
Add columns for "changepct", "high52" and "low52", then drag the formulas down for each stock.

Google notes that prices can be delayed by up to 20 minutes.

Step 1: Set up the columns

Open a new sheet and type these headers in row 1:

A	B	C	D	E	F
Ticker	Name	Price	Change %	52-week high	52-week low

If you want to track what you hold, add two more: Shares (G) and Value (H). Type the company name in column B yourself.

Step 2: Add tickers with the exchange

Type one ticker per row in column A. Use the exchange and the symbol together, like NASDAQ:GOOG or NYSE:KO. Google's help page says that's required for accurate results. If you leave the exchange out, the function guesses one for you, and it can guess wrong.

Not sure of the exchange? Search the company on Google Finance. It shows the exchange next to the symbol.

Step 3: Pull the price

In C2, type:

=GOOGLEFINANCE(A2, "price")

Select the cell and drag the small square in the corner down to the last row. Each row now looks up its own ticker.

Step 4: Add daily change and the 52-week range

D2: =GOOGLEFINANCE(A2, "changepct") for the percent change since the previous close
E2: =GOOGLEFINANCE(A2, "high52")
F2: =GOOGLEFINANCE(A2, "low52")

Drag them down too. Other attributes you can swap in: "change", "volume", "marketcap", "pe", "closeyest" and "tradetime". If you want to know how old a quote is, "datadelay" returns the delay.

Step 5 (optional): Value of what you hold

Type the number of shares in G2. In H2, type =G2*C2. Drag it down, then add a total under the last row with =SUM(H2:H10) (change the range to fit your list).

Step 6 (optional): Price history

Add a start date and the function returns a table instead of one number. For the last 30 days of closing prices:

=GOOGLEFINANCE("NASDAQ:GOOG", "close", TODAY()-30, TODAY())

Leave some empty rows and columns below and to the right, since the table expands. Use "DAILY" or "WEEKLY" as a last argument to set the interval.

What Sheets can't do

Worth knowing before you build a lot on it. All of these are from Google's own help page:

Quotes can be delayed by up to 20 minutes and don't come from every market.
Most international exchanges aren't supported. If a ticker returns an error, that's often why. Old codes like XYZ.AX don't work; use ASX:XYZ instead.
Mutual fund attributes aren't supported, and not all futures are.
Historical data can't be read through the Sheets API or Apps Script. You'll see #N/A.
The data is for personal, informational use, not professional or trading use.

And one practical limit: the sheet only helps while it's open. GOOGLEFINANCE has no price alert, and you won't see anything while you're in your inbox or another tab.

If you want prices in view while you browse

That's the gap InvestFellow fills. It's a browser extension for Chrome and Edge that puts a thin ticker bar on the sites you visit, with your own watchlist of stocks, ETFs, indices and futures. The bar and watchlist are free, with prices refreshing every 2 minutes. Prices can be delayed. No account needed.

Premium ($4.99 a month after a 7-day free trial) refreshes every 4 seconds and adds price alerts, which send a desktop notification when a stock on your watchlist crosses a price you set. Free users also get one AI insight to try.

The two do different jobs, so they work fine together: the sheet for working through numbers, the bar for a glance during the day.

InvestFellow ticker bar across the top of a Wikipedia page showing AAPL, GOOG, SPY and TSLA. — InvestFellow's bar on a Wikipedia page.

InvestFellow is made by Tastola and isn't affiliated with Google.

FAQ

Is GOOGLEFINANCE free?

Yes. It's part of Google Sheets and needs no add-on.

Is GOOGLEFINANCE real time?

Google calls the "price" attribute a real-time quote but says it can be delayed by up to 20 minutes. Use "datadelay" to check a ticker.

Why does my ticker show #N/A?

Common reasons: the exchange prefix is missing or wrong, the exchange isn't supported, or the attribute doesn't exist for that symbol. Google says some attributes don't return results for every symbol.

Can I get an alert when a stock in my sheet hits a price?

Not from GOOGLEFINANCE alone. A browser extension with price alerts, like InvestFellow Premium, can notify you while Chrome is open. See how to get stock price alerts in Chrome.

Not financial advice. This guide shows how to display prices, not what to buy or sell.