How to Format Cells in Google Sheets on Android (Text, Numbers, Colors)

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To format cells in Google Sheets on an Android phone or tablet, open the spreadsheet in the Google Sheets app, select the cells, and tap the Format icon at the top of the screen. A panel opens with a Text tab (bold, italic, font, size, color, alignment, rotation) and a Cell tab (fill color, alternating colors, borders, wrap text, merge cells). Number formats and conditional formatting are reached from the same Format button.

Every change applies to the selected cells right away, and the undo button at the top of the screen reverses anything you did by mistake.

Quick Answer

  1. Open the spreadsheet in the Google Sheets app on Android.
  2. Tap a cell, then drag the blue markers to select more cells if needed.
  3. Tap the Format icon at the top of the screen (on most versions it looks like a letter A).
  4. Use the Text tab for font styling and alignment, or the Cell tab for fill color, borders, wrap text and merging.
  5. Return to the sheet when you are done, and use undo at the top if you change your mind.

In This Guide

Before You Start

This guide covers the Google Sheets app for Android phones and tablets as of September 2026. Menu names come from Google’s own Android help pages, but Google updates the app often, so a label or icon may look slightly different on your version.

You need:

  • The Google Sheets app installed from the Google Play Store and signed in to your Google Account.
  • Edit access to the spreadsheet. If the file was shared with you as a viewer or commenter, the formatting tools will not be available. Ask the owner for edit access or make your own copy.
  • An updated app. If you do not see an option described here, update Google Sheets in the Play Store first.

A few terms used throughout this guide:

  • Cell: a single box in the grid, such as B2.
  • Range: a group of cells you select together, such as A1 to D10.
  • Number format: how a value is displayed (for example 0.5 shown as 50 percent or as a dollar amount) without changing the value itself.
  • Conditional formatting: rules that change a cell’s look automatically when its value meets a condition.

If you are new to working with spreadsheets on your phone, our guide on how to edit Google Sheets on mobile covers typing, editing and basic navigation.

How to Select the Cells You Want to Format

Formatting always applies to whatever is selected, so selecting the right cells is the first step.

  1. Open the spreadsheet in the Google Sheets app.
  2. Tap a single cell to select it. Expected result: the cell gets a blue outline with small blue markers (handles) at its corners.
  3. To select a range, drag one of the blue markers across the nearby cells you want. Expected result: the whole range is shaded.
  4. To select a whole row or column, tap its row number or column letter. In most versions, this highlights the entire row or column.

Tip: selecting the cells first and then tapping Format is faster than formatting one cell at a time. You can format a whole table in one pass.

To edit the contents of a cell rather than its look, double-tap the cell. You can then type, and you can also select part of the text and format just those characters.

Format Text: Bold, Font, Size, Color and Alignment

The Text tab controls how the characters inside cells look and where they sit in the cell.

  1. Select the cell or range.
  2. Tap the Format icon at the top of the screen. Expected result: a formatting panel opens at the bottom of the screen.
  3. Make sure the Text tab is selected.
  4. Tap Bold, Italic, Underline or Strikethrough to toggle those styles. Tap again to turn a style off.
  5. Change the font (text style), the text size, or the text color using the options further down the panel.
  6. Set horizontal alignment with Left text align, Center text align or Right text align.
  7. Set vertical alignment with Top align, Middle align or Bottom align. This matters when a row is taller than its text.
  8. Use Text rotation to angle or stack text, which is handy for narrow header columns.
  9. Close the panel (on most versions, tap the sheet or the check mark). Expected result: the selected cells show the new style.

Useful combinations:

  • Header row: bold, center aligned, and a slightly larger text size.
  • Notes or comments column: left aligned, top aligned, with wrap text turned on (see the next section).
  • Completed tasks: strikethrough, so the item stays visible but is clearly done.

To format only some words inside a cell, double-tap the cell, touch and hold the text to select part of it, and then apply the style. The rest of the cell keeps its original formatting.

Format Cells: Fill Color, Borders, Wrap Text and Merge

The Cell tab changes the cell itself: its background, its outline, and how it handles long content.

Change the fill (background) color

  1. Select the cells.
  2. Tap Format, then tap the Cell tab.
  3. Tap Cell fill color and choose a color. Expected result: the background of every selected cell changes.

Choose light fill colors for cells that contain text so the text stays readable. For more color ideas, including using fill color on a computer, see our guide on how to change cell color in Google Sheets.

Add alternating colors (banded rows)

  1. Select your table, including the header row.
  2. Tap Format, then Cell.
  3. Turn on Alternating colors and pick a style. Expected result: rows alternate between two shades, which makes long lists easier to scan.

Add borders

  1. Select the cells that need borders.
  2. Tap Format, then Cell.
  3. Tap Borders and choose which edges get a line (all borders, outer border only, bottom only, and so on).
  4. Pick a Border style (thin, thick, dashed or similar) and a Border color.

Tip: apply borders to the whole range at once. Adding borders cell by cell can leave uneven or doubled-looking lines where cells meet.

Wrap text

  1. Select the cells with long text.
  2. Tap Format, then Cell.
  3. Turn on Wrap text. Expected result: long text breaks onto several lines inside the cell, and the row grows taller to show all of it instead of spilling into the next column.

Merge cells

Warning: before merging, check what is in each cell. When cells with separate values are merged, typically only the top-left value is kept, and the others are lost. Copy any data you need somewhere else first.

  1. Select the adjacent cells you want to combine, for example A1 to D1 for a title across four columns.
  2. Tap Format, then Cell.
  3. Turn on Merge cells. Expected result: the selection becomes one larger cell.
  4. To split it again later, select the merged cell and turn Merge cells off.

Merged cells can interfere with sorting and filtering, so use them mainly for titles and labels, not inside data tables.

Change Number Formats (Currency, Percent, Dates)

Number formats change how values are displayed. The underlying value stays the same, so formulas keep calculating correctly.

  1. Open the spreadsheet in the Google Sheets app.
  2. Tap a cell or range of cells that contains numbers, dates or amounts.
  3. Tap Format. The number format options are in the formatting panel; on many versions they sit on the Cell tab under a number format setting.
  4. Tap an option from the list, such as number, percent, currency, date or time. Expected result: the format is applied to the selected cells immediately.
  5. If the format you need is not listed, tap More date/time or More currencies for additional choices.

To check which format a cell already uses, select it, tap Format, and open the number format options. The current format type is highlighted.

Things to know about number formats on Android:

  • Locale matters. The available currency and date styles depend on the spreadsheet’s locale (its language and region setting). A sheet set to the United Kingdom shows pounds and day-first dates by default.
  • Leading zeros. Codes like ZIP codes or employee IDs that start with 0 can lose that zero when treated as numbers. Applying a plain text format before you type them usually keeps the zeros.
  • Custom formats. Google’s Android help describes choosing from preset formats. If you need a fully custom pattern, such as a special date layout, it is generally easier to create it in Google Sheets on a computer. The format then displays the same way in the Android app.

Add Conditional Formatting

Conditional formatting colors cells automatically based on their values, for example turning overdue dates red or highlighting scores above 90. It is fully available in the Android app.

Create a single-color rule

  1. Open the spreadsheet and select the range the rule should cover.
  2. Tap Format, then Conditional formatting.
  3. Under Format cells if, choose a condition, such as greater than, text contains, or date is before, and enter the value to compare against.
  4. Choose Single color and set how matching cells should look (fill color, text color, bold and so on).
  5. Tap Done. Expected result: matching cells change immediately, and they update whenever the data changes.

Create a color scale

  1. Select a range of numbers, such as monthly sales.
  2. Tap Format, then Conditional formatting.
  3. Choose Color scale and pick a color gradient.
  4. Optionally set a minimum, maximum and midpoint value. If you leave them alone, the scale adjusts to your data automatically.
  5. Tap Done. Expected result: low and high values show different shades, making patterns easy to spot.

Use a custom formula or wildcards

For advanced rules, choose the custom formula option under Format cells if. A custom formula can format cells based on the contents of other cells. Formulas can reference the same sheet using standard notation, for example a rule that highlights a whole row when column C says Done.

Text rules also accept wildcards: a question mark matches any single character, an asterisk matches zero or more characters, and a tilde tells Sheets to treat a following question mark or asterisk as a normal character.

View, reorder or remove rules

  • View rules: tap Format, then Conditional formatting, and filter the list by Selected range or All.
  • Reorder rules: drag a rule with its move handle. The first rule that matches a cell decides its formatting, so order matters when rules overlap.
  • Remove a rule: tap the remove icon next to the rule, then tap Done.

Note that conditional formatting rules are copied along with the cells when you copy and paste formatted cells. For a full walkthrough of deleting rules, see our guide on how to remove conditional formatting in Google Sheets.

Which Formatting Option Should You Use?

Goal Where to find it Best for
Make headers stand out Format, Text tab: Bold, size, alignment Top rows and labels
Color a cell’s background Format, Cell tab: Cell fill color Manual highlighting of a few cells
Easier reading of long lists Format, Cell tab: Alternating colors Tables with many rows
Outline a table Format, Cell tab: Borders Printed or shared sheets
Show long text fully Format, Cell tab: Wrap text Notes and descriptions
Show money, percents or dates Format: number format options Budgets, schedules, grades
Highlight cells automatically Format: Conditional formatting Data that changes often

A simple rule of thumb: use manual fill color when you are marking something once, and conditional formatting when the highlight should follow the data. Manual colors do not update when a value changes; conditional rules do.

Troubleshooting

The Format icon is missing or grayed out

You probably have view-only or comment-only access. Check with the file owner, or open the file menu and make a copy you own. Also make sure a cell is selected; the Format icon acts on the current selection.

Formatting only applied to one cell

Only the cell you tapped was selected. Drag the blue markers to cover the full range before tapping Format, or tap a row number or column letter to select the whole row or column.

Numbers show as dates, or dates show as numbers

The cell has the wrong number format. Select it, tap Format, and pick the correct number, date or plain text option. The value itself is not changed by switching formats.

Wrap text is on but the row did not grow

If a row height was set manually earlier, it may stay fixed. Try resizing the row by dragging its lower edge in the row header, or adjust row height on a computer.

Conditional formatting colors the wrong cells

Check the range listed on the rule and the rule order. If two rules match the same cell, the one listed first wins. For custom formulas, check that the cell references point to the first row of your range.

I want to undo my formatting

Tap the undo button at the top of the screen, repeatedly if needed, to step back through recent changes. Some app versions also offer a clear formatting option in the Format panel; if you see it, it removes styling from the selected cells while keeping their values.

An option in this guide is missing

Update the Google Sheets app in the Play Store. Labels also differ slightly between phones and tablets, so look for an icon with the same function.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I format cells in the Google Sheets Android app without a computer?

Yes. Text styling, alignment, rotation, fill color, alternating colors, borders, wrap text, merging, number formats and conditional formatting are all available in the Android app through the Format button.

Does formatting on Android show up on my computer?

Yes. Google Sheets saves changes to the same file in your Google Account, so formatting you apply on Android appears on every device where you open the spreadsheet.

How do I add a line break inside a cell on Android?

Google’s help says you can use the Insert line break option or press Ctrl + Enter while editing the cell. The keyboard shortcut works when a physical keyboard is connected. Turning on Wrap text is an alternative when you just want long text to fit.

Can I copy formatting from one cell to another on Android?

Copying and pasting cells carries their formatting, including conditional formatting rules. Keep in mind this also pastes the values, so paste into empty cells or retype the content afterward.

Why do my currency symbols look different from what I expected?

Number formats follow the spreadsheet’s locale. If the sheet was created with a different region setting, the default currency and date styles follow that region. Use More currencies to pick a specific currency.

Is there a limit to how much formatting I can add?

There is no practical limit for everyday use, but very large sheets with many conditional formatting rules can feel slower on a phone. Keep rules focused on the ranges that need them.

Summary

  1. Open the spreadsheet in the Google Sheets app and select the cells.
  2. Tap Format at the top of the screen.
  3. Use the Text tab for bold, italic, font, size, color, alignment and rotation.
  4. Use the Cell tab for fill color, alternating colors, borders, wrap text and merge cells.
  5. Pick a number format for currency, percents and dates, using More currencies or More date/time if needed.
  6. Add conditional formatting rules for highlights that update automatically.
  7. Use undo if something looks wrong.

Next step: open Google’s Edit and format a spreadsheet on Android help page for the latest labels, and see the official guides to formatting numbers on Android and conditional formatting on Android when you are ready for more advanced rules.

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