Calculate Age in Google Sheets
Formula
Turn a date of birth into exact age by the row. =VERVE("agecalculator", A2) returns years, months and days down a column — Sheets or Excel.
=VERVE("agecalculator", A2)=VERVE.CALL("agecalculator", A2)A2 holds the dob you're looking up. Drag the formula down and each row resolves on its own.
With literal values
Nothing has to come from a cell — typed values work the same way.
=VERVE("agecalculator", "1990-08-02")Inputs
Required inputs are positional, in the order below. Everything else is passed as a "name", value pair after them — the same shape as SUMIFS.
| Input | Type | Where it goes | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
dobRequired | string | argument 2 | The date of birth to calculate the age from (format: YYYY-MM-DD) (e.g. 1990-08-02) |
timezone | string | "timezone", value | IANA timezone used to interpret the date of birth and to determine "today" when computing the age (e.g. America/Chicago) |
Passing an option
=VERVE("agecalculator", A2, "timezone", "America/Chicago")What lands in your sheet
With no "field" pair the formula spills the whole response as two columns — field name on the left, value on the right — starting at the cell you typed in. Make sure the cells below and to the right are empty.
Pulling one value
Add a "field" pair to get a single cell back instead of a table. The field name is the dot-path from the table below.
=VERVE("agecalculator", A2, "field", "dob")=VERVE.CALL("agecalculator", A2, "field", "dob")Available fields
#PREMIUM(field) rather than a value, so a locked field never looks like a real answer.| Use as "field" | Type | Example cell value | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
dob | string | 1990-01-01 | Date of birth as provided in request (format: YYYY-MM-DD) |
age_breakdown | object | {…} | Age expressed in years, months, weeks, days, hours, minutes, and seconds |
age_breakdown.years | number | 35 | Person's age in complete years |
age_breakdown.months | number | 431 | Total age in months |
age_breakdown.weeks | number | 1876 | Total age in weeks |
age_breakdown.days | number | 13133 | Total age in days |
age_breakdown.hours | number | 315208 | Total age in hours |
age_breakdown.minutes | number | 18912499 | Total age in minutes |
age_breakdown.seconds | number | 1134749976 | Total age in seconds |
age_words | object | {…} | Age expressed in words (e.g., thirty-five years old) |
age_words.years | string | thirty-five | Age in written word form (e.g., thirty-five) |
age_words.ordinal | string | thirty-fifth | Age in ordinal word form (e.g., thirty-fifth) |
age_words.full | string | thirty-five years old | Age as complete phrase (e.g., thirty-five years old) |
age_words.locale | string | en-US | Locale used for word generation (e.g., en-US) |
timezone | string | America/Chicago | Timezone associated with the calculation (e.g., America/Chicago) |
locale | string | en-US | Locale code for the response (e.g., en-US) |
next_birthday | object | {…} | Countdown to next birthday in months, weeks, days, hours, minutes, seconds |
next_birthday.months | number | 0 | Months until next birthday |
next_birthday.weeks | number | 2 | Weeks until next birthday |
next_birthday.days | number | 15 | Days until next birthday |
next_birthday.hours | number | 367 | Hours until next birthday |
next_birthday.minutes | number | 22060 | Minutes until next birthday |
next_birthday.seconds | number | 1323623 | Seconds until next birthday |
insights | object | {…} | |
insights.generationPremium | string | Millennial | Generational cohort (e.g., Millennial, Gen Z, Baby Boomer) |
insights.zodiacSignPremium | string | Capricorn | Western zodiac sign based on birth date (e.g., Capricorn, Leo) |
insights.chineseZodiacPremium | string | Horse | Chinese zodiac animal based on birth year (e.g., Dragon, Tiger) |
insights.birthstonePremium | string | Garnet | Traditional birthstone for birth month (e.g., Diamond, Ruby) |
insights.dayOfWeekBornPremium | string | Monday | Day of the week person was born (e.g., Monday, Friday) |
insights.isLeapYearBirthPremium | boolean | false | Whether the person was born in a leap year |
insights.milestonesPremium | object | {…} | Legal milestones achieved (canVoteUS, canDrinkUS, canRentCarUS, seniorDiscount) |
insights.milestones.canVoteUSPremium | boolean | true | Whether person is eligible to vote in United States elections |
insights.milestones.canDrinkUSPremium | boolean | true | Whether person is legal age to drink alcohol in United States |
insights.milestones.canRentCarUSPremium | boolean | true | Whether person meets age requirement to rent cars in United States |
insights.milestones.seniorDiscountPremium | boolean | false | Whether person is eligible for senior citizen discounts |
Filling a whole column
Hand the first argument a range instead of a cell and the add-in makes one batched call for the lot, then spills the answers down. That is faster than dragging the formula and costs the same credits — one per row looked up.
=VERVE("agecalculator", A2:A100, "field", "dob")=VERVE.CALL("agecalculator", A2:A100, "field", "dob")A2:A100 is the column of dob values. The result spills down alongside it, one row per input, blanks skipped.
When a cell doesn't fill
A failed lookup returns readable text starting with #ERR rather than a spreadsheet error, because Excel cannot show a custom message on a real error — you would get a bare #VALUE! with no reason. The trade-off is that IFERROR() won't catch it; test with LEFT(cell, 4) = "#ERR" instead.
| Cell reads | What happened |
|---|---|
#ERR Not connected | No API key saved. Open the side panel and connect your account. |
#ERR Replace <name> with a cell or value | The preview formula was copied as-is. Swap the placeholder for a cell reference. |
#ERR No "x" in agecalculator | An option name that this source doesn't take. The message lists the ones it does. |
#ERR No data point "…" | The "field" path isn't in the response. Check the dot-path against the table above. |
#PREMIUM(field) | The field exists but your plan doesn't include it. |
#ERR Out of credits | The month's credits are spent. Usage resets on your billing date. |
Before the formula works
The add-in reads the API key you saved once in the side panel — the key never goes in the formula, so a shared sheet doesn't leak it and a collaborator without access simply sees the last calculated values.
- Install the add-in for Google Sheets or Excel.
- Open the side panel and sign in, or paste a key from your dashboard.
- Type the formula above into any cell.
Other ways to use Calculate Age in Google Sheets
Set up Calculate Age in Google Sheets on VerveSheets, or reach the same source a different way. Your VerveSheets account and credits work on all of them — one key, one balance.
Frequently asked questions
Does Calculate Age in Google Sheets work in both Google Sheets and Excel?
Yes — the same source, the same arguments. Sheets calls it =VERVE("agecalculator", …) and Excel calls it =VERVE.CALL("agecalculator", …); that function name is the only difference.
Do the cells recalculate on their own?
They recalculate when the sheet does — on edit, on open, or on a manual recalc. Each recalculation is a fresh call and spends credits, so for a large static column it's worth copying the results and pasting them as values.
How many credits does a filled column cost?
1 credit per row looked up, whether you drag the formula or pass a range. The range form is one HTTP call instead of many, but the credit count is the same.
Can I share the sheet without sharing my key?
Yes. The key is stored against your account, not in the file. Collaborators see the values already in the cells; formulas only recalculate for someone who has connected their own account.
Why is a cell showing #ERR instead of an error?
So you can read the reason. Excel can't display a custom message on a real spreadsheet error, so the add-in returns the explanation as text on both platforms instead.