What do the functions NOW and TODAY have in common?

Both the NOW and TODAY functions are designed to provide the current date and/or time in Excel. The key characteristic that they share is that they automatically update their values each time the workbook is calculated or opened. When you use the NOW function, it returns the current date and time, while the TODAY function simply returns the current date with the time set to 00:00:00.

Because these functions refresh when the workbook is recalculated, you always see the most current date or date and time without needing to manually refresh or update the cell's value. This dynamic nature is particularly useful in scenarios where ongoing time and date tracking is important for calculations or analyses, such as in financial models or reports that require real-time data insights.