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Microsoft Excel is not just a data organizer – it’s also a powerful calculator. You can use Excel to perform basic arithmetic operations right in your worksheets instead of using a separate calculator. In this guide, we’ll cover the four fundamental math operations in Excel: addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. We’ll explain how to create simple formulas for each, provide examples, and answer common questions.
Computes the sum of two values (A1 + B1), useful for totaling simple pairs of numbers.
=A1 + B1
.
If A1 contains 10 and B1 contains 5, then
=A1 + B1
returns 15.
Adding constants: =100 + 250
returns 350.
Subtracts one number from another (A1 - B1), showing the difference between them.
=A1 - B1
.A1 is 20 and B1 is 8; =A1 - B1
yields 12.
Subtract constants: =500 - 123
returns 377.
Calculates the product of two values (A1 × B1), handy for scaling or repeated addition.
=A1 * B1
.If A1 = 6 and B1 = 7, then =A1 * B1
returns 42.
Multiplying constants: =15 * 4
returns 60.
Divides one value by another (A1 ÷ B1), returning how many times B1 fits into A1.
=A1 / B1
.If A1 = 50 and B1 = 5, then =A1 / B1
returns 10.
Decimal result: =7 / 2
returns 3.5.
Raises a base to an exponent (A1^B1), used for powers like squares and cubes.
=A1 ^ B1
.If A1 = 3 and B1 = 4, =A1 ^ B1
returns 81.
Squaring a number: =5 ^ 2
returns 25.
Adds all numbers in a range (SUM(A1:B1)), ideal for totaling columns or rows of values.
=SUM(A1:B1)
.If A1 = 10 and B1 = 20, =SUM(A1:B1)
returns 30.
Summing constants: =SUM(5, 15, 25)
returns 45.
Finds the mean of a set of numbers (AVERAGE(A1:B1)), giving you the central value.
=AVERAGE(A1:B1)
.If A1 = 10 and B1 = 20, =AVERAGE(A1:B1)
returns 15.
Average of constants: =AVERAGE(4, 8, 12)
returns 8.
Returns the remainder after division (MOD(A1, B1)), useful for cycling through patterns.
=MOD(A1, B1)
.If A1 = 10 and B1 = 3, =MOD(A1, B1)
returns 1.
Remainder of constants: =MOD(25, 7)
returns 4.
Another way to raise to a power (POWER(A1, B1)), same as using the caret operator.
=POWER(A1, B1)
.If A1 = 2 and B1 = 5, =POWER(A1, B1)
returns 32.
=POWER(4, 3)
returns 64.
Calculates the square root of a number (SQRT(A1)), handy for geometric and statistical tasks.
=SQRT(A1)
.If A1 = 49, =SQRT(A1)
returns 7.
=SQRT(81)
returns 9.
Rounds a number to a specified number of decimals (ROUND(A1,2)), for cleaner results.
=ROUND(A1, 2)
.If A1 = 3.14159, =ROUND(A1, 2)
returns 3.14.
=ROUND(2.71828, 3)
returns 2.718.
Finds the highest value in a range (MAX(A1:B1)), great for spotting top scores.
=MAX(A1:B1)
.If A1 = 8 and B1 = 12, =MAX(A1:B1)
returns 12.
=MAX(3, 7, 2, 9)
returns 9.
Finds the lowest value in a range (MIN(A1:B1)), helpful to identify minimums.
=MIN(A1:B1)
.If A1 = 8 and B1 = 12, =MIN(A1:B1)
returns 8.
=MIN(3, 7, 2, 9)
returns 2.
Counts how many cells in A1:A5 contain numbers.
=COUNT(A1:A5)
.If A1:A5 are {1, "x", 3, "", 5}, =COUNT(A1:A5)
returns 3.
Counting constants: =COUNT(10, "a", 20, "", 30)
returns 3.
Counts how many cells in A1:A5 are non‑empty.
=COUNTA(A1:A5)
.If A1:A5 are {1, "x", 3, "", 5}, =COUNTA(A1:A5)
returns 4.
=COUNTA("a", "", "b", 0, , )
returns 3.
Counts cells in A1:A5 that meet the criterion “>10”.
=COUNTIF(A1:A5, ">10")
.If A1:A5 are {5, 12, 15, 8, 20}, =COUNTIF(A1:A5, ">10")
returns 3.
Counting text: =COUNTIF(B1:B4, "Yes")
returns the number of “Yes” entries.
Returns one value if a condition is true, another if false.
=IF(A1>0, "Positive", "Non‑positive")
.If A1 = 5, =IF(A1>0, "Positive", "Non‑positive")
returns Positive.
If A1 = -3, the formula returns Non‑positive.
Joins two or more text strings into one.
=CONCATENATE(A1, " ", B1)
.If A1 = "John" and B1 = "Doe", returns John Doe.
=CONCATENATE("A", "-", "B", "-", "C")
returns A-B-C.
Returns the number of characters in A1.
=LEN(A1)
.If A1 = "Hello", =LEN(A1)
returns 5.
=LEN("12345")
returns 5.
Removes extra spaces from text in A1.
=TRIM(A1)
.If A1 = " Hello ", returns Hello.
=TRIM(" A B C ")
returns A B C.
Converts text in A1 to all uppercase.
=UPPER(A1)
.If A1 = "chat", returns CHAT.
=UPPER("Excel123")
returns EXCEL123.
Converts text in A1 to all lowercase.
=LOWER(A1)
.If A1 = "WORLD", returns world.
=LOWER("TestCASE")
returns testcase.
Returns today’s date.
=TODAY()
.With today = 2025‑07‑30, =TODAY()
returns 07/30/2025.
Used in formulas like =A1 - TODAY()
to find days since a date.
Returns the current date and time.
=NOW()
.On July 30, 2025 at 4:00 PM, =NOW()
returns 07/30/2025 16:00.
Used in =A1 - NOW()
to show time elapsed since A1.
Calculates difference between dates in days ("d"), months ("m"), or years ("y").
=DATEDIF(A1, B1, "d")
.If A1 = 01/01/2025 and B1 = 07/30/2025, returns 210.
Using months: =DATEDIF(A1, B1, "m")
returns 6.
Counts workdays between two dates, excluding weekends.
=NETWORKDAYS(A1, B1)
.If A1 = 07/01/2025 and B1 = 07/10/2025, returns 8 (excludes weekends).
Include holidays: =NETWORKDAYS(A1, B1, C1:C3)
to exclude listed dates.
Looks up A1 in first column of D1:F10 and returns value from 2nd column.
=VLOOKUP(A1, D1:F10, 2, FALSE)
.If A1 = "Alice" and table has scores, returns Alice’s score.
Approximate match: use TRUE
for sorted data lookup.
Searches for A1 across row 2 and returns value from row 3.
=HLOOKUP(A1, A2:F3, 2, FALSE)
.If A1 = "Q1", returns value from row 3 under "Q1".
Set last argument to TRUE
for approximate match.
Returns value at row 3, column 2 of A1:C5.
=INDEX(A1:C5, 3, 2)
.From table, returns value at (3, 2).
Used within MATCH for dynamic row/column lookup.
Finds "Bob" in A1:A5 and returns its position.
=MATCH("Bob", A1:A5, 0)
.If "Bob" is in A3, returns 3.
Use 1
or -1
for approximate match variants.
Adds values in B1:B5 where A1:A5 > 0.
=SUMIF(A1:A5, ">0", B1:B5)
.With A {1, -2, 3, 0, 5} and B {10,20,30,40,50}, returns 90.
Omit the third range to sum A1:A5 directly.
Multiplies corresponding A & B arrays and then sums results.
=SUMPRODUCT(A1:A3, B1:B3)
.With A {1,2,3} and B {4,5,6}, returns 32 (1×4+2×5+3×6).
Can handle multiple ranges of same length.
Flips rows to columns (or vice versa).
=TRANSPOSE(A1:B2)
and press Ctrl+Shift+Enter (in older Excel).If A1:B2 is [[1,2];[3,4]], TRANSPOSE returns [[1,3];[2,4]].
Transposing =TRANSPOSE({"A","B";"C","D"})
yields {{"A","C"};{"B","D"}}.
Returns unique values from a range.
=UNIQUE(A1:A6)
.If A1:A6 = {1,2,2,3,1,4}, UNIQUE returns {1,2,3,4}.
Case-sensitive: =UNIQUE({"a","A","a"})
yields {"a","A"}.
Filters rows based on a condition.
=FILTER(A1:B5, B1:B5>10)
.If B1:B5 = {5,12,8,15,3}, returns rows where column B > 10.
With =FILTER(A1:A5, ISNUMBER(A1:A5))
removes blanks/text.
Sorts a range; ascending or descending.
=SORT(A1:A5,1,FALSE)
.If A1:A5 = {3,1,4,2,5}, returns {5,4,3,2,1} for FALSE.
Ascending: =SORT(A1:B5, 2, TRUE)
sorts by column 2.
Modern lookup; exact match by default.
=XLOOKUP(A1, D1:D10, E1:E10)
.Lookup ID in D1:D10, return score in E1:E10.
Specify if-not-found: =XLOOKUP(A1, D1:D10, E1:E10, "N/A")
.
Formats a value as text with specified format.
=TEXT(A1,"dd-mmm-yyyy")
.If A1 = 07/30/2025, returns 30-Jul-2025.
=TEXT(0.1234, "0.00%")
returns 12.34%.
Converts a text string to a numeric value.
=VALUE(A1)
.If A1 = "123", returns 123.
=VALUE("45.67")
returns 45.67.
Creates a date from year, month, and day.
=DATE(2025,7,30)
.=DATE(2025,7,30)
returns 07/30/2025.
Building from cells: =DATE(A1,B1,C1)
.
Creates a time value from hour, minute, second.
=TIME(16,0,0)
.=TIME(16,0,0)
returns 4:00 PM (formatted).
=TIME(A1,B1,C1)
using cell values.
Returns the last day of the month N months from A1.
=EOMONTH(A1,1)
.If A1 = 07/15/2025, returns 08/31/2025.
Use =EOMONTH(TODAY(),0)
for month‑end today.
=A1 + B1
and press Enter.=SUM(A1:B1)
to add all numbers in a range.=A1 + B1
returns 20; if A1:B3={1,2;3,4;5,6}, =SUM(A1:B3)
returns 21.
=A1 - B1
.=A1 - B1
returns 33.
=A1 * B1
, then Enter.=PRODUCT(A1:B1)
to multiply all values in a range.=A1 * B1
returns 42.
=A1 / B1
.=A1 / B1
returns 3.5.
=A1+B1
).=SUM(A1:A10, C1:C5, 100)
).=AVERAGE(A1:B1)
.=AVERAGE(A1:B1)
returns 15.
=A1 ^ B1
.=POWER(A1, B1)
.=A1 ^ B1
or =POWER(A1, B1)
both return 125.
=ROUND(A1, n)
, where n
is number of decimals.=ROUND(A1, 2)
returns 3.14.
=COUNT(A1:A5)
returns 2, =COUNTA(A1:A5)
returns 4.
=MOD(A1, B1)
in the result cell.=MOD(A1, B1)
returns 2.
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