Basic Excel Arithmetic Formulas with Examples | Learn Step-by-Step

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.

Excel Basic Arithmetic Formulas

Addition

=A1 + B1

Computes the sum of two values (A1 + B1), useful for totaling simple pairs of numbers.

  1. Click the cell where you want the result.
  2. Type =A1 + B1.
  3. Press Enter to see the sum.

Example 1

If A1 contains 10 and B1 contains 5, then =A1 + B1 returns 15.

Example 2

Adding constants: =100 + 250 returns 350.

Subtraction

=A1 - B1

Subtracts one number from another (A1 - B1), showing the difference between them.

  1. Select the result cell.
  2. Type =A1 - B1.
  3. Press Enter to display the difference.

Example 1

A1 is 20 and B1 is 8; =A1 - B1 yields 12.

Example 2

Subtract constants: =500 - 123 returns 377.

Multiplication

=A1 * B1

Calculates the product of two values (A1 × B1), handy for scaling or repeated addition.

  1. Choose the cell for the result.
  2. Type =A1 * B1.
  3. Press Enter to get the product.

Example 1

If A1 = 6 and B1 = 7, then =A1 * B1 returns 42.

Example 2

Multiplying constants: =15 * 4 returns 60.

Division

=A1 / B1

Divides one value by another (A1 ÷ B1), returning how many times B1 fits into A1.

  1. Click the cell for the quotient.
  2. Type =A1 / B1.
  3. Press Enter to see the result.

Example 1

If A1 = 50 and B1 = 5, then =A1 / B1 returns 10.

Example 2

Decimal result: =7 / 2 returns 3.5.

Exponentiation

=A1 ^ B1

Raises a base to an exponent (A1^B1), used for powers like squares and cubes.

  1. Select the cell for the power result.
  2. Enter =A1 ^ B1.
  3. Press Enter to calculate.

Example 1

If A1 = 3 and B1 = 4, =A1 ^ B1 returns 81.

Example 2

Squaring a number: =5 ^ 2 returns 25.

SUM

=SUM(A1:B1)

Adds all numbers in a range (SUM(A1:B1)), ideal for totaling columns or rows of values.

  1. Click the destination cell.
  2. Type =SUM(A1:B1).
  3. Press Enter to get the total.

Example 1

If A1 = 10 and B1 = 20, =SUM(A1:B1) returns 30.

Example 2

Summing constants: =SUM(5, 15, 25) returns 45.

AVERAGE

=AVERAGE(A1:B1)

Finds the mean of a set of numbers (AVERAGE(A1:B1)), giving you the central value.

  1. Select the result cell.
  2. Enter =AVERAGE(A1:B1).
  3. Press Enter to see the average.

Example 1

If A1 = 10 and B1 = 20, =AVERAGE(A1:B1) returns 15.

Example 2

Average of constants: =AVERAGE(4, 8, 12) returns 8.

MOD

=MOD(A1, B1)

Returns the remainder after division (MOD(A1, B1)), useful for cycling through patterns.

  1. Choose the output cell.
  2. Type =MOD(A1, B1).
  3. Press Enter to get the remainder.

Example 1

If A1 = 10 and B1 = 3, =MOD(A1, B1) returns 1.

Example 2

Remainder of constants: =MOD(25, 7) returns 4.

POWER

=POWER(A1, B1)

Another way to raise to a power (POWER(A1, B1)), same as using the caret operator.

  1. Select the target cell.
  2. Enter =POWER(A1, B1).
  3. Hit Enter to compute.

Example 1

If A1 = 2 and B1 = 5, =POWER(A1, B1) returns 32.

Example 2

=POWER(4, 3) returns 64.

SQRT

=SQRT(A1)

Calculates the square root of a number (SQRT(A1)), handy for geometric and statistical tasks.

  1. Click the result cell.
  2. Type =SQRT(A1).
  3. Press Enter to see the root.

Example 1

If A1 = 49, =SQRT(A1) returns 7.

Example 2

=SQRT(81) returns 9.

ROUND

=ROUND(A1, 2)

Rounds a number to a specified number of decimals (ROUND(A1,2)), for cleaner results.

  1. Select the cell for the result.
  2. Enter =ROUND(A1, 2).
  3. Hit Enter to round.

Example 1

If A1 = 3.14159, =ROUND(A1, 2) returns 3.14.

Example 2

=ROUND(2.71828, 3) returns 2.718.

MAX

=MAX(A1:B1)

Finds the highest value in a range (MAX(A1:B1)), great for spotting top scores.

  1. Click the output cell.
  2. Type =MAX(A1:B1).
  3. Press Enter to find the maximum.

Example 1

If A1 = 8 and B1 = 12, =MAX(A1:B1) returns 12.

Example 2

=MAX(3, 7, 2, 9) returns 9.

MIN

=MIN(A1:B1)

Finds the lowest value in a range (MIN(A1:B1)), helpful to identify minimums.

  1. Select the cell for the minimum.
  2. Type =MIN(A1:B1).
  3. Press Enter to get the smallest number.

Example 1

If A1 = 8 and B1 = 12, =MIN(A1:B1) returns 8.

Example 2

=MIN(3, 7, 2, 9) returns 2.

COUNT

=COUNT(A1:A5)

Counts how many cells in A1:A5 contain numbers.

  1. Select the cell for the count.
  2. Type =COUNT(A1:A5).
  3. Press Enter to get the count.

Example 1

If A1:A5 are {1, "x", 3, "", 5}, =COUNT(A1:A5) returns 3.

Example 2

Counting constants: =COUNT(10, "a", 20, "", 30) returns 3.

COUNTA

=COUNTA(A1:A5)

Counts how many cells in A1:A5 are non‑empty.

  1. Click the destination cell.
  2. Enter =COUNTA(A1:A5).
  3. Hit Enter to see the result.

Example 1

If A1:A5 are {1, "x", 3, "", 5}, =COUNTA(A1:A5) returns 4.

Example 2

=COUNTA("a", "", "b", 0, , ) returns 3.

COUNTIF

=COUNTIF(A1:A5, ">10")

Counts cells in A1:A5 that meet the criterion “>10”.

  1. Select your output cell.
  2. Type =COUNTIF(A1:A5, ">10").
  3. Press Enter to count matches.

Example 1

If A1:A5 are {5, 12, 15, 8, 20}, =COUNTIF(A1:A5, ">10") returns 3.

Example 2

Counting text: =COUNTIF(B1:B4, "Yes") returns the number of “Yes” entries.

IF

=IF(A1>0, "Positive", "Non‑positive")

Returns one value if a condition is true, another if false.

  1. Click the cell for the result.
  2. Enter =IF(A1>0, "Positive", "Non‑positive").
  3. Press Enter to evaluate.

Example 1

If A1 = 5, =IF(A1>0, "Positive", "Non‑positive") returns Positive.

Example 2

If A1 = -3, the formula returns Non‑positive.

CONCATENATE

=CONCATENATE(A1, " ", B1)

Joins two or more text strings into one.

  1. Select the destination cell.
  2. Enter =CONCATENATE(A1, " ", B1).
  3. Hit Enter to see the combined text.

Example 1

If A1 = "John" and B1 = "Doe", returns John Doe.

Example 2

=CONCATENATE("A", "-", "B", "-", "C") returns A-B-C.

LEN

=LEN(A1)

Returns the number of characters in A1.

  1. Click the output cell.
  2. Type =LEN(A1).
  3. Press Enter to count characters.

Example 1

If A1 = "Hello", =LEN(A1) returns 5.

Example 2

=LEN("12345") returns 5.

TRIM

=TRIM(A1)

Removes extra spaces from text in A1.

  1. Select the result cell.
  2. Enter =TRIM(A1).
  3. Press Enter to clean up the text.

Example 1

If A1 = " Hello ", returns Hello.

Example 2

=TRIM(" A B C ") returns A B C.

UPPER

=UPPER(A1)

Converts text in A1 to all uppercase.

  1. Click the destination cell.
  2. Type =UPPER(A1).
  3. Press Enter to transform.

Example 1

If A1 = "chat", returns CHAT.

Example 2

=UPPER("Excel123") returns EXCEL123.

LOWER

=LOWER(A1)

Converts text in A1 to all lowercase.

  1. Select the output cell.
  2. Enter =LOWER(A1).
  3. Press Enter to apply.

Example 1

If A1 = "WORLD", returns world.

Example 2

=LOWER("TestCASE") returns testcase.

TODAY

=TODAY()

Returns today’s date.

  1. Click any blank cell.
  2. Type =TODAY().
  3. Press Enter to insert the current date.

Example 1

With today = 2025‑07‑30, =TODAY() returns 07/30/2025.

Example 2

Used in formulas like =A1 - TODAY() to find days since a date.

NOW

=NOW()

Returns the current date and time.

  1. Click any blank cell.
  2. Type =NOW().
  3. Press Enter to insert the timestamp.

Example 1

On July 30, 2025 at 4:00 PM, =NOW() returns 07/30/2025 16:00.

Example 2

Used in =A1 - NOW() to show time elapsed since A1.

DATEDIF

=DATEDIF(A1, B1, "d")

Calculates difference between dates in days ("d"), months ("m"), or years ("y").

  1. Select the result cell.
  2. Enter =DATEDIF(A1, B1, "d").
  3. Press Enter to get the day count.

Example 1

If A1 = 01/01/2025 and B1 = 07/30/2025, returns 210.

Example 2

Using months: =DATEDIF(A1, B1, "m") returns 6.

NETWORKDAYS

=NETWORKDAYS(A1, B1)

Counts workdays between two dates, excluding weekends.

  1. Choose the output cell.
  2. Type =NETWORKDAYS(A1, B1).
  3. Press Enter to see workday count.

Example 1

If A1 = 07/01/2025 and B1 = 07/10/2025, returns 8 (excludes weekends).

Example 2

Include holidays: =NETWORKDAYS(A1, B1, C1:C3) to exclude listed dates.

VLOOKUP

=VLOOKUP(A1, D1:F10, 2, FALSE)

Looks up A1 in first column of D1:F10 and returns value from 2nd column.

  1. Select the result cell.
  2. Enter =VLOOKUP(A1, D1:F10, 2, FALSE).
  3. Press Enter to retrieve the matching entry.

Example 1

If A1 = "Alice" and table has scores, returns Alice’s score.

Example 2

Approximate match: use TRUE for sorted data lookup.

HLOOKUP

=HLOOKUP(A1, A2:F3, 2, FALSE)

Searches for A1 across row 2 and returns value from row 3.

  1. Click the destination cell.
  2. Enter =HLOOKUP(A1, A2:F3, 2, FALSE).
  3. Press Enter for the matched result.

Example 1

If A1 = "Q1", returns value from row 3 under "Q1".

Example 2

Set last argument to TRUE for approximate match.

INDEX

=INDEX(A1:C5, 3, 2)

Returns value at row 3, column 2 of A1:C5.

  1. Select the output cell.
  2. Type =INDEX(A1:C5, 3, 2).
  3. Hit Enter to extract the cell’s content.

Example 1

From table, returns value at (3, 2).

Example 2

Used within MATCH for dynamic row/column lookup.

MATCH

=MATCH("Bob", A1:A5, 0)

Finds "Bob" in A1:A5 and returns its position.

  1. Click the target cell.
  2. Enter =MATCH("Bob", A1:A5, 0).
  3. Press Enter to get the index.

Example 1

If "Bob" is in A3, returns 3.

Example 2

Use 1 or -1 for approximate match variants.

SUMIF

=SUMIF(A1:A5, ">0", B1:B5)

Adds values in B1:B5 where A1:A5 > 0.

  1. Select the output cell.
  2. Enter =SUMIF(A1:A5, ">0", B1:B5).
  3. Hit Enter to sum matching entries.

Example 1

With A {1, -2, 3, 0, 5} and B {10,20,30,40,50}, returns 90.

Example 2

Omit the third range to sum A1:A5 directly.

SUMPRODUCT

=SUMPRODUCT(A1:A3, B1:B3)

Multiplies corresponding A & B arrays and then sums results.

  1. Click the destination cell.
  2. Type =SUMPRODUCT(A1:A3, B1:B3).
  3. Press Enter to calculate.

Example 1

With A {1,2,3} and B {4,5,6}, returns 32 (1×4+2×5+3×6).

Example 2

Can handle multiple ranges of same length.

TRANSPOSE

=TRANSPOSE(A1:B2)

Flips rows to columns (or vice versa).

  1. Select a blank range sized accordingly.
  2. Type =TRANSPOSE(A1:B2) and press Ctrl+Shift+Enter (in older Excel).
  3. In modern Excel, just press Enter to spill.

Example 1

If A1:B2 is [[1,2];[3,4]], TRANSPOSE returns [[1,3];[2,4]].

Example 2

Transposing =TRANSPOSE({"A","B";"C","D"}) yields {{"A","C"};{"B","D"}}.

UNIQUE

=UNIQUE(A1:A6)

Returns unique values from a range.

  1. Select the output cell.
  2. Enter =UNIQUE(A1:A6).
  3. Press Enter to spill unique list.

Example 1

If A1:A6 = {1,2,2,3,1,4}, UNIQUE returns {1,2,3,4}.

Example 2

Case-sensitive: =UNIQUE({"a","A","a"}) yields {"a","A"}.

FILTER

=FILTER(A1:B5, B1:B5>10)

Filters rows based on a condition.

  1. Click the destination cell.
  2. Enter =FILTER(A1:B5, B1:B5>10).
  3. Press Enter to see matching rows.

Example 1

If B1:B5 = {5,12,8,15,3}, returns rows where column B > 10.

Example 2

With =FILTER(A1:A5, ISNUMBER(A1:A5)) removes blanks/text.

SORT

=SORT(A1:A5, 1, FALSE)

Sorts a range; ascending or descending.

  1. Select the output cell.
  2. Enter =SORT(A1:A5,1,FALSE).
  3. Press Enter to see sorted list.

Example 1

If A1:A5 = {3,1,4,2,5}, returns {5,4,3,2,1} for FALSE.

Example 2

Ascending: =SORT(A1:B5, 2, TRUE) sorts by column 2.

XLOOKUP

=XLOOKUP(A1, D1:D10, E1:E10)

Modern lookup; exact match by default.

  1. Select your result cell.
  2. Enter =XLOOKUP(A1, D1:D10, E1:E10).
  3. Press Enter to fetch the corresponding value.

Example 1

Lookup ID in D1:D10, return score in E1:E10.

Example 2

Specify if-not-found: =XLOOKUP(A1, D1:D10, E1:E10, "N/A").

TEXT

=TEXT(A1, "dd-mmm-yyyy")

Formats a value as text with specified format.

  1. Click a blank cell.
  2. Enter =TEXT(A1,"dd-mmm-yyyy").
  3. Press Enter to see formatted text.

Example 1

If A1 = 07/30/2025, returns 30-Jul-2025.

Example 2

=TEXT(0.1234, "0.00%") returns 12.34%.

VALUE

=VALUE(A1)

Converts a text string to a numeric value.

  1. Select the output cell.
  2. Enter =VALUE(A1).
  3. Press Enter to convert.

Example 1

If A1 = "123", returns 123.

Example 2

=VALUE("45.67") returns 45.67.

DATE

=DATE(2025,7,30)

Creates a date from year, month, and day.

  1. Click the result cell.
  2. Enter =DATE(2025,7,30).
  3. Press Enter to see the date.

Example 1

=DATE(2025,7,30) returns 07/30/2025.

Example 2

Building from cells: =DATE(A1,B1,C1).

TIME

=TIME(16,0,0)

Creates a time value from hour, minute, second.

  1. Select the cell for the time.
  2. Enter =TIME(16,0,0).
  3. Press Enter to see the time.

Example 1

=TIME(16,0,0) returns 4:00 PM (formatted).

Example 2

=TIME(A1,B1,C1) using cell values.

EOMONTH

=EOMONTH(A1, 1)

Returns the last day of the month N months from A1.

  1. Click the destination cell.
  2. Enter =EOMONTH(A1,1).
  3. Press Enter to get the date.

Example 1

If A1 = 07/15/2025, returns 08/31/2025.

Example 2

Use =EOMONTH(TODAY(),0) for month‑end today.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

You can use the plus operator or the SUM function:
  • Operator: Type =A1 + B1 and press Enter.
  • SUM function: Type =SUM(A1:B1) to add all numbers in a range.
Example: If A1=12 and B1=8, =A1 + B1 returns 20; if A1:B3={1,2;3,4;5,6}, =SUM(A1:B3) returns 21.
Use the minus operator to find the difference between two cells:
  • Click the result cell and type =A1 - B1.
  • Press Enter to see the result.
Example: If A1=50 and B1=17, =A1 - B1 returns 33.
Use the asterisk (*) operator or the PRODUCT function:
  • Operator: Type =A1 * B1, then Enter.
  • PRODUCT function: Type =PRODUCT(A1:B1) to multiply all values in a range.
Example: If A1=7 and B1=6, =A1 * B1 returns 42.
Use the forward slash (/) operator:
  • In the target cell, type =A1 / B1.
  • Press Enter; Excel will display a decimal if the division isn’t even.
Example: If A1=7 and B1=2, =A1 / B1 returns 3.5.
  • Plus operator: Good for adding one or two cells (=A1+B1).
  • SUM function: Better for longer ranges or multiple arguments (=SUM(A1:A10, C1:C5, 100)).
The SUM function is more flexible and clearer when totaling many values.
Use the AVERAGE function:
  • Click the destination cell and type =AVERAGE(A1:B1).
  • Press Enter to see the mean value.
Example: If A1=10 and B1=20, =AVERAGE(A1:B1) returns 15.
You can use the caret operator or the POWER function:
  • Caret: =A1 ^ B1.
  • POWER: =POWER(A1, B1).
Example: If A1=5 and B1=3, =A1 ^ B1 or =POWER(A1, B1) both return 125.
Use the ROUND function:
  • Type =ROUND(A1, n), where n is number of decimals.
  • Press Enter to see the rounded result.
Example: If A1=3.14159, =ROUND(A1, 2) returns 3.14.
  • COUNT(A1:A5): Counts only cells containing numbers.
  • COUNTA(A1:A5): Counts all non‑empty cells (numbers, text, etc.).
Example: If A1:A5={"apple", 2, "", 4, "text"}, =COUNT(A1:A5) returns 2, =COUNTA(A1:A5) returns 4.
Use the MOD function:
  • Type =MOD(A1, B1) in the result cell.
  • Press Enter to see the remainder.
Example: If A1=17 and B1=5, =MOD(A1, B1) returns 2.