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How to find the minimum ignoring zero in Excel and Google Sheets
Excel & Google Sheets
=MINIFS(B2:B6,B2:B6,">0")✓
Verified example
Computed by a real spreadsheet engine on the sample data below.
| Product | Units |
| Alpha | 0 |
| Beta | 12 |
| Gamma | 7 |
| Delta | 0 |
| Epsilon | 3 |
=MINIFS(B2:B6,B2:B6,">0")→3
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Step by step
- 1Type =MINIFS( in your result cell.
- 2Select the range to find the minimum in, e.g. B2:B6.
- 3Add a comma, enter the same range as the criteria range, e.g. B2:B6.
- 4Add a comma and the criterion ">0" to exclude zeros.
- 5Close the parenthesis and press Enter.
Tips
- For Excel 2016 and earlier, use the array formula =MIN(IF(B2:B6>0,B2:B6)) confirmed with Ctrl+Shift+Enter.
- To also ignore negative numbers, change the criterion to ">0" — this naturally excludes negatives as well as zeros.
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Frequently asked
How do I also ignore blank cells?
MIN and MINIFS both ignore blanks automatically, so you only need to handle zeros explicitly.
What if all values are zero?
MINIFS will return 0 when no cells match the criterion '>0'. Use IFERROR to handle this gracefully.