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How to sum by category in Excel and Google Sheets
Topic:SUM & aggregationExcel & Google Sheets
=SUMIF(A2:A6,"Fruit",B2:B6)✓
Verified example
Computed by a real spreadsheet engine on the sample data below.
| Category | Sales |
| Fruit | 300 |
| Vegetable | 150 |
| Fruit | 200 |
| Dairy | 400 |
| Vegetable | 120 |
=SUMIF(A2:A6,"Fruit",B2:B6)→500
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Step by step
- 1Ensure your data has a category column (e.g. A) and a numeric column (e.g. B).
- 2In an empty cell type =SUMIF(A2:A6,"Fruit",B2:B6) replacing "Fruit" with the category you want and adjusting ranges to fit your data.
- 3Press Enter. The formula returns the sum of all rows in column B where column A equals "Fruit".
Tips
- Replace the hard-coded category string with a cell reference (e.g. =SUMIF(A2:A6,D2,B2:B6)) to make a reusable summary table.
- SUMIF is case-insensitive: "fruit", "Fruit", and "FRUIT" all match.
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Frequently asked
What if I need to match two criteria, e.g. category AND month?
Use SUMIFS instead: =SUMIFS(C2:C6,A2:A6,"Fruit",B2:B6,"Jan").
Can I use wildcards in the criteria?
Yes. =SUMIF(A2:A6,"Fr*",B2:B6) will match any category starting with "Fr".
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