MS Excel: How to use the MINIFS Function (WS)

This Excel tutorial explains how to use the Excel MINIFS function with syntax and examples.

Description

The Microsoft Excel MINIFS function returns the smallest value in a range, that meets a single or multiple criteria.

The MINIFS function is a built-in function in Excel that is categorized as a Statistical Function. It can be used as a worksheet function (WS) in Excel. As a worksheet function, the MINIFS function can be entered as part of a formula in a cell of a worksheet.

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If you want to follow along with this tutorial, download the example spreadsheet.

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Syntax

The syntax for the MINIFS function in Microsoft Excel is:

MINIFS( min_range, range1, criteria1, [range2, criteria2, ... range_n, criteria_n] )

Parameters or Arguments

min_range

The range of cells where you will determine the smallest or minimum value.

range1

The range of cells that you want to apply criteria1 against.

criteria1

The criteria used to determine which cells to evaluate as the smallest. criteria1 is applied against range1.

range2, ... range_n

Optional. It is the range of cells that you want to apply criteria2, ... criteria_n against. There can be up to 126 ranges.

criteria2, ... criteria_n

Optional. It is used to determine which cells to evaluate as the smallest. criteria2 is applied against range2, criteria3 is applied against range3, and so on. There can be up to 126 criteria.

Returns

The MINIFS function returns a numeric value that represents the smallest value in a range of cells, given one or more criteria applied.

Applies To

• Excel for Office 365, Excel 2019

Type of Function

• Worksheet function (WS)

Example (as Worksheet Function)

Let's look at some Excel MINIFS function examples and explore how to use the MINIFS function as a worksheet function in Microsoft Excel:

Based on the Excel spreadsheet above, the following MINIFS examples would return:

=MINIFS(C2:C9,A2:A9,"Group A")
Result: 69   'Returns the minimum score for Group A

=MINIFS(C2:C9,A2:A9,"Group B",C2:C9,">0")
Result: 75   'Returns the minimum score for Group B (score > 0)

=MINIFS(C2:C9,B2:B9,"S*")
Result: 78   'Uses the * wildcard to return the minimum score for all players starting with the letter S

Using Named Ranges

You can also use a named range in the MINIFS function. A named range is a descriptive name for a collection of cells or range in a worksheet. If you are unsure of how to setup a named range in your spreadsheet, read our tutorial on Adding a Named Range.

In the next example, we've created two named ranges. The first named range is called Teams which refers to the range A2:A9 in Sheet 1 and the second named range is called Scores which refers to the range C2:C9 in Sheet1.

Then we can then use these two named ranges in our Excel formula.

Based on the Excel spreadsheet above, we've replaced the ranges C2:C9 and A2:A9 with the named ranges called Scores and Teams as follows:

=MINIFS(Scores,Teams,"Group A")

This formula will return 69 which is the minimum score for Group A and is equivalent to the following formula:

=MINIFS(C2:C9,A2:A9,"Group A")