AVERAGEIF and AVERAGEIFS in Excel - Step-by-Step Guide

Introduction

AVERAGEIF and AVERAGEIFS help you find the average of numbers that meet one or more conditions. This is useful when you want to calculate averages only for specific groups or criteria in your data.

When you want to find the average sales for a specific product only.

When you need the average score of students who passed an exam.

When calculating the average expense for a certain month.

When averaging values that meet multiple conditions, like sales in a region and above a certain amount.

When you want to ignore data that does not meet your criteria to get a more accurate average.

Steps

Step 1: Click

- cell where you want the average result

The cell is selected and ready for formula input

Step 2: Type

- the selected cell

Formula bar shows the formula you type

💡 Start typing =AVERAGEIF( or =AVERAGEIFS( to use the functions

Step 3: Enter

- the range of cells to check the condition (criteria_range)

Formula bar shows the range inside the parentheses

Step 4: Enter

- the condition to apply (criteria), like ">50" or "Apples"

Formula bar shows the condition after the range

Step 5: For AVERAGEIF, optionally enter

- the range of cells to average (average_range)

Formula bar shows the average range if different from criteria range

Step 6: For AVERAGEIFS, enter

- pairs of criteria ranges with their conditions

Formula bar shows all ranges and conditions in pairs

Step 7: Press Enter

- formula bar

Cell shows the average of values that meet the condition(s)

Before vs After

Before

A list of sales amounts for different products in column B and product names in column A

After

A cell shows the average sales amount only for the product named "Apples" using =AVERAGEIF(A2:A10, "Apples", B2:B10)

Settings Reference

criteria_range

📍 first argument in AVERAGEIF or first argument in AVERAGEIFS

The cells checked against the condition

Default: none

criteria

📍 second argument in AVERAGEIF or second, fourth, sixth, etc. arguments in AVERAGEIFS

The condition that cells must meet to be included

Default: none

average_range

📍 optional third argument in AVERAGEIF

The cells to average if different from criteria_range

Default: criteria_range

Common Mistakes

Using AVERAGEIF with multiple conditions separated by commas

AVERAGEIF only supports one condition; multiple conditions require AVERAGEIFS

Use AVERAGEIFS to apply multiple conditions, listing each criteria_range and criteria pair

Not using quotes around text or expressions in criteria

Excel treats unquoted text or expressions as cell references or errors

Always put text or expressions like ">50" inside double quotes

Using different sized ranges for criteria_range and average_range

Ranges must be the same size or Excel returns an error

Make sure criteria_range and average_range cover the same number of rows and columns

Summary

AVERAGEIF calculates the average of numbers that meet one condition.

AVERAGEIFS calculates the average of numbers that meet multiple conditions.

Always use quotes for text or comparison operators in criteria.

Ranges for criteria and average must be the same size.