AVERAGEIF and AVERAGEIFS in Google Sheets - Step-by-Step Guide

Introduction

AVERAGEIF and AVERAGEIFS help you find the average of numbers that meet certain conditions. This is useful when you want to calculate an average but only for specific data that fits your rules.

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

When you need the average test score for students who scored above 70.

When calculating the average hours worked by employees in a certain department.

When you want the average price of items that are in stock.

When you want to average expenses only for a certain month.

Steps

Step 1: Click

- a blank cell where you want the average result

The cell is selected and ready for formula input

Step 2: Type

- the selected cell

The formula starts to appear in the formula bar

💡 Start with =AVERAGEIF( for one condition or =AVERAGEIFS( for multiple conditions

Step 3: Enter

- the range of cells to check the condition (e.g., A2:A10)

The formula now knows which cells to look at for the condition

Step 4: Type

- the condition in quotes (e.g., ">70" or "Apples")

The formula understands which values to include based on this rule

Step 5: Enter

- the range of cells to average (only for AVERAGEIF, optional if same as range)

The formula knows which numbers to average

Step 6: Press

- Enter key

The cell shows the average of numbers that meet the condition

Step 7: For multiple conditions, repeat

- steps 3 to 4 inside AVERAGEIFS formula for each condition

The formula averages numbers that meet all conditions

Before vs After

Before

A list of sales amounts in column B and product names in column A with no averages calculated

After

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

Settings Reference

Range

📍 First argument in AVERAGEIF or AVERAGEIFS formula

Cells to check for the condition

Default: No default, must specify

Criteria

📍 Second argument in AVERAGEIF or subsequent arguments in AVERAGEIFS

Condition to decide which cells to include

Default: No default, must specify

Average_range

📍 Third argument in AVERAGEIF or second argument in AVERAGEIFS

Cells containing numbers to average

Default: Same as range if omitted in AVERAGEIF

Common Mistakes

Using AVERAGEIF with multiple conditions separated by commas

AVERAGEIF only supports one condition; multiple conditions require AVERAGEIFS

Use AVERAGEIFS for multiple conditions, listing each condition separately

Not putting text criteria in quotes

Text criteria must be in quotes for the formula to understand it as text

Always put text criteria inside double quotes, like "Apples"

Using different sized ranges for criteria and average_range

Ranges must be the same size or the formula returns an error

Make sure the range and average_range cover the same number of rows or 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 conditions and keep ranges the same size.