Then, we subtract the value in cell B8 from the value in cell B1 using the below formula. This way, you can lock that cell reference so it won’t change no matter where the formula is copied.įor example, we created an absolute cell reference by placing a dollar ‘$’ symbol in front of the column letter and row number of cell B8 ($B$8). To subtract the same number from a range of cells, fix the reference to the cell by adding the ‘$’ symbol in front of the column letter and row number. Subtracting the Same Number from a Column of Numbers in Excel This function adds up the numbers in A2:A6 and then subtracts that sum from the value in cell A1. To shorten your formula, simply use the SUM function. Subtracting Multiple Cells using SUM FunctionĪs you can imagine, if you’re going to subtract the entire column this formula can get quite long. To subtract multiple cells, apply the following formula. Now Column B is subtracted from Column A and the value is stored in Column C. To do that, click on the tiny green square (fill handle) at the lower right corner of cell C1 and drag it down to cell C6.

Next, to subtract column B from column A, apply the above formula to the entire column C. In the below example, the formula in cell C1 subtracts the value in B2 from the value in A1. The basic formula for subtracting cells in Excel is: =cell_1-cell_2 You can subtract numbers in two different cells using their cell references instead of the cell value. =number1-number2įor example, when we type, =73-23 in cell E2 and press ‘Enter’, it automatically subtracts the numbers and adds ’50’ in the cell. Start the formula with an equal sign (=) and add the ‘-‘ sign between two numbers.

Use the below mentioned basic subtraction formula when you are subtracting numbers within a cell.

You can subtract numbers with a cell, numbers in two cells, and numbers in multiple cells. Most of the subtraction in Excel is done with ‘-‘ and ‘=’ operators. In this post, we’ll show you how to subtract numbers in Excel. And subtraction is one of the basic arithmetic operations that you’ll use every day when you’re managing numbers in a spreadsheet.Įxcel has an inbuilt formula for subtraction or minus to subtract two values from each other.

There are various arithmetic functions that you can execute in Excel, including addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication.

Subtraction in excel formula