How to sum a column in Excel

A free, step-by-step guide for Excel on Windows · Last checked: 26 Oct 2026

The quickest way to add up a column is AutoSum: Excel finds the numbers and writes the formula for you. If you'd rather type it, the formula is =SUM(...). Both are below.

Steps with AutoSum

1. Select the cell below the numbers. Click the empty cell directly below the last number in the column. (To add up a row instead, click the cell just to the right of the last number.)
2. Select AutoSum. It is on the Home tab, and also on the Formulas tab. The keyboard shortcut is Alt + =.
3. Check the range. Excel highlights the cells it will add. If it picked the wrong ones, hold Shift and press the arrow keys to change the range.
4. Press Enter. The cell shows the total. Click it and you'll see a formula like =SUM(A2:A10) in the formula bar.

Or type the SUM formula

• Click the cell where you want the total and type, for example, =SUM(A2:A10), then press Enter. It adds every number in cells A2 to A10.
• To add two ranges, separate them with a comma: =SUM(A2:A10, C2:C10).
• Microsoft recommends SUM over adding cells one by one (like =A1+B1+C1): SUM ignores text in the range, and it adjusts by itself when you add or delete rows.

If something goes wrong

• AutoSum stopped too early. If there is a blank row in the column, Excel's selection stops at the first gap. Type the SUM formula with the full range instead, or hold Shift and use the arrow keys to stretch the range before pressing Enter.
• The total looks too small. SUM ignores text, so numbers stored as text are left out. Check the cells in the range that don't look like the others.
• You only want a quick look. Select the numbers and look at the status bar at the bottom right of the Excel window: it shows their sum without writing any formula.
• On a Mac, the AutoSum shortcut is Shift + Cmd + T; in Excel for the web it is Alt + =, as on Windows.

Pocko is not part of Microsoft and this guide is not official. Menus differ a little between Excel versions; if a step looks different, check Microsoft's own help.

Sources

• Microsoft Support: Use AutoSum to sum numbers in Excel
• Microsoft Support: SUM function
• Microsoft Support: Learn more about SUM (Alt+=, gaps in the range, the status bar)
• Microsoft Support: Keyboard shortcuts in Excel

Last checked: 26 Oct 2026

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