MAX & MIN Functions in Excel – Find the Largest and Smallest Values Easily

When you work with numbers in Excel—sales, payments, expenses, marks, stock movement or dates—one of the most common questions is:

• What is the highest value?

and

• What is the lowest value?

For example:

• What was the highest sale this month?
• Which day had the lowest attendance?
• What is the largest expense?
• What is the smallest negative balance?
• What is the earliest date in a report?

Instead of scanning rows manually (scroll… scroll… scroll… 😅), Excel gives you two simple functions:

• MAX = finds the largest value
• MIN = finds the smallest value

Easy. Fast. Accurate.

What Are MAX and MIN Functions?

• MAX: Returns the highest number in a range.
• MIN: Returns the lowest number in a range.

They work with:

• positive numbers
• negative numbers
• decimals
• dates (Excel stores dates as numbers)

They ignore:

• text
• blanks
• logical values (TRUE/FALSE)
• text-based errors

Syntax:

MAX:

=MAX(number1, [number2], …)

MIN:

=MIN(number1, [number2], …)

Arguments can be:

• single numbers
• cell references
• ranges
• mixed values

MAX/MIN examples:

Order ID	Salesperson	Amount	Date	Region
101	John	1200	01-01-2024	North
102	Sara	-300	03-01-2024	South
103	Amit	450	05-01-2024	East
104	Neha	2000	06-01-2024	North
105	Riya	-150	08-01-2024	West
106	Ali	800	10-01-2024	East
107	Priya	3000	12-01-2024	North
108	Karan	100	15-01-2024	South
109	Mehul	0	18-01-2024	West
110	Asha	1700	20-01-2024	East

1. Find the Highest Amount (Largest Value):

=MAX(C2:C11)

Result → 3000 (Largest sale)

2. Find the Lowest Amount (Smallest Value):

=MIN(C2:C11)

Result → -300 (Largest expense / biggest negative)

3. Find the Earliest Date:

=MIN(D2:D11)

Result → 01-01-2024

4. Find the Latest Date:

=MAX(D2:D11)

Result → 20-01-2024

MAXIFS & MINIFS – MAX and MIN With Conditions:

Sometimes you don’t want just the highest or lowest value from everything. You want the highest or lowest only when a condition is met.

That’s where these come in:

• MINIFS → Finds the smallest value with conditions
• MAXIFS → Finds the largest value with conditions

In simple words:

MINIFS / MAXIFS = MIN / MAX with rules

Syntax:

MINIFS:

=MINIFS(min_range, criteria_range1, criteria1, …)

MAXIFS:

=MAXIFS(max_range, criteria_range1, criteria1, …)

All conditions must be TRUE for a row to be counted.

1: Smallest Sale Greater Than Zero (Ignore Losses):

=MINIFS(C2:C11, C2:C11, “>0”)

Result → 100 (Smallest positive sale only)

If you use:

=MIN(C2:C11)

Result → -300

(Because MIN picks the lowest number even if it’s a minus number)

 Now you see the difference clearly:

MIN → -300 (loss)

MINIFS → 100 (smallest valid sale)

2: Highest Sale From North Region Only:

=MAXIFS(C2:C11, E2:E11, “North”)

 Result → 3000 (Only North values checked: 1200, 2000, 3000)

3. Smallest Sale After 10-Jan-2024:

=MINIFS(C2:C11, D2:D11, “>10-01-2024”)

Result → 0

(Because after 10-Jan, the smallest amount recorded is 0 on 18-Jan)

When Should You Use MAX / MIN?

Use MAX when you want:

• highest sale
• largest payment received
• highest marks
• biggest quantity
• latest date

Use MIN when you want:

• lowest sale
• smallest expense
• most negative value
• earliest date
• smallest quantity

Perfect for:

• sales reports
• expenses & budgets
• inventories
• financial sheets
• student marks
• attendance or activity reports

Related Functions (Quick Guide):

Function	Purpose
MAX	Highest number
MIN	Lowest number
MAXIFS	Highest number with conditions
MINIFS	Lowest number with conditions
LARGE	Nth largest value
SMALL	Nth smallest value

In Simple Words:

• MAX finds the biggest value
• MIN finds the smallest value
• Works with numbers, negatives, and dates
• Perfect for real-life reports and quick analysis

MAX and MIN help you instantly understand the range and extremes of your data — no scrolling, no guessing, no mistakes.