How to Subtract in Excel [Step Wise Tutorial]

Subtraction in excel is too easy but there is no direct formula in excel to subtract the values. You have to just read this article to know that How to Subtract in Excel easily. You can get the complete details and all the crazy or easiest tricks to subtract in excel. It is easy to subtract in excel. You have to just understand the process of subtraction in MS Excel.

There are so many different types of subtraction available in excel. Sometimes you need to subtract one column to another column and one row to another row in excel. But there is no direct formula available in excel so how can we do that. You don’t have to worry about subtracting in excel because you are going to learn the best easy tricks to subtract the cells in excel.

How to Subtract in Excel

Now you are going to improve your skills in MS Excel. You can subtract anything like cells, rows, and columns that you want to subtract. We have divided each heading in each type of subtraction in excel. So just read the article to gain knowledge of Excel.

Note: Use the sign = before starting any formula in excel. This sign is to place before the values and it is most important to do any operation in excel. We are going to use this sign to subtract in excel.

How to do Subtraction in Excel

If you want to do subtraction in just one Cell of an excel sheet then follow the below-mentioned steps. This is the easiest way to subtract the value in one cell. You can also get the help of images for better understanding. You have to do all these steps in a new blank excel sheet so that you can understand this process perfectly.

The Formula that we are going to use in this process is “ =num-num ”. In the formula num means number.

1. Firstly you have to open Excel on your PC. If you don’t have ms excel then you can use it for free on their website. Just click Use MS Excel for Free.
2. In the excel sheet, you have to select any one cell to do subtraction. You have to just move your cursor on the cell and tab on it.
3. Now put this sign = in the cell. You have this sign on your keyboard, you have to just press that key before you enter any value.
4. Now after the sign of =, you have to do subtraction like 50-45. It is just an example you can type any numbers to subtract in excel.
5. Press Enter, when you have completed the process of entering values or numbers then you have to press enter. After that, you can see your results. 
6. You can also do all this process in the formula bar which is available in the upper section of the excel sheet.

This is the process of subtraction in one cell. There is one more formula also available to subtract in one cell. The process is the same but the formula is different. The formula is “ =sum(num,-num)  ”. But you have to use the upper formula process to subtract in one cell because it is the easiest process in all the operations of subtracting. You need to just any of these tricks to subtract in excel.

How to Subtract Cells in Excel

In this process, you have to use a little bit of logic to subtract cells in excel. If you will understand this logic then you can subtract as many cells as you want to subtract. You have to just understand the process of subtracting cells in excel.

The Formula which we are going to use in this process is ‘ =Cell1-Cell2 ’.  We can also subtract multiple cells. You have to just add the cell by adding the sign of subtraction ‘- sign’.

1. Firstly you have to open a blank workbook or sheet in Excel.
2. Enter the values in two different cells of your excel sheet. 
3. Now you have to choose any one cell to do subtraction. 
4. In the third cell, You have to type this sign ‘ =’ before subtracting. You can get the help of the below image. 
5. Enter the names of the cell in which you have entered the values for subtraction. You have to enter the names like =A1-B1, =A1-A2. 
6. As shown in the image, we are going to subtract cell A1 from cell B1, and in the third cell C1, we have to type this formula =A1-B1 to subtract the cells. You have to do the same.
7. Press Enter, When you have entered the cell names in the resultant cell then you have to press the enter. 

We have one more formula to subtract the cells in Excel “ =sum(cell1,-cell2) ”. You can also subtract as many cells as you want to subtract with the help of this formula.

This process also works in the formula bar so you can also do this process in the upper formula bar. You have to select the cell in which you want to get subtraction and then do the remaining process of subtraction in the upper formula bar. So this is the process that is used to subtract in excel and if you have learned How to subtract in excel and how to subtract cells then you can subtract any cell without any problem.

If you want to learn How to Subtract Dates in excel and How to subtract time in excel then you can also subtract the ‘dates’ and the ‘time’ in excel with the help of this process. The process is almost the same to subtract dates in excel.

How to Subtract Rows and Columns in Excel

Now we are going to learn how to subtract columns in excel and it is also too easy. This is the third trick by which you can learn How to Subtract in excel. You have to just read the steps carefully and then apply these steps in your excel sheet. After reading this process you can subtract two or more rows at one time without any difficulty.

The Formula which we are going to use in this process is the same formula that we used in the upper process “ =cell1-cell2 ”.Yes, we are going to use this formula but the process which we are going to use is different.

1. Firstly, you have to open a new blank sheet in excel.
2. Now enter the data in two or more columns in the excel sheet.
3. You have to do the subtraction in the front column of your data columns in which you have entered the data. 
4. Now we have to do the subtraction of the first row with the help of the ‘=cell1-cell2’ formula. 
5. After that, you have to press enter. You get the subtraction of the first row. 
6. Now you have to select the cell in which you got the subtraction.
7. You have to move your cursor in the left-right lower corner of the cell. You can see the + sign in the cursor.
8. Now you have to select the whole resultant row like this video. The past three steps 6,7,8 are present in this video. So just watch this video.
9. Then press Enter. 

After completing these steps you can see that you have got your subtraction of two columns in the third column. Now you have to lock that cell in which you have completed your work and it is important. You can learn How to Lock Cells in Excel by just clicking on this red text.

FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

In this section, we are going to include some questions that are frequently asked by the peoples on our site and on the internet. We have written a well-detailed article on how to subtract in excel to solve your each and every confusion.

But some queries remain the same so that we have this section in which we will reply to your asked questions. We have tried to include all the questions and if you wouldn’t find your question in this section then you can tell about your question in the comment box. We will answer your question and the question will be included in this section as well.

How to subtract row 23 from row 25 across all columns?

You need to do the same as we did for the columns in this article. But we are going to make it easier for you to subtract rows. You just need to follow the below steps carefully to subtract row 23 from row 25 across all the columns in excel.

1. First, click on the first cell of the row in which you want your subtraction result.
2. Put the equal sign first in the cell. Do the complete process in this cell you will get the result for all columns. Just follow the steps carefully.
3. After putting an equal sign in the cell click on row number 25 to select it. You can see the image to get a better explanation.
4. Now put the minus after selecting the 25th row.
5. After that, just click on row number 23 to click the complete row.
6. In the last step, just hit the enter button and you will get your subtraction of row 23 from row 25 across all the columns.

This is the easiest method to do the subtraction. Now just follow these steps and get your subtraction in excel. And don’t forget to share it with your friends.

What is the formula to subtract in excel?

There are some different formulas available in excel to do the subtraction. We have mentioned all the formulas by which you can subtract in excel.

• =Cell1-Cell2
• =Row1-Row2
• =Column1-Column2
• =number-number
• =SUM(Cell1,-Cell2)

These are some formulas that you can use in excel for subtraction. You can learn the use of these formulas in this article. We have described the use of each formula.

How to do a minus sum in excel?

Excel doesn’t have the direct Minus formula to do the subtraction. We need to use the sum formula with the sign of minus to do the subtraction. The formula is =SUM(Cell1,-Cell2) is used for the subtraction in excel. You can read the use of this formula in this article.

How do you subtract multiple cells in excel from one cell?

The formula is the same to do the subtraction in excel. You just need to put the equal sign = and then select the one cell after that just put the minus sign and then select all the cells that you want to subtract from the one cell. Now in the end just hit the enter after entering all the values.

How to subtract in Google sheets?

There are so many different processes available in Google sheets for subtraction. If you want to learn How to Subtract in Google sheets then just click on the query and visit the page. You will get all the methods by which you can do the subtraction in Google sheets.

How do you make a subtraction formula in excel?

You just need to put the equal sign = before starting any formula. After that, enter the first value and then put the minus sign, in the end just enter the second value that you want to subtract after that press the enter button. You will get the subtraction in excel. There are so many formulas available to do the subtraction in excel. You just need to read this article for one time.

These are the frequently asked questions on our site. We have replied to each and every question. If you also have some questions then just tell us about them in the comment box. We will answer your question and include your question in this section as well.

Important information

We have written a complete detailed article to solve your problem of How to Subtract in Excel via easy tricks. We have described all the formulas that are used to subtract in excel. You can do any type of subtraction if you have read it carefully. You can improve your skills in excel by reading this article. We have more articles on our website related to MS Excel. You can read those articles also. You can also search your query related to Excel or any tech problem in the search bar on our website. By reading the articles on our website you can get the best solution and easy ways to solve that problem.

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In the end, Thanks for reading, If you read the complete article then definitely you have learned How to Subtract in Excel easily.