The Excel MINIFS function returns the smallest value among cells that meet one or more conditions. For example, the lowest North sale, or the lowest score above zero.
min_range |
The cells to find the lowest value in. |
|---|---|
criteria_range1 |
The cells to test with the first condition. |
criteria1 |
The first condition, such as "North" or ">0". |
criteria_range2, criteria2 optional |
More range and condition pairs, up to 126. |
Table of Contents
Basic example
To find the lowest North sale, give MINIFS the Sales column, then the Region column and the condition:
=MINIFS(E3:E14,C3:C14,"North") 
Among the six North rows, the smallest sale is 260.
Lowest value, ignoring zeros
Two students were absent and have 0. MIN returns that 0. Test the same range with ">0" to skip it:
=MINIFS(C3:C8,C3:C8,">0") 
MIN gives 0, which isn’t a real score. MINIFS returns 55, the lowest score among students who took the test.
Earliest date for a group
On a date column, MINIFS returns the earliest matching date:
=MINIFS(B3:B14,D3:D14,"Notebook") 
Notebook sold on 15-Jan and 11-Feb, so the first sale was on 15-Jan-2026.
More MINIFS formulas
| Formula | Result | Does |
|---|---|---|
=MINIFS(E3:E14,B3:B14,">="&DATE(2026,2,1)) |
260 | Lowest sale from February onwards |
=MINIFS(E3:E14,C3:C14,"South",D3:D14,"Pen") |
640 | Two conditions |
=MINIFS(E3:E14,C3:C14,"Central") |
0 | No match returns 0, not an error |
Notes
- If nothing matches, MINIFS returns 0, which can look like a real minimum. Check with COUNTIFS when it matters.
">0"is the simplest way to ignore zeros and blanks.- All ranges must be the same size.
- For the highest value with conditions, use MAXIFS.
Common errors
| Problem | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Result is 0 | No rows match, or a real 0 in the data | Add ">0" as a condition, or check with COUNTIFS |
#VALUE! |
Ranges are different sizes | Make every range cover the same rows |
#NAME? |
Excel 2016 or earlier | Use =MIN(IF(C3:C14="North",E3:E14)) with Ctrl+Shift+Enter |
Practice file
All three examples plus extra formulas in a cheat sheet.