We can sum multiple columns conditionally by specifying a criterion. We can do this with a formula that is based on the SUMPRODUCT function. The steps below will walk through the process.
Figure 1: Result of the Sum of Multiple Columns with Football as the Criterion
Basic Formula
=SUMPRODUCT((criterion_range=”football”)*(sum_range))
Formula
=SUMPRODUCT((A4:A9=”Football”)*(B4:D9))
Setting up the Data
- We will set up the data by inserting the values into Column A to Column D
- We will input football sum in Cell E4 as football will be the criterion in this example
- The result will be displayed in Cell F4 which is currently empty
Figure 2: How to Sum if One Criteria Multiple Columns
Inserting the Formula
- We will click on Cell F4
- We will insert the formula below into the cell
SUMPRODUCT((A4:A9=”Football”)*(B4:D9))
Figure 3: How to Sum if One Criteria Multiple Columns
- We will click on enter
Figure 4: Result of the Sum of Multiple Columns with Football as the Criterion
Explanation
Formula: =SUMPRODUCT((A4:A9=”Football”)*(B4:D9))
In the formula, we use the SUMPRODUCT function to check if Cell A4 to Cell A9 contains “football.” We will have an array result of TRUE or FALSE like this:
{TRUE;FALSE;FALSE;TRUE;FALSE;FALSE}
This is multiplied by the values in the range B4:D9, where TRUE represents 1 and FALSE represents 0.
The result inside the SUMPRODUCT function looks like this:
SUMPRODUCT({4,3,2;0,0,0;0,0,0;1,4,2;0,0,0;1,4,3})
The product is summed and the result is 24 as shown in figure 4.
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