If you need to sum numbers based on other cells being equal to either one value or another (either x or y), you can use the SUMIF function.
In the example show, we are summing all sales from either the Red OR Green color. The formula in cell H5 is:
=SUMIF(color,”Red”,amount)+SUMIF(color,”Green”,amount)
Where color is a named range for C5:C12 and amount is a named range for E5:E12.
Each instance of SUMIF provides a subtotal, one for sales in Red color, one for sales Green color. The formula simply adds these two results together.
SUMIF with an array argument
A more elegant solution is to give the SUMIF function more than one value for the criteria, using an array constant. To do this, construct a normal SUMIF, but package the criteria in array syntax — curly braces, with individual items separated by commas. Finally, wrap the entire SUMIF function in the SUM function. This is necessary, because SUMIF will return one result for each item in the criteria array. These need to be added together to get a single result.
The formula in cell H6 is:
=SUM(SUMIF(color,{“Red”,”Green”},amount))
SUMPRODUCT alternative
You can also use SUMPRODUCT to sum cells with OR logic. The formula in cell H7 is:
=SUMPRODUCT(amount *((color=”Red”) + (color=”Green”)))
This could also be written as:
=SUMPRODUCT(amount*(color={“Red”,”Green”}))
SUMPRODUCT is not as fast as SUMIF, but the speed difference is not noticeable with smaller data sets.
