Can AVERAGEIFS handle AND logic with multiple criteria?

Yes, AVERAGEIFS uses AND logic by default. All criteria must be true simultaneously for a row to be included in the average. If you need OR logic (any criteria true), you'll need to use SUMPRODUCT or create multiple AVERAGEIFS formulas combined with conditional logic.

What's the difference between AVERAGEIFS and AVERAGEIF?

AVERAGEIF handles only one criterion, while AVERAGEIFS handles multiple criteria. AVERAGEIF syntax is =AVERAGEIF(range, criteria, [average_range]), whereas AVERAGEIFS requires paired criteria_range and criteria parameters. Use AVERAGEIF for single conditions and AVERAGEIFS when you need multiple conditions.

Can I use wildcards in AVERAGEIFS criteria?

Yes, wildcards work in text criteria. Use * to match any sequence of characters and ? to match a single character. For example, "Sales*" matches "Sales", "Sales Team", "SalesForce". Use ~ to escape wildcards if you need to search for literal asterisks or question marks: "~*Product~*"

Does AVERAGEIFS work with dates?

Absolutely. Dates are stored as numbers in Excel, so AVERAGEIFS handles them naturally. Use date criteria like ">"&DATE(2024,1,1) or ">=2024-01-01". You can compare dates using operators like >, =. Remember to use DATE function or proper date formatting in your criteria.

How many criteria can I add to AVERAGEIFS?

Excel 2007-2019 supports up to 127 criteria pairs theoretically, though practical limits depend on formula complexity and performance. Excel 365 has no practical limit. Each additional criteria_range and criteria pair follows the same pattern. For very complex multi-criteria analysis, consider using SUMPRODUCT or pivot tables for better performance.

AVERAGEIFS Formula: Calculate Conditional Averages with Multiple Criteria

Intermediate

=AVERAGEIFS(average_range, criteria_range1, criteria1, ...)

The AVERAGEIFS function is a powerful Excel tool that calculates the average of cells meeting multiple specified criteria. Unlike the simpler AVERAGEIF function which handles only one condition, AVERAGEIFS allows you to apply two or more criteria simultaneously, making it essential for complex data analysis tasks. This intermediate-level function is particularly valuable in business intelligence, financial reporting, and data analytics where you need to compute averages for specific subsets of data. Whether you're analyzing sales performance across different regions and time periods, calculating average employee salaries by department and tenure, or evaluating product quality metrics by category and supplier, AVERAGEIFS streamlines these multi-criteria calculations. Available since Excel 2007, this function has become a staple in professional spreadsheet work, offering greater flexibility than traditional pivot tables for quick analytical queries. Understanding AVERAGEIFS will significantly enhance your data analysis capabilities and reduce time spent on manual calculations.

Syntax & Parameters

The AVERAGEIFS function follows this structure: =AVERAGEIFS(average_range, criteria_range1, criteria1, [criteria_range2, criteria2], ...). The average_range parameter specifies which cells to average—this is your target data. The criteria_range1 parameter defines the first range to evaluate against your condition, and criteria1 specifies what that condition is. You can add unlimited additional criteria_range and criteria pairs by repeating the pattern. Key parameters explained: average_range must contain numeric values and can be any size. Each criteria_range must match the average_range in size or Excel will return an error. Criteria can be text strings (like "Sales"), numbers, or expressions (like ">100" or "<>0"). Text criteria is case-insensitive. When using multiple criteria, ALL conditions must be true simultaneously (AND logic). The function ignores empty cells and text in the average_range. Important tip: criteria_range dimensions must align with average_range, though they don't need to be adjacent. Wildcards (* and ?) work in text criteria, where * represents any characters and ? represents a single character.

average_range

Range of cells for average

criteria_range1

First range to evaluate

criteria1

First criteria

Practical Examples

Sales Department Average Commission

=AVERAGEIFS(E2:E50, A2:A50, "Sales", E2:E50, ">5000")

This formula averages values in column E (Commission) where column A equals "Sales" AND column E is greater than 5000. The first criteria_range (A2:A50) checks department names, while the second criteria_range (E2:E50) checks commission amounts.

Student GPA by Grade Level and Performance

=AVERAGEIFS(D2:D100, B2:B100, 11, C2:C100, ">85")

Column D contains GPAs, column B contains grade levels, and column C contains exam scores. This formula finds students where grade equals 11 AND exam score exceeds 85, then averages their GPAs.

Product Quality Metrics by Category and Supplier

=AVERAGEIFS(F2:F200, C2:C200, "Electronics", D2:D200, "Vendor A")

Column F contains quality scores, column C contains product categories, and column D contains supplier names. This averages quality scores where category is "Electronics" AND supplier is "Vendor A".

Key Takeaways

AVERAGEIFS calculates averages with multiple criteria using AND logic—all conditions must be true simultaneously
Available since Excel 2007, it's essential for professional data analysis requiring conditional averaging across multiple dimensions
Combine with COUNTIFS, IF, and ROUND functions to create robust, error-handled formulas suitable for dashboards and reports
Use cell references for criteria to enable interactive analysis; combine with data validation for user-friendly spreadsheets
When AVERAGEIFS returns errors, use IFERROR and COUNTIFS to diagnose issues; verify range dimensions and data types match expectations

Pro Tips

Use COUNTIFS alongside AVERAGEIFS to verify data before calculating. This prevents surprises from #DIV/0! errors.

Impact : Saves debugging time and creates more robust spreadsheets. Formula: =COUNTIFS(criteria_range1, criteria1, criteria_range2, criteria2) shows how many records match before averaging.

Create dynamic criteria using cell references instead of hardcoding values. Use =AVERAGEIFS(average_range, criteria_range1, A1, criteria_range2, B1) to make formulas flexible.

Impact : Enables interactive dashboards where users can change criteria in cells to see updated results instantly. Dramatically improves spreadsheet usability.

Combine AVERAGEIFS with data validation dropdown lists for user-friendly filtering. Users select criteria from a list rather than typing values.

Impact : Reduces errors from typos, makes spreadsheets more professional, and enables non-technical users to perform complex analysis.

Use absolute references ($) for criteria ranges when copying formulas across cells. Example: =AVERAGEIFS($E$2:$E$50, $A$2:$A$50, "Sales", $E$2:$E$50, ">5000")

Impact : Prevents range references from shifting when copying formulas, ensuring consistency and preventing calculation errors.

Useful Combinations

AVERAGEIFS with IF for conditional text display

=IF(COUNTIFS(criteria_range1, criteria1, criteria_range2, criteria2)=0, "No data", AVERAGEIFS(average_range, criteria_range1, criteria1, criteria_range2, criteria2))

Combines AVERAGEIFS with IF and COUNTIFS to display "No data" when no records match criteria, preventing #DIV/0! errors. This improves user experience by providing meaningful feedback.

AVERAGEIFS with ROUND for formatted output

=ROUND(AVERAGEIFS(E2:E50, A2:A50, "Sales", E2:E50, ">5000"), 2)

Wraps AVERAGEIFS in ROUND to display results with exactly 2 decimal places. Essential for financial data where precision matters. ROUND(value, decimals) ensures consistent formatting.

Nested AVERAGEIFS for tiered analysis

=AVERAGEIFS(AVERAGEIFS(values, dimension1, criteria1), dimension2, criteria2)

Combines multiple AVERAGEIFS functions to create hierarchical analysis. First calculates averages by one dimension, then averages those results by another. Useful for multi-level reporting structures.

Common Errors

#VALUE!

Cause: Criteria range size doesn't match average_range size, or non-numeric values in average_range where numbers are expected.

Solution: Verify all criteria_range parameters have the same number of rows as average_range. Check that average_range contains only numbers. Use IFERROR to wrap the formula: =IFERROR(AVERAGEIFS(...), "Check data")

#DIV/0!

Cause: No cells meet all the specified criteria, resulting in division by zero when calculating the average.

Solution: Review your criteria to ensure they're correctly spelled and formatted. Use COUNTIFS to verify matching records exist: =COUNTIFS(criteria_range1, criteria1, criteria_range2, criteria2). Add error handling: =IFERROR(AVERAGEIFS(...), "No matches")

#REF!

Cause: One or more range references are invalid, often due to deleted columns or incorrect range notation.

Solution: Check that all range references use absolute ($) or relative addressing correctly. Verify no columns were deleted from your source data. Rewrite the formula using the Name Box to ensure ranges are correct.

Troubleshooting Checklist

1.Verify all criteria_range parameters have identical dimensions to average_range (same number of rows)
2.Confirm average_range contains only numeric values; check for text or blank cells causing #VALUE! errors
3.Check criteria spelling, case sensitivity (text criteria is case-insensitive), and proper operator syntax (>, <, >=, etc.)
4.Use COUNTIFS to verify at least one record matches all criteria; if zero matches, AVERAGEIFS returns #DIV/0!
5.Ensure date criteria use proper DATE function syntax: ">"&DATE(2024,1,1) rather than hardcoded date strings
6.Confirm range references aren't broken by deleted columns; check formula bar for #REF! errors

Edge Cases

Average range contains blank cells mixed with numbers

Behavior: AVERAGEIFS ignores blank cells and only averages numeric values. Blank cells don't affect the calculation.

Solution: No action needed—this is expected behavior. Blanks are automatically excluded from both the sum and count operations.

This differs from some other functions; AVERAGEIFS handles blanks gracefully.

Criteria range contains mixed data types (text and numbers)

Behavior: Criteria matching becomes unpredictable. A numeric criterion "100" might not match text "100" in the range.

Solution: Ensure consistency in data types. Use TEXT function to convert numbers to text or VALUE to convert text to numbers before comparison. Clean data is essential.

Data quality issues are the root cause of many AVERAGEIFS errors in real-world spreadsheets.

Using AVERAGEIFS with criteria_range that has different dimensions than average_range

Behavior: Excel returns #VALUE! error immediately. The function requires all ranges to have identical row counts.

Solution: Verify all range references include the same number of rows. If data is in rows 2-100, use A2:A100, not A2:A99 or A1:A100.

This is a common mistake when ranges reference different starting rows or have unequal lengths.

Limitations

•AVERAGEIFS uses AND logic only—cannot directly implement OR conditions (requires SUMPRODUCT or multiple formulas as workaround)
•Cannot average based on criteria from cells outside the specified ranges; criteria must reference actual data ranges in the spreadsheet
•Performance degrades significantly with very large datasets (100,000+ rows); consider pivot tables or data models for big data analysis
•Criteria matching is literal—partial matches require wildcards; exact case-insensitive matching only, no fuzzy or approximate matching capabilities

Alternatives

SUMPRODUCT with conditional logic

More flexible for complex conditions, can handle OR logic, works across all Excel versions including older ones.

When: When you need OR logic, complex mathematical operations, or support for legacy Excel versions. Formula: =SUMPRODUCT((criteria_range1=criteria1)*(criteria_range2=criteria2)*average_range)/SUMPRODUCT((criteria_range1=criteria1)*(criteria_range2=criteria2))

Pivot Tables

Superior for large datasets, interactive filtering, automatic updates, visual data organization.

When: When analyzing large datasets with multiple dimensions, creating reports, or when data changes frequently. Pivot tables provide better performance and easier maintenance than formulas.

AGGREGATE function

Ignores errors and hidden rows, offers 19 different functions including AVERAGE, more control over data handling.

When: When working with filtered data or data containing errors. Formula: =AGGREGATE(1, 5, average_range/(criteria_range1=criteria1)/(criteria_range2=criteria2))

Compatibility

✓ Excel

Since 2007

=AVERAGEIFS(average_range, criteria_range1, criteria1, [criteria_range2, criteria2], ...) - Fully supported in Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 365

✓Google Sheets

=AVERAGEIFS(average_range, criteria_range1, criteria1, [criteria_range2, criteria2], ...) - Identical syntax to Excel

Google Sheets supports AVERAGEIFS with full feature parity. Wildcards work identically. Performance is excellent even with large datasets.

✓LibreOffice

=AVERAGEIFS(average_range, criteria_range1, criteria1, [criteria_range2, criteria2], ...) - Fully compatible with LibreOffice Calc

Frequently Asked Questions

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