SUM Function in Google Sheets

SUM in Google Sheets adds numbers together. You can pass individual values, cell references, ranges, or any combination. It is the most basic arithmetic function in Sheets and one of the first most people learn.

Text values and empty cells within a range are ignored. SUM only adds numbers.

Parameters

Parameter	Required	Description
value1	Yes	The first number, cell reference, or range to add.
value2, ...	No	Additional numbers, cell references, or ranges. You can include up to 255 arguments.

Examples

Sum a range

Add all values in a column:

=SUM(B2:B20)

This adds every numeric value in B2 through B20. Blank cells and cells containing text are skipped without causing an error.

Sum multiple ranges

Add values from two separate columns:

=SUM(B2:B20, D2:D20)

This returns the combined total of both ranges. You can include as many ranges as you need, separated by commas.

Sum with individual values

Mix ranges and hardcoded numbers in a single formula:

=SUM(B2:B10, 50, C2)

This adds the total of B2:B10, plus 50, plus the value in C2. Mixing ranges, constants, and cell references in one SUM call is valid.

Common Errors

#REF! --- A referenced cell or range has been deleted. If you delete a row or column that SUM references, the formula breaks. Undo the deletion or update the range reference.

Unexpected result --- SUM ignores text, but a cell that looks like a number might actually be stored as text (common after importing data). If your total seems too low, select the suspect cells and check the format. Use =VALUE() to convert text-formatted numbers back to real numbers.

Tips

Use SUM instead of chaining cells with the + operator. Writing =SUM(B2:B100) is cleaner and easier to maintain than =B2+B3+B4+.... SUM also handles inserted or deleted rows within the range automatically, while + references do not.

Google Sheets treats blank cells as zero inside SUM. If a cell is empty, it contributes nothing to the total. A cell containing the number 0, however, is still counted as a value in functions like COUNTA, even though SUM treats it the same as blank.