Where is AutoSum in Excel for the web?

On the Home tab, at the right of the ribbon, with the Σ symbol. Its drop-down holds Sum, Average, Count, Max and Min.

Why does AutoSum pick the wrong range?

It stops at a blank cell or a cell with text. Drag to select the right range before pressing Enter.

Can AutoSum add cells that are not next to each other?

Not by itself. Type a SUM formula with commas between the cells or ranges, such as =SUM(B2:B6, D2:D6).

What is AutoSum in Excel?

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Quick answer

AutoSum is a button in Excel (on the Home and Formulas tabs) that totals the numbers next to the selected cell in one click. It guesses the range, writes a SUM formula such as =SUM(B2:B9) for you, and has a drop-down for Average, Count, Max and Min.

Last updated October 22, 2026

Updated October 22, 2026 · By Robert Breen

Why it matters

Adding up a column is the most common thing anyone does in a spreadsheet, and the most common place for a hand-typed mistake. AutoSum makes it one click, and because the result is a formula, the total stays right when a number changes.

It is also a gentle way to learn formulas: AutoSum shows the formula it wrote, with the range highlighted, so you can see exactly which cells it chose before you press Enter.

A worked example

A dental office manager has the week’s patient payments in B2 to B6: $1,240, $980, $1,515, $760 and $1,105. She clicks B7 and selects AutoSum. Excel highlights B2:B6 and writes =SUM(B2:B6). She presses Enter and B7 shows $5,600.

On Friday she inserts a row for a late payment of $430 between rows 4 and 5. The formula becomes =SUM(B2:B7) on its own and the total changes to $6,030. If she had typed 5600 into B7, the total would now be silently wrong.

Often confused with

AutoSum vs SUM

SUM is the function. AutoSum is the button that writes a SUM formula for you. The result is exactly the same.

AutoSum vs the status bar

Select some numbers and Excel shows their sum at the bottom of the window. That is a quick look only; nothing is written into the sheet.

AutoSum vs a table’s Total Row

In an Excel table, the Total Row does the same job and stays at the bottom as rows are added.

Tips

Check the highlighted range before you press Enter; a blank cell or a text heading can make AutoSum stop short.
In desktop Excel for Windows, Alt+= is the AutoSum shortcut.
Select a whole block plus the empty row and column next to it to total rows and columns at once.

Formula (Excel)Excel table Cell reference (relative and absolute)Conditional formatting (Excel)

Learn it in a free lesson

Excel for the Web Tutorial: Your First Budget Spreadsheet (about 15 minutes)

Sources

Written from these official help pages. Menus change, so if a button has moved, the help page has the current wording.

Frequently asked questions

Where is AutoSum in Excel for the web?: On the Home tab, at the right of the ribbon, with the Σ symbol. Its drop-down holds Sum, Average, Count, Max and Min.
Why does AutoSum pick the wrong range?: It stops at a blank cell or a cell with text. Drag to select the right range before pressing Enter.
Can AutoSum add cells that are not next to each other?: Not by itself. Type a SUM formula with commas between the cells or ranges, such as =SUM(B2:B6, D2:D6).

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