Syntax
MIN(value1, [value2, ...])
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| value1 | Parameter of the MIN function. |
| [value2 | (Optional.) Parameter of the MIN function. |
| ...] | Parameter of the MIN function. |
Examples
Find the lowest price
Formula
=MIN(C2:C200)
Returns: 4.99 — the cheapest price in the product list
Find the earliest date
Formula
=MIN(B2:B50)
Returns: 2024-01-03 — the first date in the range
Find minimum excluding zeros
Formula
=MINIFS(B2:B100, B2:B100, ">0")
Returns: 12.50 — the smallest positive value, ignoring zeros
Common Errors
Returns 0
The range has no numbers, or it contains zeros which are the actual minimum. Use MINIFS to exclude zeros if needed.
#VALUE!
A text value was passed directly. MIN only works with numbers; it ignores text in ranges but errors on direct text arguments.
Tips
Ignore zeros
To find the smallest non-zero value: =MINIFS(B:B, B:B, ">0") or in older Excel: =MIN(IF(B2:B100>0, B2:B100)) entered as array formula.
Second smallest
Use =SMALL(range, 2) for the second smallest value, =SMALL(range, 3) for third smallest.
MIN with dates
MIN works with dates to find the earliest: =MIN(A2:A100) returns the oldest date in the range.
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