3 Surprisingly Useful Ways to Use SUMPRODUCT in Excel
At Sumproduct Addict, we’re not shy about it—we love Excel’s most misunderstood formula: SUMPRODUCT. It's one of the most powerful, flexible, and underrated tools in your spreadsheet arsenal. But what exactly can you do with it?
Here are 3 real-world use cases where SUMPRODUCT shines:
💡 1. Weighted Averages Without a Fuss
Let’s say you’re analysing sales commissions or student grades. You have values and corresponding weights—but AVERAGE just won’t cut it.
Example:
=SUMPRODUCT(C3:C6, D3:D6) / SUM(D3:D6)
What it does: Multiplies each value in column A by its weight in column B, then divides the total by the sum of weights. No array formulas, no fuss.
Use it for:
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Weighted academic grades
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Average price per unit sold
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Weighted customer satisfaction scores
📊 2. Conditional Sums Without Helper Columns
Need to sum values only when multiple conditions are met? Most people reach for SUMIFS, but SUMPRODUCT is even more flexible.
Example:
=SUMPRODUCT((A2:A100=E2)*(B2:B100=F2)*(C2:C100))What it does:
Filters the values in column C where column A is "Shoes" and column B is "Red"—then sums the results.
Use it for:
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Multi-criteria sales analysis
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Filtering by product category and location
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Advanced dashboard metrics
📈 3. Count with Multiple Conditions
You can also use SUMPRODUCT to count how many rows meet several conditions—without writing long COUNTIFS.
Example:
What it does:
Counts how many entries have values over 100 in column A and the word "Confirmed" in column B.
Use it for:
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Filtering qualified leads
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Counting tasks completed by due date
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Tracking inventory thresholds and reorder status
💬 Wrapping Up
SUMPRODUCT isn’t just a niche tool—it’s a shortcut to clean, elegant, and powerful logic in your spreadsheets. Whether you're building financial models, dashboards, or data summaries, it helps you do more with less formula clutter.
This is just the beginning of what we’ll be exploring here on the SumproductAddict blog. We’ll dive deep into other formulas, share product updates, and give you ways to love your spreadsheets more every week.