Summary

MINIFS returns the lowest value from cells that meet one or more conditions. It works like a filtered version of MIN, so you can ignore the rest of the dataset and focus only on the rows that match your rules.

This is helpful when the overall minimum is too broad to be useful. You might want the lowest price in one region, the shortest response time for one status, or the smallest score after a certain date. MINIFS is built for that kind of question.

Syntax

=MINIFS(min_range, criteria_range1, criteria1, [criteria_range2, criteria2], ...)

The first argument is the range that contains the values you want to compare. After that, each condition is added as a range and criteria pair.

Arguments

• min_range - [required] The cells that contain the values to check for the minimum.
• criteria_range1 - [required] The first range Excel evaluates.
• criteria1 - [required] The rule for the first criteria range.
• criteria_range2, criteria2, ... - [optional] Additional range and criteria pairs.

MINIFS vs Other Functions

Using the MINIFS Function

The core rule is simple: every condition has to match on the same row. If you ask for the lowest value where the department is Sales and the region is North, only rows that satisfy both conditions are considered. Everything else is ignored.

Like the other ...IFS functions, argument order matters. MINIFS starts with min_range, then follows with range and criteria pairs. If that first argument is wrong, the formula may still run but answer a different question than you intended.

Microsoft notes that the compared range and all criteria ranges must have the same size and shape, or Excel returns #VALUE!. It also shows that if no rows match the criteria, the function returns 0. Like MAXIFS, a blank criteria cell is treated as 0.

Example 1 - Find the lowest Sales value in the North

This is the basic multi-condition pattern. Excel applies the filters first and then returns the smallest matching value.

=MINIFS(C1:C10,A1:A10,"Sales",B1:B10,"North") // Returns the lowest value for Sales in North.

Example 2 - Find the lowest recent score above 10

One rule checks the date and another checks the value. The answer is the lowest result that still passes both filters.

=MINIFS(B1:B10,A1:A10,">1/1/2026",B1:B10,">10") // Returns the lowest value that meets both rules.

Example 3 - Combine a wildcard with status

This helps when the region text is not identical in every row. The wildcard lets one rule match several North labels at once.

=MINIFS(C1:C10,A1:A10,"North*",B1:B10,"Active") // Returns the lowest active North value.

Example 4 - Use cells for the criteria

Storing the criteria in cells makes the formula more reusable because you can change the report without editing the formula.

=MINIFS(C1:C10,A1:A10,D1,B1:B10,D2) // Uses D1 and D2 as the criteria.

Conclusion Recap

• Main job: MINIFS returns the lowest value that matches all conditions.
• Starts with min_range: The first argument is always the range to compare.
• All conditions must match: The row is used only if every rule is true.
• Matching range sizes matter: If the ranges are not the same shape, Excel returns #VALUE!.
• No matches: If nothing meets the criteria, the result is 0.
• Best use: Choose MINIFS when you need the lowest result from a filtered subset of the data.