Excel MAX Function and Formula with Examples

How to Use the MAX Function and Formula in Excel

In this tutorial, you'll learn how to use the Excel MAX function

MAX() is a function to get the largest number in a set of numbers.

MAX Syntax

The syntax of the MAX() function is as follows:

=MAX(value1, [value2], ...)

Arguments

  • value1: The first argument
  • value2: Optional. The second argument

Remarks

  • You can specify up to 255 arguments.
  • Arguments (value1value2, ...) can be numbers, arrays, or references that contain numeric values.
  • If the arguments contain no numbers, MAX() returns 0.
  • MAX() ignores the text, empty cells, or logical values in the array or reference.

MAX Function Examples

Finding the largest number in a group of numbers

The following examples get the max value among 10, 30, 20, 20, 80, and 50:

=MAX(10,30,20,20,80,50)

The above formula returns 80.

Next, let's see more examples below.

Demo data:

 ABCDEF
1DateItem CodeItem NameQtyUnit PriceAmount
212/4/2019Item0001HP Desktop White 1212002400
312/4/2019Item0002HP Desktop Black 2112401240
412/5/2019Item0003HP Desktop Blue 3311303390
512/5/2019Item0003HP Desktop Blue 3411304520
612/5/2019Item0002HP Desktop Black 2512406200
712/6/2019Item0001HP Desktop White 1111201120
812/7/2019Item0001HP Desktop White 1711508050
912/9/2019Item0003HP Desktop Blue 3311003300
1012/9/2019Item0002HP Desktop Black 2812009600
1112/10/2019Item0003HP Desktop Blue 3210002000

Finding the largest number in a single range of cells

You can find the largest number in a range of cells, as the following example shows:

=MAX(F2:F11)

MAX() returns 9600, which is the largest number in the range F2: F11.

Finding the largest number in multiple ranges of cells

You can find the largest number in multiple ranges, as the following example shows:

=MAX(320,F2:F4,F6:F8,F10:F11, 10000)

The above formula returns 10000.

MAX() Ignores text, empty cells, or logical values

MAX() ignores text, empty cells, or logical values.

MAX() returns 0 if the arguments contain no numbers.

Here is an example:

=MAX(C2:C11)

The above formula returns 0 because there isn't a number in the range.

In this tutorial, you've learned how to use the Excel MAX function

MAX is a function to get the largest number in a group of numbers.


See also:
Excel ROUNDUP Function with Examples
Excel MIN Function with Examples
Excel COUNTA Function – Count Non-Blank Cells in Excel
Excel COUNTBLANK Function – Count Blank Cells in Excel
Excel SUMIFS Function – Multiple Criteria

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