Formula Guide

The Excel MINIFS Function
explained simply

MINIFS finds the smallest value in a range that meets one or more conditions — the conditional version of MIN.

ExcelPro · 4 min read · Updated June 2026
Contents
  1. What does MINIFS do?
  2. Syntax
  3. 4 examples
  4. Common mistakes
  5. FAQ

What does MINIFS do?

MINIFS scans a range and returns the smallest value among only the rows that meet every condition you specify.

It mirrors MAXIFS exactly, just returning the minimum instead of the maximum — useful for finding the lowest price, shortest time, or smallest quantity within a filtered subset of data.

Syntax

=MINIFS(min_range, criteria_range1, criteria1, [criteria_range2, criteria2], ...)
ArgumentDescription
min_range requiredThe range to find the minimum from.
criteria_range1 requiredThe first range to check a condition against.
criteria1 requiredThe first condition to match.
criteria_range2, criteria2 optionalAdditional condition pairs. All must be true.

Examples

Example 1
Lowest price in one category
=MINIFS(C2:C100,A2:A100,"Electronics")

Returns the smallest value in C2:C100 where column A equals "Electronics".

Example 2
Lowest salary among full-time staff
=MINIFS(C2:C50,B2:B50,"Full-time")

Filters to one employment type before finding the minimum.

Example 3
Two conditions at once
=MINIFS(D2:D100,A2:A100,"North",B2:B100,"Q1")

Both Region=North AND Quarter=Q1 must be true for a row to be considered.

Example 4
Earliest date matching a condition
=MINIFS(C2:C50,B2:B50,"Pending")

Since dates are stored as numbers, MINIFS also finds the earliest date among rows still marked "Pending".

Common mistakes

⚠️ Confusing MINIFS with MIN+IF array formulas

MINIFS is a clean, native function — no need for an older array-formula workaround.

⚠️ Range size mismatches

All ranges (min_range, criteria_range1, etc.) must be the same size or you get a #VALUE! error.

FAQ

What does MINIFS return if nothing matches?
It returns 0, not an error — worth checking for separately if a true "no match" case needs to be distinguished from a genuine 0 value.
Is MINIFS available in older Excel versions?
It was introduced in Excel 2019/365. Older versions need an array formula like MIN(IF(...)) instead.

Practise MINIFS with real data

ExcelPro has hands-on MINIFS exercises built into real job scenarios — free to start.

Try MINIFS exercises →

Related formulas

MAXIFS SUMIFS