Excel - Microsoft Excel MIN Function

Description

The Excel MIN function returns the smallest value from a supplied set of numerical values. 

The syntax of the function is : 

MIN( number1, [number2], ... ) 

Where the number arguments are a set of one or more numeric values, or arrays of numeric values, that you want to return the smallest value of. These values can be supplied directly to the function, as cells containing numeric values, or as values returned from other excel formulas. 

In Excel 2007 & Excel 2010, you can provide up to 255 number arguments to the function, but in Excel 2003 or earlier, you can only provide up to 30 number arguments. 

If an argument is supplied to the function as a reference to a cell, or an array of cells, the Min function will ignore blank cells, and text or logical values contained within the supplied cell range. However, logical values and text representations of numbers that are supplied directly to the function will be included in the calculation. 

Excel Min Function Example

The following example shows the Min function used to retrieve the smallest value from the set of values in cells A1 - A5. 

The format of the function is shown in the spreadsheet on the left and the resulting value is shown in the spreadsheet on the right. 

Min Function Error

If you get an error from the Excel Min Function, this is likely to be the #VALUE! error: 

Common Error