# How to sum if a cell is blank in Excel

Use an empty string as the condition: `=SUMIFS(B2:B8,C2:C8,"")` adds the rows where column C is empty.

**Excel:** `=SUMIFS(B2:B8,C2:C8,"")` (Every current version)

**Google Sheets:** the same formula works.

## Example

Sample data (row 1 is the header):

| A | B | C | D | E |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Invoice | Amount | Paid on |  | Unpaid total |
| INV-301 | 1250 | 2026-04-02 |  |  |
| INV-302 | 480 |  |  |  |
| INV-303 | 2310 | 2026-04-09 |  |  |
| INV-304 | 915 |  |  |  |
| INV-305 | 3600 |  |  |  |
| INV-306 | 275 | 2026-04-15 |  |  |
| INV-307 | 1840 |  |  |  |

Formula in F1: `=SUMIFS(B2:B8,C2:C8,"")`

Result: $6,835

## How it works

The condition `""` matches empty cells, so SUMIFS adds the amounts on rows where `C2:C8` has no date. Those are the unpaid invoices. When a date is entered, the row drops out of the total.

## Other ways

- `=SUMIF(C2:C8,"",B2:B8)`: The same with SUMIF, which takes the range to add last.
- `=SUMPRODUCT((C2:C8="")*B2:B8)`: Also treats cells whose formula returns "" as blank.

## Common mistakes

- A cell with a space is not blank. If an invoice you expect is missing from the total, check the paid date column for stray spaces.
- Using `"="` as the condition matches truly empty cells only, not formulas that return "". `""` matches both.

## Questions

**How do I sum if a cell is not blank?**

Use `"<>"`: `=SUMIFS(B2:B8,C2:C8,"<>")`.

**How do I sum unpaid invoices that are also overdue?**

Add a date condition on a due date column: `=SUMIFS(B2:B8,C2:C8,"",D2:D8,"<"&TODAY())`.

Every formula and result on this page was checked by running it in the Spreadsheet Practice formula engine on 2026-10-30.

Source: https://spreadsheetpractice.com/formulas/sum-if-blank