How to Subtract in Google Sheets: The Ultimate Guide

You want to learn how to subtract in Google Sheets? Subtracting values in Google Sheets is easy, but it can be confusing because there are many ways to do it.

Before diving into a detailed guide: The simplest way to subtract in Google Sheets is to add an equal sign to your cell, then type a value followed by a minus sign (-) and the second value. Then, you can press “Enter” to see the results.

How to Subtract in Google Sheets (Quick Guide)

Need to find the difference in Google Sheets? That’s subtraction, and there are several ways to do it. I’ll explain a few of the most common methods here.

To start, here’s how to perform subtraction in a new spreadsheet in Google Sheets:

1. Select the cell where you want the result to appear (cell C2).
2. Put an equal sign (=) in the cell to start the formula.
3. Select the cell containing the number you want to subtract.
4. Add a minus sign (-).
5. Select the cell containing the number you want to subtract (the subtrahend).
6. Press Enter.
7. The difference between the values in A2 and B2 should now be displayed as the result in cell C2.

Learning to Subtract in Google Sheets

Google Sheets works with functions and formulas. Both methods are great ways to calculate and get results from a range of cells.

I’ve highlighted the following methods using the example dataset below to subtract the “Expenses” value (column B) from the “Income” value (column A) and put the result or “Balance” in column C.

How to Subtract in Google Sheets using a Simple Formula

A formula is an instruction that a user gives to perform a calculation. A formula combines values and has one or more operations, like addition or subtraction.

The values used in a formula can be numeric or text references in a cell, such as a name. A formula can be simple with two variables and one operation, as shown below.

The simplest way to subtract in Google Sheets is to use the subtraction formula with the minus sign (-):

= 6 - 5
= A2 - B2

It can also be complex, with a series of formula operators.

In any case, a formula should always start with an equal sign (=). Whenever you use a formula in a cell, it appears in the formula bar.

When you’re done entering the subtraction formula in Google Sheets, it performs the operations as soon as you press the Enter key.

At this point, the result of the difference formula in Google Sheets is displayed in the cell, while the actual formula is displayed in the formula bar when the cell is selected.

To learn how to subtract in Google Sheets using the formula, follow the steps below:

1. Select the cell where you want the result to appear (cell C2).
2. Enter the equal sign (=) in the cell to start the formula.
   • If you look at the formula bar, you will notice an equal sign (=) also appears.
3. Select the cell containing the number you want to subtract (cell A2).
4. Enter a minus sign (-).
5. Select the cell containing the number you want to subtract, the subtrahend (cell B2).
6. Press the Enter key.

The difference between the values in A2 and B2 should now be displayed as the result in cell C2.

Once you have calculated with the first formula and obtained the results for the other cells in the same column, it becomes easy.

You’ll notice a small square in the bottom-right corner of cell C2. This is the fill handle. Hover your mouse over it.

When your mouse changes to a plus sign, double-click the square. The formula will be copied to all cells in column C.

Each cell in column C should now contain the corresponding expense value subtracted from the income!

Wasn’t that easy?

There’s more to come! Here’s another way…

How to Subtract in Google Sheets using the MINUS function

A function is a pre-built formula that performs specific tasks. For example, there are functions for finding sums, multiplications, differences, and averages. MINUS is the subtraction function in Google Sheets.

Like formulas, functions always start with an equal sign (=). The name of the function and parentheses follow this. If necessary, you can list the parameters (or arguments) inside the parentheses.

Arguments are the input values that the function uses to perform its task. The number and type of arguments depend on the function’s syntax.

For example, Google Sheets has a function called MINUS that is used to subtract two numbers. The syntax of this function takes two parameters: the subtrahend and the minuend.

A standard subtraction equation would look like this:

8 - 6 = 2

In this example, the minuend is 8 and the subtrahend is 6.

If there’s more than one argument, they are separated by commas. Thus, the syntax for the MINUS function is as follows:

=MINUS(value1, value2)

Here:

• value1 is the minuend.
• value2 is the subtrahend.

In this formula, value1 and value2 can be numbers, dates, or references to cells containing numbers and/or dates.

So, you can write either:

=MINUS(6, 5)

or

=MINUS(A1, B1)

Like formulas, whenever you use a function in a cell, it is displayed in the formula bar.

When you’re done entering the subtraction function in a Google Sheets cell, it performs the operations as soon as you press the Enter key.

At this point, the result of the subtraction function in Google Sheets is displayed in the cell, while the actual formula is displayed in the formula bar when the cell is selected.

How to Subtract in Google Sheets using the SUM function

Although the SUM function in Google Sheets is generally used for adding numbers, you can also use it for subtraction.

In this case, you use the minus symbol (-) with parentheses between the two values. You can use SUM as a subtraction function in Google Sheets like this:

SUM(A2-B2)

How to Subtract Hours and Dates in Google Sheets

Unfortunately, MINUS or SUM does not allow you to efficiently subtract hours. Instead, you need to use the TIME function. You can do this with the following formula:

=reference cell-TIME(N hours, N minutes, N seconds)

Let’s take an example to better understand. I want to subtract 2 hours, 31 minutes, and 20 seconds from the time in cell A1. The formula would look like this:

=A1-TIME(2,31,20)

Alternatively, you don’t need to use the TIME function in Google Sheets when subtracting dates. You can subtract them as normal values or use cell references.

For example, I can use the formula below to subtract August 7 from January 15 to find the number of days between the dates.

=A1-A2

The result will be 204 days. If I want to change the format of this result, such as changing it to months and days or even a percentage, I can follow these steps:

1. Select the cell.
2. Go to “Format” > “Number”.
3. Choose the appropriate format to use.

Note that the first day is generally not counted with any date subtraction method in Google Sheets. If you need the first day to be counted, you can add +1 to your equation.

How to Subtract Numbers in Google Sheets using Arrays

The ARRAYFORMULA function is handy for retrieving entire columns of data and performing calculations. Arrays also allow you to subtract columns in Google Sheets.

Here’s how you can use an Array formula with the MINUS function:

=ARRAYFORMULA(MINUS(array1, array2)

Replace the numbers with examples and let’s see what it looks like:

Instead of manually entering the cell references, you can click and drag the cell references.

How to Subtract in Google Sheets across Multiple Spreadsheets

To subtract across multiple sheets, you need to use the sheet prefix and a cell reference with the minus sign (-) between them. Here’s an example:

The above example subtracts cell B5 in Sheet 2 from cell B5 in Sheet 1.

Note that it’s imperative to add the exclamation point (!) between the sheet name and the cell reference.

How to Subtract Multiple Cells in Google Sheets from the Total of One Cell

It’s also possible to subtract multiple cells in Google Sheets depending on how you want to subtract the values. You can subtract the cells sequentially or linearly using the MINUS function.

For example, I can subtract all the values or cell references in one go to find the balance in the spreadsheet below. This gives us a balance of $72.

You can also use the SUM function to subtract in the same way to subtract in Google Sheets. You need to create the SUM formula and subtract the total value from that sum.

For example, in the example spreadsheet below, I used the sum of values from B2 to B7 and subtracted it from the total with the formula:

=B1-SUM(B1:B8)

These two methods will give you the same result, so the choice of the most appropriate method is up to you.

How to Subtract Matrices in Google Sheets

Sometimes you might find yourself with a dataset that requires subtracting multiple columns from other columns.

Instead of finding the difference cell by cell or column by column, you can do it all at once by subtracting matrices. This is done using the array formula.

Follow the steps below to learn how to do it:

1. Enter the equal sign (=) and ARRAYFORMULA in the first cell of the result matrix.

2. Select the cells of the matrix you want to subtract from.

   • In this case, it’s A3:B7.

3. Add a minus sign (-).

4. Select the cells of the matrix you want to subtract (C3:D7).

5. Press Enter to see the results.

Here’s the complete formula of the example:

=ARRAYFORMULA (A3:B7 - C3:D7)

Using Subtraction Equations in Google Sheets

Sometimes, the function you want to perform is not as simple as finding the difference between two values in Google Sheets. So, you can use a more complex subtraction equation using the MINUS function and other signs like division (/), multiplication (x), and addition (+). This is more convenient as you can combine multiple formulas to get a much quicker return.

For example, in my example below, I subtracted the two values (40,000, 15,000) and then divided them by 10 to get the answer.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to create a subtraction formula in Google Sheets?

There are several ways to create a subtraction formula in Google Sheets. However, the simplest way is to use the MINUS function.

For example, to perform the calculation 5-4, you would type the following formula:

=MINUS(5,4)

How to add and subtract in one spreadsheet?

If you need to add and subtract in one formula, use the SUM function with the appropriate operators to indicate where to subtract and where to add in Google Sheets.

Let’s say you wanted to find 5 + 5 – 7. You could use the following formula:

=SUM(5+5-7)

How to subtract fractions in Google Sheets?

You can subtract fractions using the Google Sheets subtraction formula in combination with the MINUS function.

For example, to subtract a quarter from a half, use the following formula:

=MINUS(1/2,1/4)

You can also use cell references with the fractions instead of typing them manually. However, note that the results will be displayed in decimal form.

Conclusion

Now that you have learned how to subtract in Google Sheets using different methods, you can get familiar with formulas, making your work in Google Sheets easier as your knowledge progresses.

I hope this article has been helpful to you! You can also read more on our website Crawlan.com for more Google Sheets tips and tricks.

This was my juiciest little secret on how to subtract in Google Sheets. I hope it was helpful to you and that you can apply it to your own spreadsheets. If you have any other questions about Google Sheets, feel free to visit my website Crawlan.com.