How to Sum Columns in Excel Table (7 Methods)

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Multiple numbers’ sum in Excel is a common task. I am confident that those who use Excel at least once used this feature. There are several ways to sum numbers In Excel. We can sum through rows and columns. In this context, we will show you how to sum columns in an Excel table.


How to Sum Columns in Excel Table: 7 Easy Ways

In this article, we will demonstrate 7 easy tricks to add multiple columns to an Excel table. For that, we are considering a datasheet of 10 employees of a company and their income for the first 2 months of a year. Our dataset is in the range of cells B5:E14. The names of the employees are in Column B. Income of month January and February are in Columns C and D respectively and we will show the sum value in Column E.


1. Use of AutoSum Function to Sum Columns in Excel Table

This is an easy approach to sum columns in an Excel table. We will use the AutoSum function to sum the columns of an Excel table. Our data set is in the range of cells B5:E14. The steps are given below:

📌 Steps:

  • First of all, select the entire range of cells B4:E14.

  • Now, in the Insert tab, select Tables > Table. Or you can press ‘Ctrl+T’ on your keyboard to create this table.

Use of AutoSum Function to Sum Columns in Excel Table

  • A small dialog box entitled Create Table will appear.
  • Click on My Table has headers and OK at the bottom of that box.

  • The Table will be created. We set the Table name ‘Income_1’ from the Table Design tab.

Use of AutoSum Function to Sum Columns in Excel Table

  • Now, select the range of cells C5:E5.

Use of AutoSum Function to Sum Columns in Excel Table

  • After that, in the Home ribbon, go to the Editing option.
  • Then, select AutoSum.

Use of AutoSum Function to Sum Columns in Excel Table

  • You can find this tool in the Formula in the Formula tab, select AutoSum > Sum.

Use of AutoSum Function to Sum Columns in Excel Table

  • Within a second you will get the result.

Use of AutoSum Function to Sum Columns in Excel Table

Thus, we can say that the tool worked perfectly.

👉 Things You Should Know

As we have converted the datasheet into a  table the Autosum function will be copied through the column. We don’t need to use the Fill Handle icon anymore. Excel table provides us with many more facilities like this. You will find some of those in our other content.

Read More: How to Sum Entire Column in Excel 


2. Keyboard Shortcut to Sum Columns

This process is also one of the easiest ways to add multiple columns to an Excel table. For applying this method you have to memorize the keyboard shortcut of the AutoSum function. The steps of this process are explained below:

📌 Steps:

Keyboard Shortcut to Sum Columns

  • After creating the table, select the range of cells C5:E5.

  • Now, press ‘Alt+=’ on your keyboard.
  • You will get the sum of Columns C and D row-wise in the column titles Total.

Keyboard Shortcut to Sum Columns

Finally, we can see that our keyboard shortcut has worked accurately.

Read More: How to Sum Columns in Excel When Filtered


3. Using SUM Function

In this method, we are going to use the widely used the SUM function to add up the columns of our datasheet. We will sum the column called Jan Income and Feb Income and put the result into Column E or Total. The steps are given as follows:

📌 Steps:

  • First of all, select the entire range of cells to convert the datasheet into an Excel Table. It will provide us with more facilities. We set the table name as ‘Income’ from the Table Design ribbon.

  • Select cell E5.
  • Then, write down the following formula into the cell.
=SUM(Income[@[Jan Income]:[Feb Income]])

Using SUM Function

  • Press the Enter key on your keyboard and you will get the result.

Using SUM Function

Finally, we can say that our function worked successfully.


4. SUBTOTAL Function to Sum Columns

This process is also quite similar to the previous method. However, we are going to use the SUBTOTAL function instead of the SUM function. We are using the same data that we used in our other methods. The procedure of this method is given as follows:

📌 Steps:

  • At the beginning of this method, select the entire range of cells for converting the datasheet into an Excel Table. We set the table name as ‘Income_5’ from the Table Design tab.

  • Now, select cell E5 and write down the following formula for the cell.
=SUBTOTAL(9,Income5[@[Jan Income]:[Feb Income]])

SUBTOTAL Function to Sum Columns

  • Press the Enter key on your keyboard and you will get the result for all of the rows.

SUBTOTAL Function to Sum Columns

In the end, we can say that our function worked perfectly and we got the result.


5. Applying AGGREGATE Function in Excel Table

The AGGREGATE function will be used in this process to add the columns. Our data is in the range of cells B5:E14. The steps of this process are given below:

📌 Steps:

  • In the beginning, select the entire range of cells and convert the datasheet into an Excel Table. We set the table name as ‘Income56’ from the Table Design tab.

  • Now, select cell E5 and write down the following formula for the cell.
=AGGREGATE(9,3,Income56[@[Jan Income]:[Feb Income]])

Applying AGGREGATE Function in Excel Table

  • Press the Enter key on your keyboard and you will get the result for all of the rows.

Applying AGGREGATE Function in Excel Table

So, we can say that the function worked effectively.

Read More: How to Sum Columns by Color in Excel 


6. Defining Name Range to Add Columns in Excel

We can also add multiple columns by the Define Name Feature. Here, we are going the show the procedure to you. For that, we are using the same datasheet as well. The process is described below step by step:

📌 Steps:

  • Select the range of cells C5:D5.
  • Now, write down the range name in the box which shows us the active cell number.

Defining Name Range to Add Columns In Excel

  • We chose the employee name Harry as the range name.
  • Press Enter on your keyboard.
  • Similarly, define the name range for the rest of the rows.
  • Then, select cell E5 and write down the following formula for the cell.
=SUM(Harry)

Defining Name Range to Add Columns In Excel

  • Press Enter to get the sum into the cell.
  • Write down the formula similar for the rest of the row to add them.

Defining Name Range to Add Columns In Excel

Finally, we can see the result in our desired column.

👉 Things You Should Know

In this method, you should not convert the range of cells into an Excel Table. Because it will create trouble for you. You have seen in other methods, that when we write down the formula in cell E5 of the Excel table to sum the columns, it copies the sum formula for the other rows of column E. In this case, the Excel table will copy the formula ‘SUM(Harry)’ to the rest of the rows, instead of their own Defined Name. As a result, all the rows of this column will show the same result.


7. Sum Columns of Multiple Excel Tables

Through this process, we can add the columns of two different Excel tables and get the result in our desired column. To demonstrate this process, we split our previous data table into two tables. The first one contains the Name of the employees and the Jan Income, while the second one contains the Name of the employees and the Feb Income. Now, we will sum the Jan Income and Feb Income and put the result into the column Total. The steps of this process are given below:

Sum Columns of Multiple Excel Tables

📌 Steps:

  • First, select the range of cells B5:C14, E5:F14, and H5:H14 to convert them into 3 different tables. We have converted the column titled Total into a single table not to use the Fill Handle. But, this is not mandatory, We set the table’s name from the Table Design tab like the previous methods.

Sum Columns of Multiple Excel Tables

  • Now, select cell H5.
  • Write down the following formula in the cell.
=SUM(Income567[@[Jan Income]],Table8[@[Feb Income]])

Sum Columns of Multiple Excel Tables

  • Press the Enter key on your keyboard.
  • You will get the sum of both columns for every row.

Sum Columns of Multiple Excel Tables

At last, we can see that our method worked successfully and we can sum columns in Excel tables.

Read More: How to Total a Column in Excel 


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Conclusion

That’s the end of this article. I hope that this will be helpful for you and that you will be able to sum multiple columns of your Excel table. If you have any further queries or recommendations, please share them with us in the comments section below.


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Soumik Dutta
Soumik Dutta

Soumik Dutta, having earned a BSc in Naval Architecture & Engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, plays a key role as an Excel & VBA Content Developer at ExcelDemy. Driven by a profound passion for research and innovation, he actively immerses himself in Excel. In his role, Soumik not only skillfully addresses complex challenges but also demonstrates enthusiasm and expertise in gracefully navigating tough situations, underscoring his unwavering commitment to consistently deliver exceptional, high-quality content that... Read Full Bio

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