MAX Function in Excel: Largest Value in a Range

⏱ 1 min readUpdated 28 September 2026

StatisticalLevel: BeginnerAvailable in: Excel 2007+

In this article
  1. Syntax
  2. Examples
  3. Example 1
  4. Example 2
  5. Example 3
  6. Power combo
  7. Related functions

MAX returns the largest number. MIN is its mirror. Both ignore text and blanks.

Syntax

=MAX(number1, [number2], ...)
Argument What it means
number1 Numbers or ranges.

Examples

Example 1

=MAX(D2:D500)

Biggest invoice.

Example 2

=MAX(A2:A500)

Latest date in a list.

Example 3

=MAX(0, B2-C2)

Never below zero — a clean way to floor a result.

Power combo

=INDEX(B2:B500, MATCH(MAX(D2:D500), D2:D500, 0))

Returns the customer name of the largest invoice, not just the amount.

MIN · LARGE · MAXIFS · INDEX

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