BITOR Function in Excel: Bitwise OR

BITOR Function in Excel: Bitwise OR featured illustration

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⏱ 2 min readUpdated 28 September 2026

EngineeringLevel: ExpertAvailable in: Excel 2013+

In this article
  1. Syntax
  2. Examples
  3. Example 1
  4. BITOR in practice
  5. Where you will use it
  6. Worked example
  7. Mistakes people make
  8. Related functions
  9. Continue learning

BITOR combines flag numbers: a bit is on if it is on in either input.

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Syntax

=BITOR(number1, number2)
Argument What it means
number1, number2 Non-negative whole numbers.

Examples

Example 1

=BITOR(B2, 4)

Switch on the “blocked” flag (4) in a status code.

BITOR in practice

Where you will use it

  • Combine permission flags
  • Set a bit in a mask
  • Merge status codes

Worked example

ABFormulaResult
14=BITOR(A2,B2)5
52=BITOR(A3,B3)7
88=BITOR(A4,B4)8

Results calculated in Excel.

Mistakes people make

MistakeWhat to do instead
Adding flags with +Adding a flag twice corrupts the mask; BITOR doesn't
Negative numbers#NUM!

BITAND · BITXOR

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📎 Practice files for this article

  • 📗
    Practice workbook: Engineering & conversion15 tasks on realistic sales data — type your formula, the Check column turns green when it is right. Answers sheet included.
    ⬇ XLSX · 34 KB

Free to use for learning. Files with macros (.bas) are plain text — import them with Alt+F11 → File → Import File, and always test on a copy.

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