MAX Function in Excel: Largest Value in a Range

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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. MAX in practice
8. Where you will use it
9. Worked example
10. Mistakes people make
11. Related functions
12. Continue learning

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.

MAX in practice

Where you will use it

• Highest sale of the month
• Latest date in a list
• Cap a value: MAX(0, x) to avoid negatives

Worked example

Running highest sale so far.

Day	Sales	Formula	Result
Mon	18500	=MAX($B$2:B2)	18500
Tue	22100	=MAX($B$2:B3)	22100
Wed	19800	=MAX($B$2:B4)	22100
Thu	25600	=MAX($B$2:B5)	25600

Results calculated in Excel.

Mistakes people make

Mistake	What to do instead
Text numbers ignored	Convert to numbers
Needing the max with a condition	Use MAXIFS

Related functions

MIN · LARGE · MAXIFS · INDEX

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📎 Practice files for this article

• 📗
  Practice workbook: Statistics basics22 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.