What arithmetic operations are available in Excel? All of them. Arithmetic is a subset of broader math operations. In classic arithmetic there are five basic actions:
- Addition
- Subtraction
- Multiplication
- Division
- Exponentiation (raising to a power)
A special case of exponentiation is extracting a root. For example, a square root is the same as raising to the power of 1/2 (0.5).
Objects of arithmetic operations
Arithmetic actions operate on numbers, so numeric cell values are the primary target. However, booleans also participate in arithmetic: TRUE behaves like 1, and FALSE like 0. This is handy in conditional calculations.
Dates and times work too: in Excel they are just numbers with a date/time format, so you can add, subtract, multiply, etc.
Arithmetic functions
Excel has functions that perform these actions (see the Excel functions glossary):
- SUM — adds numbers.
- PRODUCT — multiplies numbers.
- POWER — raises a number to a power.
- QUOTIENT — integer division (drops the remainder).
There are no dedicated functions for subtraction or standard division because their equivalents are straightforward:
- Subtraction is addition with a negative addend (e.g., A1 + (-B1)).
- Division is multiplication by a fraction (e.g., divide by 2 ⇢ multiply by 0.5).
If you don’t care about the remainder, use QUOTIENT for integer division.
Arithmetic operators in Excel (table)
Here are the operators and simple formula examples:
| Operation | Operator | Example |
| Addition | + | =A1+5 |
| Subtraction | – | =A2-10 |
| Multiplication | * | =A3*15 |
| Division | / | =A4/20 |
| Exponentiation | ^ | =A5^2 |
Do arithmetic without formulas (paste special)
You can apply arithmetic to many cells without writing formulas using Paste Special → Operation. Copy a cell with the constant (e.g., 10), select your range, and use Paste Special to add, subtract, multiply, or divide in place.
The limitation: your constant must exist on the sheet and be copied to the clipboard first.
Faster arithmetic with !SEMTools
!SEMTools streamlines these actions. Instead of placing a helper cell and copying it, you type the constant directly in a small dialog and apply the action to the selection. It also includes exponentiation (missing from Paste Special) and nearby menus for other math operations, such as rounding or multiplying by a random number within a chosen range.
Run arithmetic on whole ranges in seconds — no formulas needed.
!SEMTools lets you add, subtract, multiply, divide, and even raise to a power in a couple of clicks.
This post is also available in RU.