When calculating formulas, Excel follows a certain calculation order. This calculation order is determined by 3 rules: 1) precedence rule; 2) left-to-right rule; 3) parentheses rule.
Watch the video below to learn about the calculation order in Excel formulas. If you prefer written instructions, then continue reading.
Precedence rule
When there are several calculation operators in a formula, Excel follows the below stated precedence order when performing operations:
Reference operators → Negation → Percent → Exponentiation → Multiplication & Division → Addition & Subtraction → Concatenation → Comparison
For example, let us look at the formula below which contains all types of calculation operators in Excel:
Now, let us look at the breakdown of the calculation below in the picture and see in which order operations are performed:
Left-to-right rule
When a formula contains operations with the same level of precedence, such as multiplication & division or addition & subtraction, Excel calculates them from left to right. So when calculating the above formula, Excel first divides 15 by 3 and then multiplies 2 by 0.07. Similarly, Excel first adds 5 to 64 and then subtracts 0.14 from the result.
Parentheses rule
When a formula contains parentheses, the operations within them are performed first. This means that you can always change the order of precedence by using parentheses. Simply enclose the part of a formula you want to be calculated first in parentheses.
For example, let us look at the result of the above formula with parentheses enclosing the whole formula except the negation operator (minus sign).
In this case, the part of the formula within parentheses is calculated first, which gives the result 68.869 and then the negation is applied, which gives the result -68.869. Since -68.869 is less than 10, the formula gives the result FALSE. For the breakdown of the calculation, see the picture below:
So, these are the 3 rules that determine the calculation order in Excel formulas.
If you have any additions or comments about the calculation order in Excel formulas, please feel free to write in the comment section below.