SUMIFS with multiple OR conditions in Excel

The specific problem

`SUMIFS` is built around AND logic. If you write criteria for Region and Status, Excel only sums rows where both conditions are true. The moment you need Region to be either East or West, you are asking for OR logic.

The cleanest approach is usually to add the separate `SUMIFS` results together. It is explicit, easy to audit, and works in older Excel versions.

=SUM(SUMIFS(amounts, regions, {"East","West"}, status, "Open"))

Why this works

The array constant `{"East","West"}` asks Excel to run two `SUMIFS` calculations: one for East and one for West. `SUM` then combines those partial totals.

For Google Sheets, the same pattern works in many cases, but teams often prefer `FILTER` plus `SUM` when they want the logic to read more like a condition:

=SUM(FILTER(amounts, (regions="East")+(regions="West"), status="Open"))

Common mistakes

• Using `SUMIFS(amounts, regions, "East", regions, "West")`. That asks one row to be both East and West, so it returns zero.
• Forgetting the outer `SUM` around the array result.
• Double-counting rows when the OR conditions overlap.
• Mixing full-column references with large workbooks and slowing recalculation.

Performance notes

For a few OR values, `SUM(SUMIFS(...))` is fast and readable. For dozens of OR values, consider a helper column that classifies rows once, then sum against the helper. It is easier to debug and usually faster in large files.

Practice this skill in Calcu

Calcu exercises around conditional summaries help you build the habit behind this formula: identify the values to sum, identify the criteria ranges, then decide whether your logic is AND or OR.

Related formulas: `COUNTIFS`, `FILTER`, `SUMPRODUCT`, and `XLOOKUP` when the criteria depend on a lookup table.