Sum absolute values in Excel - A complete guide
Suppose you have a list containing both positive and negative numbers and you wish to sum their absolute values, effectively treating all negatives as positives. For instance, the sum of 10 and -10 would be 20, not 0. Are there any quick methods in Excel to help you calculate these absolute values? This tutorial provides different solutions to meet your needs.
Sum the absolute values with formulas
Here are some useful formulas for you to sum the absolute values. Please look at this:
Formula 1: Use SUM and ABS functions
Please enter below formula into a cell where you want to display the result, and press "Ctrl" + "Shift" + "Enter" keys to get the sum.
=SUM(ABS(A2:A14))
Formula 2: Use SUMPRODUCT and ABS functions
This "Sumproduct" formula can also help you. Type the following formula and press the "Enter" key to get the sum of the absolute values..
=SUMPRODUCT(ABS(A2:A14))
Formula 3: Use SUMIF function
With the following two SUMIF functions, you can quickly calculate the sum of the absolute values, do as this:
1. In a blank cell which you want to put the result, enter one of below formulas, and press the "Enter" key.
=SUMIF(A2:A14,">0") - SUMIF(A2:A14,"<0")
=SUM(SUMIF(A2:A14,{">0","<0"})*{1,-1})
Easily sum absolute values with an amazing tool
Using the "Sum Absolute Value" features of "Kutools for Excel" can quickly help you calculate the absolute values of numbers in a range without the need to memorize and execute formulas.
After installing Kutools for Excel, go to the Kutools tab and select "Kutools" > "Formula" > "Formula Helper".
In the "Formula Helper" dialog, you need to configure as follows.
- Select "Math" from the "Formula Helper" drop-down list
- Select "Sum absolute values" in the "Choose a formula" list box
- Select the range of numbers you will sum, and finally click "OK".
Result
Now, you have the sum of the absolute values of the selected numbers.
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Sum the absolute values by changing all negative numbers to positive in Excel
Apart from formulas, we can change all negative numbers to positive ones and then sum up these numbers. And you can apply the "Change Sign of Values" utility of "Kutools for Excel" to get it done with ease.
1. Select a blank cell below the numbers whose absolute values you will add, type the formula into it, and press the "Enter" key.
=SUM(A2:A14)

2. Select these number cells (A2:A14 in our case), and click "Kutools" > "Content" > "Change Sign of Values".
3. In the opening "Change Sign of Values" dialog box, please check the "Change all negative values to positive" option, and click the "Ok" button.
Now all negative values are converted to positive values, and the sum result updates automatically.
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