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How to add or subtract times to get hours/minutes/seconds in Excel?

Author: Sun Last Modified: 2024-10-10

In general, summing or subtracting time will get the time format such as hh:mm:ss, but in some cases, you just want to sum or subtract time to get hours or minutes or seconds only, how can you quickly handle it in Excel?

Sum or subtract times to get hours/minutes/seconds with formulas and Format Cell function

Sum or subtract times to get decimal hours/minutes/seconds with Kutools for Excel good idea3

arrow blue right bubble Sum or subtract times to get hours/minutes/seconds with formulas and Format Cell function

In Excel, you can add the times first and then format the cells to hours/minutes/seconds.

1. Select a blank cell and type =SUM(A2:B2), and then drag auto fill handle over the cells you need to apply this formula, see screenshot:

use sum function to sum the times arrow rightdrag and fill the formula to other cells

2. Then keep the summing cells selected, and right click to select Format Cells from the context menu.
right click to select Format Cells

3. Then in the Format Cells dialog, under Number tab, click Custom in the Category section, and then go to type [hh] into the Type textbox in right section. See screenshot:
specify the time format in the dialog box

4. Click OK, and now the summing results have been format as hours only.

original resultarrow righthour result

Tip: If you want to format cells as minutes, type [mm] into Type textbox, and if you format cells as seconds, type [ss] into Type textbox.

arrow blue right bubble Sum or subtract times to get decimal hours/minutes/seconds with Kutools for Excel

If you want to sum time and then get the results as decimal hours, minutes or seconds, you can use Kutools for Excel’s Convert Time function.

Kutools for Excel offers over 300 advanced features to streamline complex tasks, boosting creativity and efficiency. Itegarate with AI capabilities, Kutools automates tasks with precision, making data management effortless. Detailed information of Kutools for Excel...         Free trial...

1. Select a blank cell and type =SUM(A2:B2), and then drag the autofill handle over cells to sum up time. See screenshot:

use sum function to sum the timesarrow right drag and fill the formula to other cells

2. Keep results selected, and click Kutools > Content > Convert Time, and select an option you need from the sub context menu. See screenshot:
click Convert Time feature of kutools

Then you can see the cells are formatted to decimal hours, minutes or seconds.

Convert to decimal hours                                  Convert to decimal minutes                        Convert to decimal seconds

Convert to decimal hours Convert to decimal minutes Convert to decimal seconds

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