To multiply numbers in Excel, you use the asterisk (*) symbol as the multiplication operator within a formula. Here are the main methods:
Basic Multiplication
- Type an equal sign (=) in a cell to start a formula.
- Enter the numbers or cell references you want to multiply, separated by *.
- Press Enter to see the result.
Example:
=5*10 will display 50.
=A2*B2 multiplies the values in cells A2 and B2
Multiplying Multiple Cells or Numbers
You can multiply more than two numbers or cells by adding more references
separated by *:
=A2*B2*C2 multiplies three cells. Alternatively, use the PRODUCT function to
multiply multiple numbers or ranges at once:
=PRODUCT(A2:A5) multiplies all values in cells A2 through A5.
You can also combine numbers and ranges:
=PRODUCT(A2:A5, 3) multiplies the product of A2:A5 by 3
Multiplying a Column by a Constant
To multiply each value in a column by a fixed number in another cell (say cell
C2), use an absolute reference:
=A2*$C$2
The $ signs lock the reference to C2 so it doesn’t change when copying the
formula down. Then drag the formula down to apply to other rows
Multiplying by Percentages
You can multiply by percentages directly:
=50*10% or =A1*10%
Excel treats 10% as 0.1 internally
. In summary, multiplication in Excel is done with the * operator inside formulas starting with =, and you can multiply numbers, cells, ranges, or use functions like PRODUCT for convenience and clarity
