Excel AutoSum Shortcut: Alt + = to total a column instantly

Click the empty cell under a column of numbers and press Alt+=. Excel writes =SUM(…) with the range filled in. Press Enter.

Total many columns at once

Select the empty cells under several columns (e.g. B11:F11) › Alt+=. Every column gets its own total — no Enter needed.

Row and column totals together

Select the numbers plus one empty row below and one empty column to the right › Alt+=. Excel fills every row total, every column total, and the grand total in the corner.

On a Mac

Cmd+Shift+T.

It picked the wrong range

AutoSum stops at the first blank or text cell above. Before pressing Enter, drag to fix the highlighted range, or type it. Blank rows in the middle of your data are the usual cause.

On a filtered list

Alt+= writes SUBTOTAL(9,…) instead of SUM, so the total follows the filter. See sum visible cells only.

Other quick totals

The small arrow next to AutoSum on the Home tab offers Average, Count, Max and Min — same shortcut logic.

Just want to see the total?

Select the numbers and read Sum in the status bar at the bottom. No formula needed.

The formula itself: SUM · more keys: keyboard shortcuts