Excel Goal Seek: find the input that gives the answer you want

Normally you change inputs and watch the result. Goal Seek does the reverse: you say what result you want, and Excel finds the input that gets you there.

Example: what EMI can I afford?

You want the monthly payment to be ₹40,000. Loan amount in B3, rate in B1, years in B2, and the EMI formula in B4: =PMT(B1/12,B2*12,-B3). How big can the loan be?

1. Data › What-If Analysis › Goal Seek.
2. Set cell: B4 (the formula).
3. To value: 40000.
4. By changing cell: B3 (the loan amount).
5. OK › OK to keep the answer.

Excel tries values until the EMI is ₹40,000 — about ₹44.4 lakh at 9% over 20 years. EMI formula: PMT.

More uses

• Break-even price: set Profit to 0 by changing Price.
• Marks needed: set the weighted average to 60 by changing the final exam score. See weighted average.
• Sales target: set commission to ₹1,00,000 by changing sales.

Rules

• The Set cell must contain a formula that depends on the changing cell.
• The changing cell must contain a typed value, not a formula.
• Only one changing cell. For several, use Solver.

“Goal Seek may not have found a solution”

The target may be impossible, or the formula doesn’t depend on the changing cell. Check the link with Formulas › Trace Dependents.

Compare many inputs at once: What-If Analysis