How to Use ‘Not Equal To’ in Excel

In Excel In Excel, the “not equal to”> operator determines whether two values are identical to one another. It is also possible to combine it with conditional functions to simplify calculation of data.

The operator “Not equal to” (<>) can be described as one of six logic operators that are available within Microsoft Excel, which helps determine if a value is not the same as the other. It’s also known by the name of a Boolean operator due to the result of any calculation using this operator is either true or false.

The "" is a comparator which compares two values. If the two values are not identical it returns TRUE, otherwise it will return False. It is the Not Equal operator is often employed in conjunction together with conditional function like the IF OR SUMIF, COUNTIF, and SUMIF to make formulas. Let’s look at how we can utilize the operator ‘Not Equal to’ in Excel.

How to Utilize the ‘Not Equal to’ <> Comparison Operator in Excel

The syntax of “Not Equal” is:

=[value_1]<>[value_2]

• value 1 is the initial value that is to be measured.
• value 2 The second value compared.

Let’s look at how the >> operator functions in Excel using Formulas as well as examples.

Formula for example:

=A5<>B5

As you will see below as you can see below, the formula in cell C5 is TRUE since the value of cell A5 isn’t equal to the value of cell B5.

In this case is where this formula is False because the value of cell A6 is the same as the value of cell B6.

Let’s look at how the “Not Equal to’ operator works using text values. It operates exactly the same way it works with the number value.

Be aware that the ‘Not Equal to the operation in Excel is case-sensitive, meaning that even if values are different in text cases, the differences in case are ignored, as illustrated below.

Utilizing an ‘<>‘ the Operator for Functions

After we’ve discovered how the “not equal” operator operates, let’s look at how we can use it with other ways.

Utilizing ‘Not Equal to’ using the IF Functions in Excel

The <> operator is extremely useful in its own right, however it is more effective when it is combined by an IF. The IF function determines if certain conditions are met , and when the conditions are met, it will return an exact result, if not, it returns a different result.

The syntax of an IF function would be:

=IF(logical_test,[value_if_true],[value_if_false])

Let’s suppose that we have an inventory record that lists the products and their quantity. If the stock of a product falls lower than 100, we have to replenish it.

Apply the formula below:

=IF(C2<>100,"Restock","Full stock")

The formula above determines whether the amount of a product (C2) isn’t greater than 100. If it’s less than 100 and it then will return ‘Restock’ in cell D2; in case the quantity is 100, it will return “Full stock”.

Then you can drag the handle for fill for applying the formula the other cells.

Utilizing ‘Not Equal to’ using the The COUNTIF function in Excel

Excel COUNTIF function is used to count the cells that satisfy the specified conditions within the specified range. If you wish to determine all cells that have an amount that is not the same as the value you specify, type COUNTIF using an ‘<>‘ operator.

=COUNTIF(range,criteria)

The COUNTIF criteria are logical conditions that help the logical operator (>,<,<>,=).

Let’s say that we have a list of marks for a student. We want to determine the number of students who completed the exam. Here is the formula we used:

=COUNTIF(C2:C9,"<>FAIL")

The formula is used to count the cells C2 to C9 when the result is not “FAIL”. The result is displayed in cell C11.

Utilizing ‘Not Equal To using the SUMIF function in Excel

The SUMIF function can be used to add all numbers in a range when adjacent cells meet the specified conditions within the range. The basic structure of the SUMIF functions is as follows:

=SUMIF(range,criteria,[sum_range])

In the following example In the example below, we are trying to determine the total quantity of the fruits purchased that aren’t mango. You can utilize the> operator using the SUMIF function to add all the values in this range (B2:B17) which cells (A2:A17) are not equivalent to the ‘Mango’. This gives us the number 144 (cell E2).

=SUMIF(A2:A17,"<>Mango",B2:B17)

Now, you know how to utilize not Equal in Excel. ‘<>‘ within Excel.