SUBTOTAL
Supported, behaves as documentedCategory: Math and trigonometry · Last tested 2026-09-01
Real compatibility results for the SUBTOTAL function: executed in Excel for the web, Google Sheets and LibreOffice Calc, with desktop Excel behavior from Microsoft’s official documentation (we do not run desktop Excel — Excel for the web is a different application and is executed separately). Syntax and links to that documentation are below.
Support matrix
| Engine | Documented | Live-tested | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Excel (desktop) | Yes | No — documented only | n/a |
| Excel for the web | — | Yes (recalc, 2026-09-01) | Supported, behaves as documented |
| Google Sheets | Yes | Yes (Drive import, 2026-08-29) | Supported, behaves as documented |
| LibreOffice Calc | Yes | Yes (25.8.7.3, 2026-07-29) | Supported, behaves as documented |
LibreOffice version history
We executed the same test cases under each LibreOffice release to show exactly when SUBTOTAL’s support changed — not documentation claims, real results.
| LibreOffice version | Verdict | Tested |
|---|---|---|
| 24.2.0.3 | Supported, behaves as documented | 2026-08-29 |
| 24.8.7.2 | Supported, behaves as documented | 2026-08-29 |
| 25.2.0.3 | Supported, behaves as documented | 2026-08-29 |
| 25.8.7.3 | Supported, behaves as documented | 2026-07-29 |
Executed test cases
Excel for the web (executed 2026-09-01 via OneDrive recalculation)
These values come from Excel for the web, not from desktop Excel. They are two different implementations of the calculation engine, and this run measured only the web one: the corpus was uploaded to OneDrive as .xlsx, recalculated by Excel for the web on open, and downloaded again for readback. Excel for the web is a rolling service with no pinnable version, so the run is identified by its date. Where a value here disagrees with the Expected column — which is Microsoft’s documentation of the desktop product — we cannot tell you whether the web engine diverges from the desktop one or the documentation is wrong about both, because we do not run desktop Excel.
| Formula | Description | Result | Expected | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| =SUBTOTAL(9,A1:A4) | Function code 9 = SUM over visible rows (none hidden here) | 100 | 100 | Matched |
| =SUBTOTAL(3,A1:A4) | Function code 3 = COUNTA | 4 | 4 | Matched |
| =SUBTOTAL(9,A1:A5) | A5 contains its own SUBTOTAL over A1:A4; the outer SUBTOTAL must skip it (no double-count), so the answer is 100, not 200 | 100 | 100 | Matched |
Google Sheets (executed 2026-08-29 via Drive import)
Google Sheets is a rolling service with no pinnable version, so this run is identified by its date. The corpus was imported to Drive as .xlsx, recalculated by Sheets, and exported back for readback.
| Formula | Description | Result | Expected | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| =SUBTOTAL(9,A1:A4) | Function code 9 = SUM over visible rows (none hidden here) | 100 | 100 | Matched |
| =SUBTOTAL(3,A1:A4) | Function code 3 = COUNTA | 4 | 4 | Matched |
| =SUBTOTAL(9,A1:A5) | A5 contains its own SUBTOTAL over A1:A4; the outer SUBTOTAL must skip it (no double-count), so the answer is 100, not 200 | 100 | 100 | Matched |
LibreOffice Calc 25.8.7.3 (tested 2026-07-29)
| Formula | Description | Result | Expected | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| =SUBTOTAL(9,A1:A4) | Function code 9 = SUM over visible rows (none hidden here) | 100 | 100 | Matched |
| =SUBTOTAL(3,A1:A4) | Function code 3 = COUNTA | 4 | 4 | Matched |
| =SUBTOTAL(9,A1:A5) | A5 contains its own SUBTOTAL over A1:A4; the outer SUBTOTAL must skip it (no double-count), so the answer is 100, not 200 | 100 | 100 | Matched |
Docs & syntax
- Excel (desktop): official documentation
- Google Sheets: official documentation
- LibreOffice Calc: official documentation
Related how-to recipes
- How to count cells by color (and why formulas can't see color)
- How to count only visible rows after filtering
- How to sum only the filtered (visible) rows
Where SUBTOTAL behaves differently
- AGGREGATE works in Excel & LibreOffice but is missing from Google Sheets
AGGREGATE (SUM/AVERAGE/etc. that ignores errors and hidden rows) is in Excel and executes in LibreOffice, but Google Sheets returns #NAME? — it has no AGGREGATE. The Sheets workarounds with SUM(IFERROR) and SUBTOTAL.