Custom totals in Power BI tables

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Custom totals in Power BI tables
This blog explains how to customise the totals in Power BI table and matrix visuals.

Posted by Andrew Gould on 05 June 2026

In this blog

The Total row
Changing the total aggregation
How custom totals work

The Total row

In Power BI, when you add an aggregated field to a table or matrix, you'll see a Total row which uses the same aggregation function as the other values in the column.

A Power BI table showing statistics for film certificates

The Total row of this table shows the sum of run time, average of box office and max of Oscar wins.

Power BI now allows you to change the aggregation function for the total row without changing the other values in the column.

You can change the name used for the total row of a table by editing the Total label property in the Format visual pane.

Changing the total aggregation

To change the aggregation function used for the total row of a column, in the table's field well, click the column whose total you want to change, choose Customise total calculation and pick the new aggregation function.

Choosing a custom total calculation for a table in Power BI.

Image caption

We're changing the Sum Run Time column's total row to display the Average rather than the Sum.

Power BI indicates the custom total calculation in both the field well and the table visual.

A Power BI table with a custom total row calculation.

Both the cell in the table and the column in the field well provide a visual clue that you've added a custom calculation.

If you want to switch back to the original calculation, choose Customize total calculation > Reset to default.

Resetting a custom total calculation in a Power BI table.

Click the column in the field well and choose the options shown to reset the custom total calculation.

You can also right-click on a cell in the table visual to change the calculation for a total row.

How custom totals work

Custom totals use visual calculations to apply different functions in different parts of a visual. You can see the visual calculation that Power BI uses by choosing to edit the calculation.

Choosing to edit a visual calculation in a table in Power BI

Select the column in the field well and choose Edit calculation.

You can see the visual calculation in the bottom half of the report window.

A visual calculation in a table in Power BI Desktop

You can see the calculation in the formula bar above the table.

To create the visual calculation, Power BI renames the original column by appending the suffix _Base to its original name. You can see the Sum Run Time_Base column in the screenshot above.

This renamed column is then hidden and a new column using the original name is created. This new column uses a DAX expression to assign a different aggregation function (AVERAGE in this case) to the column's total row.

To return to the normal view of the report, click Back to report at the top left of the screen.

Returning to the report view of a report in Power BI Desktop

Click this link at the top left of the report view.

You can read more about visual calculations in our separate blog.

Some other pages relevant to this blog include:

You can also book hourly online consultancy for your time zone with one of our 7 expert trainers!

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The Total row

Changing the total aggregation

How custom totals work

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