FormulaCraft

How to calculate standard deviation in Excel and Google Sheets

Topic:RANK & statistical aggregates
Excel & Google Sheets
=STDEV(B2:B100)

Try it with your data

Edit the grid or formula, then run it through a real spreadsheet engine — no signup.

Sample data — click any cell to edit

Runs server-side · free · no signup

Step by step

  1. 1Click the cell for the result.
  2. 2Enter =STDEV(B2:B100) for a sample of data.
  3. 3Use =STDEVP(B2:B100) instead when the range is the complete population.

Tips

Working on a sheet you inherited? Run the Auditor on the whole file first — it flags every #REF!, #N/A, broken column pattern, and inconsistent formula in seconds, free, no signup.

Frequently asked

What is the difference between STDEV and STDEVP?

STDEV treats the data as a sample of a larger group; STDEVP treats it as the whole population. Use STDEV unless you truly have every data point.

More on RANK & statistical aggregates

See all →
Reference

RANK.EQ

Returns the rank of a number in a list, assigning the same rank to ties (same as RANK). Essential for leaderboards.

How-to

How to rank values

Rank a number against a list with RANK — highest first or lowest first. Works the same in Excel and Google Sheets.

Reference

RANK.AVG

Returns the rank of a number, averaging ranks for ties. Useful in statistical analysis where tied ranks should not cluster.

How-to

How to calculate a weighted average

Combine values and their weights with SUMPRODUCT divided by the total weight. Works the same in Excel and Google Sheets.

Reference

PERCENTILE

Returns the k-th percentile value from a dataset. Useful for performance benchmarking and threshold analysis.

How-to

How to calculate standard deviation

Use STDEV.S for a sample or STDEV.P for a full population to measure the spread of values around the mean.

Formulas used

AVERAGEMEDIAN

Written and reviewed by FormulaCraft Team. Each formula on this page is run through our verification engine before publishing.

Last reviewed: