Which Excel Standard Deviation Function to Use
Choosing the right Excel Standard deviation function can be a little confusing task, especially for beginners. You can consider the following points to select the appropriate formula for your specific task :
- Are you looking to calculate the standard deviation for a sample or a population?
- Which version of Excel are you using?
- Does your dataset contain only numbers, or does it include logical values and text as well?
If you want to work with a numeric sample, use the STVE.S Function in Excel 2010 and later versions, or the STDEV Function in Excel 2007 and earlier versions.
If you want to include logic or text values in the calculations, you can use either the STDEVA Function for sample standard deviation or the STDEVPA Function for population standard deviation. While these Functions may not be commonly used on their own, they can be helpful in larger formulas where arguments are returned as logical values or text representations of numbers.
Refer to the below table to decide which Excel deviation Function suits your needs:
|
Function |
Excel Version |
Sample |
Population |
Logical Values |
Text |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
STDEV |
2003-2019 |
Yes |
|
Ignored |
|
|
STDEV.S |
2010-2019 |
Yes |
|
Ignored |
|
|
STDEVP |
2003-2019 |
Yes |
Ignored |
|
|
|
STDEV.P |
2010-2019 |
Yes |
Ignored |
|
|
|
STDEVA |
2003-2019 |
Yes |
|
Evaluated |
Evaluated as Zero |
|
STDEVPA |
2002-2019 |
Yes |
Evaluated |
Evaluated as Zero |
|
|
|
|
|
|
(True =1, False=0) |
|
|
Empty cells |
|
|
|
Ignored |
|
Standard Deviation in Excel: How to Calculate, Formulas and Examples
The Standard Deviation is a statistical measure that helps us to understand the amount of variance in a dataset. This statistic can be quite helpful in determining how similar or distinct your data is. Standard deviation may be calculated in Microsoft Excel quickly if you know the formulas and commands to use.
In this article, we examine the functions of standard deviation, clarify how to compute standard deviation in Excel and give an illustration.