COMBIN Function in Excel: How Many Groups Are Possible

⏱ 1 min readUpdated 28 September 2026

MathLevel: IntermediateAvailable in: Excel 2007+

In this article
  1. Syntax
  2. Examples
  3. Example 1
  4. Related functions

COMBIN counts the ways to choose items when order doesn’t matter — teams from a class, lottery tickets, product bundles.

Syntax

=COMBIN(number, number_chosen)
Argument What it means
number Total items.
number_chosen Items in each group.

Examples

Example 1

=COMBIN(11, 5)

462 different five-a-side teams from 11 players.

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