F.DIST Function in Excel: F Distribution (Left Tail)

F.DIST Function in Excel: F Distribution (Left Tail) 1
⏱ 1 min readUpdated 5 October 2026

StatisticsLevel: ExpertAvailable in: Excel 2010+

In this article
  1. Syntax
  2. Examples
  3. Example 1
  4. F.DIST in practice
  5. Where you will use it
  6. Worked example
  7. Mistakes people make
  8. Related functions

F.DIST gives the left-tailed F probability; for ANOVA and variance tests use F.DIST.RT.

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Syntax

=F.DIST(x, deg_freedom1, deg_freedom2, cumulative)
Argument What it means
x F value
deg_freedom1, deg_freedom2 Numerator and denominator df
cumulative TRUE for probability

Examples

Example 1

=ROUND(F.DIST(A2,B2,C2,TRUE),4)

Result: 0.9112. See the worked example table below for more cases.

F.DIST in practice

Where you will use it

  • Teaching
  • Variance comparisons
  • Building F tables

Worked example

Fdf1df2FormulaResult
2.5320=ROUND(F.DIST(A2,B2,C2,TRUE),4)0.9112
1510=ROUND(F.DIST(A3,B3,C3,TRUE),4)0.5349
4230=ROUND(F.DIST(A4,B4,C4,TRUE),4)0.9712

Results calculated in Excel.

Mistakes people make

MistakeWhat to do instead
Using left tail for ANOVAUse F.DIST.RT
Negative F#NUM!

F.DIST.RT · F.TEST

📚 Part of the free Excel course: Beginner → Expert · Try it in the Formula Lab or ask the AI Helper.

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