PERMUTATIONA Function in Excel: Arrangements With Repeats

PERMUTATIONA Function in Excel: Arrangements With Repeats 1
⏱ 1 min readUpdated 5 October 2026

Maths & trigLevel: ExpertAvailable in: Excel 2013+

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

PERMUTATIONA counts ordered arrangements where items can repeat: a 4-digit PIN has PERMUTATIONA(10,4) = 10,000.

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Syntax

=PERMUTATIONA(number, number_chosen)
Argument What it means
number Kinds of item
number_chosen Length

Examples

Example 1

=PERMUTATIONA(A2,B2)

Result: 10000. See the worked example table below for more cases.

PERMUTATIONA in practice

Where you will use it

  • PIN and code combinations
  • Password strength maths
  • Probability

Worked example

KindsLengthFormulaResult
104=PERMUTATIONA(A2,B2)10000
263=PERMUTATIONA(A3,B3)17576
28=PERMUTATIONA(A4,B4)256

Results calculated in Excel.

Mistakes people make

MistakeWhat to do instead
No repeats allowedUse PERMUT
Order doesn't matterUse COMBINA

PERMUT · COMBINA

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

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