STDEV.S Function in Excel: How Spread Out Are the Numbers?

STDEV.S Function in Excel: How Spread Out Are the Numbers? featured illustration

📎 This article includes 1 downloadable practice file ↓

⏱ 2 min readUpdated 28 September 2026

StatisticalLevel: ExpertAvailable in: Excel 2010+

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

STDEV.S measures how far values typically sit from the average (sample standard deviation). A small value means consistent; a large one means volatile.

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Syntax

=STDEV.S(number1, [number2], ...)
Argument What it means
number1 A sample of values.

Examples

Example 1

=STDEV.S(C2:C31)

Daily sales variability.

Example 2

=STDEV.S(C2:C31)/AVERAGE(C2:C31)

Coefficient of variation — compare volatility of stores of different sizes.

💡 Use STDEV.P only when you have the whole population (every value that exists), not a sample.

STDEV.S in practice

Where you will use it

  • Spread from a sample
  • Survey variation
  • Quality checks

Worked example

Rows usedFormulaResult
3=ROUND(STDEV.S(INDEX({120,135,128,160,95,140,132},SEQUENCE(A2))),3)7.506
5=ROUND(STDEV.S(INDEX({120,135,128,160,95,140,132},SEQUENCE(A3))),3)23.586
7=ROUND(STDEV.S(INDEX({120,135,128,160,95,140,132},SEQUENCE(A4))),3)19.824

Results calculated in Excel.

Mistakes people make

MistakeWhat to do instead
One value#DIV/0!
PopulationUse STDEV.P

AVERAGE · VAR.S · STANDARDIZE

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⚡ Interactive Practice Lab & Formula Tester:

Test formulas dynamically in our web formula laboratory or download the companion Excel workbook.

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📎 Practice files for this article

  • 📗
    Practice workbook: Statistics basics22 tasks on realistic sales data — type your formula, the Check column turns green when it is right. Answers sheet included.
    ⬇ XLSX · 34 KB

Free to use for learning. Files with macros (.bas) are plain text — import them with Alt+F11 → File → Import File, and always test on a copy.

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