T.TEST Function in Excel: Is the Difference Real?

T.TEST Function in Excel: Is the Difference Real? featured illustration

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⏱ 2 min read

StatisticsLevel: ExpertAvailable in: Excel 2010+

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

T.TEST returns a p-value for whether two groups have different means — did the new process really cut processing time?

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Syntax

=T.TEST(array1, array2, tails, type)
Argument What it means
tails 1 or 2.
type 1 paired, 2 equal variance, 3 unequal variance.

Examples

Example 1

=T.TEST(B2:B31, C2:C31, 2, 3)

Below 0.05 usually counts as a significant difference.

T.TEST in practice

Where you will use it

  • Did the new process change average time?
  • Compare two branches
  • Before/after tests

Worked example

CaseTypeFormulaResult
12=ROUND(T.TEST(INDEX($H$1:$M$3,A2,0),INDEX($O$1:$T$3,A2,0),2,B2),4)0.6611
22=ROUND(T.TEST(INDEX($H$1:$M$3,A3,0),INDEX($O$1:$T$3,A3,0),2,B3),4)0
31=ROUND(T.TEST(INDEX($H$1:$M$3,A4,0),INDEX($O$1:$T$3,A4,0),2,B4),4)0

Results calculated in Excel.

Mistakes people make

MistakeWhat to do instead
Type1 = paired, 2 = equal variance, 3 = unequal
Readingp below 0.05 → difference unlikely to be chance

CHISQ.TEST · AVERAGE

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📎 Practice files for this article

  • 📗
    Practice workbook: Statistics advanced33 tasks on realistic sales data — type your formula, the Check column turns green when it is right. Answers sheet included.
    ⬇ XLSX · 36 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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