Welcome

What is Real Statistics Using Excel?

Real Statistics Using Excel is a practical guide for how to do statistical analysis in Excel plus free statistics software. This software package extends Excel’s built-in statistical capabilities. In particular, it will enable you to more easily perform a wide variety of statistical analyses in Excel.

What does Real Statistics Using Excel consist of?

Real Statistics Using Excel is comprised of the following four components:

Real Statistics Resource Pack

An Excel add-in that extends Excel’s standard statistics capabilities. It provides you with advanced worksheet functions and data analysis tools. This will enable you to more easily perform a wide variety of practical statistical analyses. The software supports Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and 365 for Windows. It also supports Excel 2011, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and 365 for the Mac. The current version is Rel 9.6.1 (released 17 September 2025). There is also limited support for Excel 2002 and 2003.

Real Statistics Website (i.e. this site)

• Lets you download a free copy of the Real Statistics Resource Pack
• Provides tutorials and descriptions of how to perform a variety of statistical analyses using built-in Excel capabilities. You will also learn how to use the supplemental capabilities provided by the Real Statistics Resource Pack.
• Presents numerous examples in the form of Excel worksheets which you can download to your computer

For the student and the novice, the Real Statistics website is an excellent tutorial for learning the basic concepts of statistics and how to do statistical analysis. For all users, it provides a step-by-step guide for how to do statistical analysis in the Excel environment and the tools necessary to carry out these analyses.

You can use this website to learn how to perform statistical analyses in Excel even without using the Real Statistics Resource Pack. But we recommend that you download the resource pack so that you can have access to its powerful capabilities.

Real Statistics Examples Workbooks

Consists of fourteen Excel files that contain all the examples shown on the website. These example files can be downloaded for free (click here). Each example focuses on a specific statistical concept and has been designed to demonstrate simple concepts before moving on to more complicated topics. 

Over time, the webpages on the Real Statistics website are being updated so that you will be able to download an Excel file with any of the examples found on that particular webpage.

Real Statistics Community

Each webpage has a Comments section where you can make suggestions, identify errors, ask questions to others in the community, or request their advice.

You can also get updates about new releases and other information via the @Real1Statistics twitter feed (click on the link located on the right-side sidebar).

How do I get started?

Step 1: If you elect to use the Real Statistics Resource Pack, click on the following icon. You will be given the opportunity to download and install for free the Real Statistics Resource Pack. 

Once you have downloaded and installed the Real Statistics Resource Pack, you will be able to use the supplemental capabilities with your copy of Excel. This is described throughout the rest of the website and is summarized in Using Real Statistics Functions and Real Statistics Data Analysis Tools.

If you choose not to download the resource pack or examples now, you can do so later at any time.

Step 2: Browse through the website to learn how to perform a wide range of statistical analyses in Excel using standard built-in as well as supplemental Real Statistics capabilities. We suggest that you begin by clicking on the Website Introduction (and especially Organization of the Website). These will explain how to navigate the website to get the information you need to run any specific statistical test or learn about any particular topic.

Why do statistical analysis in Excel?

The reasons for choosing Excel are as follows:

• It is widely available and many people already know how to use it
• It is not necessary to incur the cost of yet another tool
• There is no need to learn new methods of manipulating data and drawing graphs
• It already contains some basic statistics functions and data analysis tools
• It is much easier to see what is going on since unlike the more popular statistical analysis tools very little is hidden from the user
• Excel provides the user with a lot of control and flexibility

This makes Excel an ideal tool for learning statistical concepts and performing some basic statistical analyses. Unfortunately, its built-in statistics capabilities are limited. As a result, many prefer to use statistical tools such as R, SPSS, or SAS for carrying out more advanced statistical analyses.

We created the Real Statistics Resource Pack to address these shortcomings. This software package contains various supplemental tools that enable you to carry out a wide range of advanced statistical analyses without leaving the Excel environment. You can download the Real Statistics Resource Pack free of charge from this website.