FREQUENCY Function in Microsoft Excel: Syntax, Examples & Troubleshooting

=FREQUENCY(data_array, bins_array)

Both arguments are required. data_array is the numeric data to classify; bins_array supplies the interval boundaries. Keep the boundaries in ascending order for an auditable histogram. The first interval includes observations at or below the first boundary. Later intervals are above the preceding boundary and at or below the current one. This makes each numeric observation belong to one interval.

Microsoft documents that blank cells and text are ignored. If the data array contains no values, the result is an array of zeros. If the bins array contains no values, the result is the number of data elements, rather than a useful multi-interval distribution. A blank bin range is therefore not a substitute for entering deliberate cutoffs.

A service team wants to count completed jobs by elapsed hours. Enter this data in A1:A9:

1. Enter the limits 10, 20, 25 in C2:C4.
2. Leave D2:D5 empty, and enter =FREQUENCY(A2:A9,C2:C4) in D2 in an Excel version that supports spilling dynamic arrays.
3. The expected vertical result in D2:D5 is 3, 3, 1, 1.
4. Label E2:E5 “Up to 10”, “Over 10 through 20”, “Over 20 through 25”, and “Over 25”.

The 10-hour observation belongs to the first interval; the 20-hour observation belongs to the second. The 30-hour job appears in the extra fourth row. Omitting that row from a legacy array output would hide a real observation.

For legacy array entry, select all four output cells first, type the formula, and confirm with Ctrl+Shift+Enter. Excel supplies the array braces. Do not type those braces yourself. The vendor reference explicitly describes Enter-only entry for current Microsoft 365 and legacy entry for other versions; use the method supported by your installed build.

In a separate area enter numeric 5 in G2, enter ="15" in G3, leave G4 blank, and enter numeric 25 in G5. Put 10 and 20 in I2:I3. =FREQUENCY(G2:G5,I2:I3) has expected output 1, 0, 1.

The text value that looks like 15 does not join the middle bin. Formatting G3 as Number alone is not proof that its stored text has become numeric. Correct the import deliberately, then rerun the calculation. If G3 is replaced with the number 15, the expected counts become 1, 1, 1.

For the original eight jobs, the four frequencies total 8. The first two frequencies total 6, so 6/8 = 75% of numeric jobs took at most 20 hours. This is a count-based service measure; the sum of hours would answer a different question.

Put =SUM(D2:D5) in D7 and =COUNT(A2:A9) in D8. Both are expected to return 8. Then =SUM(D2:D3)/D8 gives 0.75, displayed as 75% with Percentage formatting. A mismatch between D7 and D8 often means a missing overflow result or a reference that does not cover the same records. It is not evidence that FREQUENCY estimates rather than counts.

• #SPILL! in a dynamic-array version: clear occupied or merged cells from the intended four-cell output area; do not delete source data accidentally.
• Only one result visible: check whether the workbook requires legacy array entry, or whether only one result cell was reserved.
• Unexpected low counts: inspect imported numeric-looking text and blanks; they are ignored.
• Boundary disagreement: distinguish <=10 from >10. A score exactly at a cutoff belongs to that cutoff’s interval.
• Unequal bin widths: counts alone do not make bar heights comparable as a density. Keep the interval widths explicit if presenting a statistical histogram.

Microsoft’s reference checked on October 17, 2026 lists: Excel for Microsoft 365 Excel for Microsoft 365 for Mac Excel 2024 Excel 2024 for Mac Excel 2021 Excel 2021 for Mac Excel 2019 Excel 2016. This current support list does not establish the first release. The introduction version and last functioning version have not been established from the reviewed documentation. No retirement is asserted.

Example verification: Expected numerical results are independently calculated; text and shape expectations follow the documented contract. These examples have not been tested in Microsoft Excel. No screenshot or native execution is claimed.

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• Microsoft FREQUENCY reference, retrieved October 17, 2026.