BETA.DIST Function (Gnumeric)

• Introduced: First release not established from the evidence cited here.
• Supported in: Gnumeric 1.12.62, confirmed by its function registration. No retirement is established.
• Scope: Desktop Gnumeric with the Statistics Functions plugin. Tables use English comma-separated formulas.
• Checked: October 14, 2026. Tables were recalculated in 1.12.57 and finite reference values independently checked. Version 1.12.62 was source-checked, not executed.

BETA.DIST evaluates a beta model on an interval [a,b]. The normalized variable is z=(x−a)/(b−a); its shape parameters alpha and beta are positive. Cumulative mode returns the regularized incomplete beta function at z. Density mode divides the normalized beta density by b−a, which matters whenever the interval is not [0,1]. Official function reference.

=BETA.DIST(x,alpha,beta,cumulative[,a,b])

Only bracketed arguments are optional; do not type the brackets. The version-pinned help and evaluator establish the Gnumeric contract.

The table records the tested release’s outputs, with finite mathematical references rounded to twelve decimal places. Keep full precision when using a result in a later calculation.

For shape parameters 2 and 3 on the interval from 10 to 20, put 14, 2, 3, 10 and 20 in A2:E2. =BETA.DIST(A2,B2,C2,TRUE(),D2,E2) gives 0.5248. Switching TRUE() to FALSE() gives density 0.1728. The density is not a 17.28% chance of observing exactly 14; a continuous point has probability zero.

The normalized input at x=14 is 0.4. =BETA.DIST(0.4,2,3,FALSE()) gives 1.728, ten times the density on [10,20]. The CDF does not acquire that factor: both corresponding cumulative calls give 0.5248.

The probability between 12 and 18 is =BETA.DIST(18,2,3,TRUE(),10,20)-BETA.DIST(12,2,3,TRUE(),10,20), 0.792. Its mean is a+(b−a)×alpha/(alpha+beta)=14. A model mean at 14 does not imply that the probability below 14 is exactly one half; this beta shape is asymmetric.

The cumulative selector is required. Both bounds are optional and default to 0 and 1 respectively; brackets are notation, not characters to enter. Supply both bounds when using a custom interval. Inputs outside [a,b], nonpositive shapes or a≥b return #NUM!. Some endpoint densities are unbounded: shape 0.5 at the lower endpoint produced #NUM!, while shape 2 gave zero. The legacy BETADIST name is a CDF-only function, not a density call with an omitted selector. Nonfinite numerical results are converted to worksheet errors.

These additional outcomes were observed in the same native recalculation. F5 was genuinely empty; it is not an omitted argument. Missing inputs still need deliberate validation, even if they are converted to a numeric zero.

The worked calculations do not certify every locale, imported text value, extreme parameter or later binary version. Shared numerical helpers can change even when a function’s wrapper remains the same.

• Gnumeric function reference
• Gnumeric 1.12.62 evaluator

The reference and boundary tables use recorded 1.12.57 command-line recalculation. Further model examples were independently calculated from their stated inputs; they are not additional native test claims.