ONLYOFFICE GEOMEAN: Geometric Mean and Compound Growth

• Introduced: The first introduction release and date are not established by the checked sources.
• Availability: Currently documented in ONLYOFFICE’s rolling function help; no final supported-version endpoint is established.
• Scope: Shared Spreadsheet Editor documentation. Exact availability in individual Docs, Desktop and mobile builds is not established by this page.
• Checked: October 14, 2026, against the official GEOMEAN reference. Examples were independently calculated and compared with the vendor screenshot; these cases were not tested in the native application.

=GEOMEAN(number1, [number2], ...)

The official reference documents one required numeric argument and optional further arguments, up to 255. Its screenshot passes a rectangular numeric cell range. Do not type the optional-argument brackets.

For n positive inputs, the geometric mean is the n-th root of their product. This guide uses strictly positive numeric data so that the ordinary real geometric-mean interpretation is unambiguous. The short ONLYOFFICE entry does not enumerate native errors for every zero, negative or text case.

Unlike an arithmetic average, this calculation combines multiplicative factors. For 2 and 8, the arithmetic mean is 5, while the geometric mean is 4. Neither should be chosen merely because its answer looks preferable.

In a blank sheet, use A1:E1 for First value, Second value, GEOMEAN, Product-root check and Arithmetic mean. Enter these numeric pairs in A2:B5:

Enter =GEOMEAN(A2:B2) in C2, =(A2*B2)^(1/2) in D2 and =AVERAGE(A2:B2) in E2. Fill C2:E2 through row 5. All pairs are positive, and each product was chosen to give an exact square-root result mathematically.

For a three-value example, put 1, 4, 16 in G2:G4 and =GEOMEAN(G2:G4) in I2. Expect 4, since their product is 64 and its cube root is 4. Put =PRODUCT(G2:G4)^(1/3) in I3 as a separate mathematical check.

Equivalent formulas can follow different floating-point paths. Compare with an appropriate tolerance rather than requiring identical last bits for arbitrary inputs.

Create a separate sheet named Growth. Put Period, Rate and Factor in A1:C1. Enter period numbers 1, 2, 3 in A2:A4 and rates 10%, -10%, 20% in B2:B4. Enter =1+B2 in C2 and fill through C4. Expected factors are 1.1, 0.9, 1.2.

In E2 enter =PRODUCT(C2:C4); expect 1.188. In E3 enter =GEOMEAN(C2:C4); the independently expected factor is approximately 1.0591045006. In E4 enter =E3-1 and format it as a percentage; expect approximately 5.91045006% per period.

Do not pass the signed rates in B2:B4 directly to GEOMEAN. Multiplicative growth uses 1+rate. A rate of −10% still corresponds to the positive factor 0.9.

Put 1000 in G2, =G2*E2 in G3 and =G2*E3^3 in G4. Both final-value models give approximately 1188. They express the same three-period compounded change using either the actual factors or one constant equivalent factor.

In E6 enter =AVERAGE(B2:B4); expect approximately 6.66666667%. Applying that arithmetic rate three times does not reproduce the original growth sequence. The geometric-rate model assumes equal-length periods and does not account for deposits, withdrawals or fees.

Keep the Growth sheet intact. On a separate sheet, enter 25% in A2 and -20% in A3. Enter =1+A2 in B2 and fill to B3, then put =GEOMEAN(B2:B3)-1 in D2. The mathematical expected rate is 0%, because 1.25×0.8=1.

The arithmetic average of those two rates is 2.5%. The distinction matters: a 25% increase followed by a 20% decrease restores the original value rather than producing a positive compounded gain.

On another blank sheet, enter 28, 16, 878 across A1:C1 and 800, 1650, 2000 across A2:C2. Put =GEOMEAN(A1:C2) in C3. Independent arithmetic gives approximately 318.2214200746, agreeing with the official screenshot’s 318.22142.

Keep all inputs in compatible units and give each observation the intended weight. Repeating one value changes its weight; a missing period is not the same as a factor of 1. The simple function does not infer missing dates or unequal period lengths.

For zero, negative, blank, text, extreme or erroneous inputs, the short reference does not provide a complete behavior matrix. Validate those cases in the intended application rather than importing another spreadsheet’s exact error codes.

PRODUCT makes the multiplicative check visible. AVERAGE gives an arithmetic mean, while HARMEAN is useful for appropriate reciprocal-rate models such as equal-distance travel.