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    BINOM.DIST

    Statistical

    Returns the individual term binomial distribution probability. Replaces the legacy BINOMDIST function.

    Translations
    EnglishBINOM.DIST
    FrenchLOI.BINOMIALE.N
    SpanishDISTR.BINOM.N
    GermanBINOM.VERT
    ItalianDISTRIB.BINOM.N
    PortugueseDISTR.BINOM.N
    DutchBINOM.VERD.N
    PolishROZKŁ.DWUM
    RussianБИНОМ.РАСП
    TurkishBİNOM.DAĞ
    CzechBINOM.DIST
    HungarianBINOM.ELOSZLÁS
    SwedishBINOM.FÖRD
    DanishBINOMIAL.FORDELING
    FinnishBINOMI.JAKAUMA
    Syntax
    BINOM.DIST(number_s, trials, probability_s, cumulative)

    Arguments

    • number_sThe number of successes in the trials
    • trialsThe number of independent trials
    • probability_sThe probability of success on each trial
    • cumulativeTRUE for the cumulative distribution, FALSE for the probability mass function
    Examples
    =BINOM.DIST(6, 10, 0.5, FALSE)
    0.2051

    Probability of exactly 6 successes in 10 fair coin flips

    =BINOM.DIST(6, 10, 0.5, TRUE)
    0.8281

    Probability of at most 6 successes in 10 flips

    =BINOM.DIST(0, 5, 0.1, FALSE)
    0.5905

    Probability of zero successes in 5 trials with p = 0.1

    Tips & Best Practices
    • •number_s and trials are truncated to integers
    • •Returns #NUM! if number_s < 0 or > trials, or if probability_s is outside 0..1
    • •Use BINOM.INV to find the smallest number_s for a target cumulative probability
    Common Mistakes
    • •Forgetting to set the cumulative argument correctly - TRUE returns the probability of number_s or fewer successes, while FALSE returns the probability of exactly number_s successes, and confusing the two produces a plausible-looking but wrong answer
    • •Passing a number_s greater than trials, which returns a #NUM! error since you can't have more successes than the total number of trials
    • •Passing a probability_s outside the 0 to 1 range, which returns a #NUM! error since it represents a genuine probability and must be a valid proportion
    Related Functions
    BINOM.INVPerforms roughly the inverse operation - given a target cumulative probability, finds the smallest number_s that reaches it.
    BINOM.DIST.RANGECalculates the probability of successes falling within a range, rather than BINOM.DIST's single exact or cumulative value.
    COMBINUsed internally in the binomial probability formula, since it counts the number of ways the successes could be arranged among the trials.
    Frequently Asked Questions

    What's the difference between cumulative TRUE and FALSE in BINOM.DIST?

    TRUE gives the probability of getting number_s or fewer successes (a cumulative probability). FALSE gives the probability of getting exactly number_s successes (a single point probability) - these can be very different numbers.

    Why does BINOM.DIST return a #NUM! error?

    Either number_s is greater than trials (you can't have more successes than attempts), or probability_s is outside the valid 0 to 1 range.

    What real-world situations use BINOM.DIST?

    Anything involving a fixed number of independent yes/no trials with a constant success probability - like coin flips, pass/fail quality checks, or the number of customers who respond to an offer out of a fixed sample.

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