MODE

    Statistical

    Returns the most frequently occurring value in a dataset.

    Translations
    EnglishMODE
    FrenchMODE
    SpanishMODA
    GermanMODALWERT
    ItalianMODA
    PortugueseMODO
    DutchMODUS
    PolishWYST.NAJCZĘŚCIEJ
    RussianМОДА
    TurkishENÇOK_OLAN
    CzechMODE
    HungarianMÓDUSZ
    SwedishTYPVÄRDE
    DanishHYPPIGST
    FinnishMOODI
    Syntax
    MODE(number1, [number2], ...)

    Arguments

    • number1First number or range
    • number2Additional numbers(optional)
    Examples
    =MODE(1,2,2,3,3,3)
    3

    3 appears most often

    =MODE(A1:A100)
    Most common

    Most frequent value in range

    =MODE(Scores)
    Most common score

    Mode of named range

    Tips & Best Practices
    • Returns #N/A if no duplicates exist
    • Use MODE.MULT for multiple modes
    • Only works with numbers, not text
    Common Mistakes
    • Expecting MODE to return multiple values when a dataset has more than one equally frequent value - the classic MODE function only returns the first one it encounters, silently ignoring other ties
    • Using MODE on a dataset with no repeated values at all, which returns a #N/A error since there's no value that occurs more than once
    • Confusing MODE with MEDIAN or AVERAGE - MODE returns the most frequently occurring value, not a measure of central tendency based on ordering or arithmetic mean
    Related Functions
    MODE.SNGLThe modern replacement for MODE, functionally identical but with a clearer name distinguishing it from MODE.MULT.
    MODE.MULTReturns an array of all values tied for most frequent, addressing MODE's limitation of only returning a single value.
    MEDIANReturns the middle value of a sorted dataset, a completely different measure of central tendency than MODE's most-frequent-value approach.
    Frequently Asked Questions

    Why does MODE only show one value when several numbers repeat equally often?

    The classic MODE function only returns the single most frequent value it finds first. Use MODE.MULT instead to get an array of every value tied for most frequent.

    Why does MODE return #N/A?

    No value in the dataset repeats - MODE requires at least one value to appear more than once, unlike AVERAGE or MEDIAN which work on any numeric dataset.

    Should I use MODE or MODE.SNGL?

    MODE.SNGL is the modern equivalent with identical behavior - MODE is kept mainly for compatibility with older files.

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