STDEV.S

Statistical

Estimates the sample standard deviation based on a sample of the population. Modern replacement for the legacy STDEV function.

Translations

EnglishSTDEV.S

FrenchECARTYPE.STANDARD

SpanishDESVEST.M

GermanSTABW.S

ItalianDEV.ST.C

PortugueseDESVPAD.A

DutchSTDEV.S

PolishODCH.STANDARD.PRÓBKI

RussianСТАНДОТКЛОН.В

TurkishSTDSAPMA.S

CzechSMODCH.VÝBĚR.S

HungarianSZÓRÁS.M

SwedishSTDAV.S

DanishSTDAFV.S

FinnishKESKIHAJONTA.S

Syntax

STDEV.S(number1, [number2], ...)

Arguments

number1First numeric value or range representing a sample of the population.
number2Optional. Up to 254 additional numbers, references, or arrays.(optional)

Examples

=STDEV.S(10, 20, 30, 40, 50)

15.81

Sample standard deviation of 5 values

Tips & Best Practices

•Available since Excel 2010 — same result as the legacy STDEV
•Divides by n − 1 (Bessel's correction for samples)
•Use STDEV.P if your data represents the entire population
•Ignores text and logical values; use STDEVA to include them

Common Mistakes

•Using STDEV.S (sample standard deviation) when the data actually represents an entire population - this uses the wrong divisor (n-1 instead of n) and slightly overstates the spread for population data
•Applying STDEV.S to a dataset with only one value, which returns a #DIV/0! error since sample standard deviation is undefined for a single data point
•Forgetting that STDEV.S ignores text and logical values entirely - if those need to be included in the calculation, STDEVA is the function that handles that instead

Related Functions

STDEV.PCalculates standard deviation for an entire population rather than a sample, using n instead of n-1 as the divisor.

VAR.SCalculates variance, the squared value that STDEV.S takes the square root of to return a more interpretable, same-unit measure.

STDEVAIncludes text (as 0) and logical values in the calculation, unlike STDEV.S which ignores them entirely.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I use STDEV.S or STDEV.P?

Use STDEV.S when your data is a sample of a larger population - the more common case. Use STDEV.P only when your data genuinely represents the entire population, not just a subset of it.

Why does STDEV.S return #DIV/0!?

There's likely only one numeric value in the range - sample standard deviation requires at least two data points, since its formula divides by n-1.

Is STDEV.S the same as the legacy STDEV function?

Yes, STDEV.S produces identical results - it's simply the modern, more clearly named equivalent, kept alongside STDEV mainly for consistency with other newer statistical function names.

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