How to use
- Type or paste your numbers. Separate them with commas, spaces or new lines; a spreadsheet column works too.
- Read the mean (the usual “average”), then the median, mode and range below it.
- Open Show the working to see the sum, the sorted list and the middle values.
Formulas
- Mean = sum of the values ÷ how many values there are.
- Median = the middle value once the list is sorted. With an even count, it is the average of the two middle values.
- Mode = the value that appears most often. Ties give several modes, and a list with no repeats has no mode.
- Range = largest value − smallest value.
Example
For 2, 4, 4, 5, 7, 9:
- Mean = 31 ÷ 6 = 5.17 (5.166666667)
- Median = (4 + 5) ÷ 2 = 4.5
- Mode = 4 (it appears twice)
- Range = 9 − 2 = 7
Mean or median?
| Measure | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Mean | Data without extreme values, like test scores | One outlier can pull it a long way |
| Median | Skewed data, like incomes or house prices | Ignores how far out the extremes are |
| Mode | The most common choice or size | There may be several, or none |
In one textbook example, 49 people earn 30,000 and one earns 5,000,000. The mean is 129,400, but the median of 30,000 describes a typical person far better.
Decimal commas and long lists
Use a dot for decimals (2.5). If your numbers use decimal commas, separate them with semicolons instead: 2,5; 3,5 is read as 2.5 and 3.5.
You can paste up to 10,000 values. Very long lists are not saved in shared links.
Need to know how spread out the values are? Use the standard deviation calculator.