FTEST function

Returns the result of an F-test. An F-test returns the two-tailed probability that the variances in array1 and array2 are not significantly different. Use this function to determine whether two samples have different variances. For example, given test scores from public and private schools, you can test whether these schools have different levels of test score diversity.


For more information about the new function, see F.TEST function.




  • Array1     Required. The first array or range of data.
  • Array2     Required. The second array or range of data.


  • The arguments must be either numbers or names, arrays, or references that contain numbers.
  • If the number of data points in array1 or array2 is less than 2, or if the variance of array1 or array2 is zero, FTEST returns the #DIV/0! error value.
  • The F-test value that is returned by the LINEST function differs from the F-test value that is returned by the FTEST function. LINEST returns the F statistic, whereas FTEST returns the probability.



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Data1 Data2
6 20
7 28
9 31
15 38
21 40
Formula Description (Result)
=FTEST(A2:A6,B2:B6) F-test for the data sets above (0.648318)
Applies to: