How to Make a Histogram in Excel (3 Easy Ways)

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Excel can make a histogram three ways. The built-in histogram chart is the quickest. The Analysis ToolPak also produces a frequency table. The FREQUENCY function gives you full control and works in every version.

Method 1: The built-in histogram chart (Excel 2016 and later)

ExcelInsert›Insert Statistic Chart›Histogram

Put your data in a single column, such as A1:A50, with or without a header.
Select the data.
Go to Insert › Insert Statistic Chart (the icon that looks like a small histogram) › Histogram.
Excel draws the histogram with automatically chosen bins.

Change the bins

ExcelRight-click the x-axis›Format Axis›Axis Options›Bins

Right-click the horizontal axis and choose Format Axis.
Under Axis Options › Bins, choose:
- Bin width to set the size of each bin, such as 10.
- Number of bins to set how many bars you get.
- Overflow bin / Underflow bin to lump all values above or below a threshold into one bar.

Automatic, the default, uses Scott’s normal reference rule. Excel’s bins include their upper edge: the labels read [40, 50], (50, 60], (60, 70] and so on, so a value of exactly 50 is counted in the first bar.

Method 2: The Analysis ToolPak

ExcelData›Data Analysis›Histogram

Turn on the add-in: File › Options › Add-ins, choose Excel Add-ins and click Go, then tick Analysis ToolPak. On a Mac, use Tools › Excel Add-ins.
In a new column, type your bin upper limits, for example 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100.
Go to Data › Data Analysis › Histogram.
Set the Input Range to your data and the Bin Range to your limits, pick an output location and tick Chart Output.

Excel outputs a frequency table and a chart. Each bin counts values that are greater than the previous limit and less than or equal to its own; a final “More” row counts anything above the last limit. The chart has gaps between the bars: right-click a bar, choose Format Data Series and set Gap Width to 0%.

Method 3: The FREQUENCY function (any version)

List your bin upper limits in a column, such as D2:D7.
In the next column, type =FREQUENCY(A2:A51, D2:D7). In Microsoft 365 the results spill down automatically. In older versions, select E2:E8 first and press Ctrl+Shift+Enter.
Select the counts and insert a clustered column chart, then set the gap width to 0%.

Prefer bins that include their lower edge, like most textbooks? Use COUNTIFS instead: =COUNTIFS($A$2:$A$51, ">="&C2, $A$2:$A$51, "<"&D2), where C2 and D2 are the bin’s lower and upper edges.

Common problems

No Histogram option: it needs Excel 2016 or later. Use Method 2 or 3, or our online histogram maker.
Numbers stored as text (left-aligned, often with a green triangle) are ignored. Convert them with Data › Text to Columns › Finish.
Counts differ from your textbook: Excel puts boundary values in the lower bin. In our tool, choose “Lower bin (a, b]” in the Bins tab to match Excel exactly.

Excel vs. an online histogram maker

Excel is great when your data already lives in a workbook. For a quick, polished histogram, with a normal curve, mean and median lines, a frequency table and statistics, and 4K PNG or PDF export, paste the column into the histogram maker, or import the .xlsx file directly. The file is read in your browser and never uploaded.