Does Excel Have Box Plots? How to Create One

Yes. Microsoft Excel for Microsoft 365 includes a built-in Box and Whisker chart, which is Excel’s name for a box plot. In the Windows desktop app, select your data and choose Insert > Insert Statistic Chart > Box and Whisker; the chart then summarizes the distribution, median, quartiles and potential outliers.

What an Excel box plot shows

A box plot condenses a set of numerical observations into a visual summary. The box spans the first and third quartiles: the values below which roughly 25% and 75% of the observations fall. A line inside the box marks the median, or middle value. The box therefore represents the middle half of the data, and its length is the interquartile range, often shortened to IQR.

Lines called whiskers extend beyond the box. In Excel’s standard box-and-whisker display, they reach to the most extreme values that are not classified as outliers. Individual values beyond the whiskers can appear as separate points. The chart can also show the mean, or average, as a marker, and can display individual observations inside the whiskers. These visual elements make it easier to compare the center, spread and unusual values of several groups at once.

For example, a teacher comparing test scores from three classes might see that one class has a higher median score, while another has a much taller box and therefore more variation across its middle half. A high outlier point could indicate an unusually high score, but the chart alone cannot explain why that score occurred.

How to make a box plot in Excel

In Excel for Microsoft 365 on Windows, arrange the observations in columns, select the data including the group headings, and insert the chart:

Put each group in its own column, with a descriptive heading in the first row. Put each observation for that group in a separate cell below the heading.
Select the headings and numeric values. If the columns have different numbers of observations, leave unused cells blank rather than entering zero, since zero is a real value and would affect the chart.
Choose Insert > Insert Statistic Chart > Box and Whisker.
Check that each box represents the intended group. If Excel has interpreted the rows and columns in the wrong direction, select the chart and choose Chart Design > Switch Row/Column.
Add a chart title and, where useful, axis labels. Use the Chart Design and Format tabs to adjust the chart’s appearance.

For instance, a sheet with the headings January, February and March in A1:C1 and daily sales observations beneath each heading will usually produce one box for each month. Keep each column’s values in the same units and make the heading specific enough to identify the group. Excel creates a statistical chart from the raw observations; you do not have to calculate the quartiles or draw the boxes yourself.

How to arrange the source data

Box plots work best when the source range is a simple table: group names in a header row and numeric observations beneath each name. A column can contain a different number of observations from another column. Blank cells are appropriate for the unused positions in a shorter group; text, totals and explanatory notes mixed into the numeric range may be interpreted unexpectedly or interfere with charting.

Use separate columns for categories you want to compare, such as product lines, regions, classrooms or measurement conditions. Use rows for individual observations, not for precomputed statistics. If you have already reduced each group to its minimum, quartiles, median and maximum, a standard Box and Whisker chart may not treat those five summary values as the underlying distribution. In that case, a manually constructed chart or another visualization may be more appropriate.

It is also worth checking what each observation represents. A data set with one row per customer is different from one with one row per customer-day, even if the numbers look similar. The chart summarizes the values you provide; it does not account for repeated measurements, sampling design or differences in group size. Those details matter when drawing conclusions from comparisons.

How to read the boxes, whiskers and outliers

The median is often the most useful starting point for comparing groups. It is less affected by extremely high or low values than the mean, so it can describe a typical middle observation when a distribution is skewed. A box’s height or length shows the spread of the middle 50% of observations. A wider box means that this central portion is more dispersed, but it does not by itself indicate whether the values are high or low.

Whiskers show the range of values Excel includes as non-outliers under its chart convention. A point beyond a whisker is flagged as an outlier relative to the distribution, not automatically identified as an error. It might be a genuine rare event, a data-entry mistake, or a value from a different process. Check the original record and the context before removing or correcting it.

Similar medians, different box sizes: groups have comparable middle values, but one has more variation among its central observations.
Median closer to one edge of the box: the middle portion may be unevenly distributed; the whiskers and individual points provide additional context.
Long whisker or several distant points: the group may have a longer tail or unusual observations that deserve investigation.
Overlapping boxes: the groups’ distributions overlap, but visual overlap alone is not a statistical significance test.

Change the chart’s statistical display

Excel offers controls for the details shown in the plot. To find them, right-click a box in the chart and choose Format Data Series. In the Format Data Series pane, look under Series Options for settings such as quartile calculation, showing outlier points, showing inner points, showing mean markers and showing a mean line. The exact visible options can vary slightly with the Excel build and chart selection.

Outlier points help identify values beyond the whiskers, while inner points show observations within the whiskers. Showing every point can be useful for a small data set, but it can make a large chart crowded. A mean marker or mean line adds an average-based reference; compare it with the median to notice whether a few extreme values may be pulling the average away from the center.

The quartile calculation setting matters because statistical conventions differ. Excel offers Inclusive Median and Exclusive Median. These methods handle the median when dividing an ordered data set into lower and upper halves differently, particularly when there is an odd number of observations. As a result, the box edges can move even though the source values have not changed. Choose a method appropriate to your reporting standard, and use the same method across charts being compared.

Common problems and what to check

The chart shows one box instead of several: check whether Excel is treating the groups as rows rather than columns, or vice versa. Try Chart Design > Switch Row/Column, and verify that each group has a clear heading.
A box is missing or looks unusually compressed: inspect the source range for blank groups, text values, accidental zeros, or observations entered as text. Confirm that the chart includes the intended cells.
There are no visible outlier dots: the data may have no values beyond the whiskers, or the outlier display may be turned off in Format Data Series. A lack of dots does not mean the chart failed.
Quartiles differ from another program: check the quartile convention used in both tools. Excel’s inclusive and exclusive settings can produce different quartiles from other software, especially for small samples.
The chart is unavailable in the Insert menu: confirm that you are using a supported desktop version and that the selected range contains usable numeric observations. Excel 2016 and later desktop editions include statistical chart types; menus and feature availability can differ in older releases or Excel for the web.

When troubleshooting, avoid editing the chart’s appearance before confirming the input range and data types. A chart can look polished while still representing the wrong groups or including values that should not be there.

When to use a box plot instead of another chart

A box plot is useful when the question is about distributions: Which group has a higher median? Which varies more? Are there possible extreme observations? It is compact, so it can show many categories without requiring a separate plot for every individual value. It is less useful when readers need to see every observation, understand changes over time, or interpret the shape of a small sample in detail.

A histogram emphasizes how many observations fall into value ranges and can reveal peaks or gaps that a box plot hides. A dot plot shows individual values clearly when there are not too many observations. A line chart is generally better for measurements recorded over time, because the order of observations matters. These charts answer different questions; a box plot is not simply a more advanced version of a bar chart.

For a presentation, consider pairing the box plot with a clear description of the sample and measurement units. If comparing groups with very different sample sizes, say so: box plots summarize each distribution, but their boxes do not communicate sample size clearly by themselves. Showing inner points or adding sample counts to labels can help readers judge how much data supports each summary.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Excel have a box plot chart?
Yes. Excel calls it a Box and Whisker chart. In the Windows desktop app, select the data and choose Insert > Insert Statistic Chart > Box and Whisker.

Which Excel versions support box plots?
The built-in statistical chart type is available in Excel 2016 and later desktop versions, including Microsoft 365. Older versions may not offer it as a chart type. Excel for the web can have different chart creation and formatting options, so use the desktop app if the command is missing.

Can Excel make a box plot from two groups with different sample sizes?
Yes. Put each group in its own column and leave the extra cells blank in the shorter column. Do not fill those cells with zero, because zero will be plotted as an observation.

What do dots outside an Excel box plot mean?
They are values Excel displays beyond the whiskers as potential outliers under the chart’s convention. They are not necessarily errors. Check the underlying records and context before deciding how to handle them.

Why does my Excel box plot differ from another program?
Quartile methods are not identical across all tools. Check Excel’s Inclusive Median or Exclusive Median setting and the method used by the other program. Small samples are especially likely to show different box boundaries.

Try it: the Date Difference Calculator: days, months, years and weekdays between two dates, with the DATEDIF formulas.

More in How-to basics

Sources: Function behaviour and menu paths: Microsoft Support documentation for Excel. Method & sources

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