The Excel QUARTILE.EXC function returns a quartile of a data set using the exclusive method, which excludes the 0% and 100% endpoints and returns slightly different inner quartiles than QUARTILE.INC.
Syntax
| Argument | Description | |
|---|---|---|
array | Required | The range or array of numeric data. |
quart | Required | Which quartile to return: 1 = first quartile (25%), 2 = median, 3 = third quartile (75%). Values of 0 and 4 are not allowed in the exclusive method. |
How to use it
QUARTILE.EXC computes quartiles with the exclusive method, positioning each quartile via k×(n+1). Because it excludes the extremes, only quart values of 1, 2, and 3 are valid — there is no 0 (minimum) or 4 (maximum).
For the same eight-point data set, QUARTILE.EXC returns Q1 = 2.5, whereas QUARTILE.INC returns 3.5. The median (quart 2) agrees for both methods. It is a wrapper around PERCENTILE.EXC at 0.25, 0.5, and 0.75.
quart must be 1, 2, or 3. The exclusive method cannot return the minimum or maximum, so quart=0 or quart=4 returns the #NUM! error. Use MIN and MAX for the extremes.
Try it: interactive demo
Pick a QUARTILE.EXC example to see the formula and its result.
Practice workbook
Frequently asked questions
Why can't QUARTILE.EXC take quart values of 0 or 4?
#NUM!. Use MIN and MAX for the extremes.How is QUARTILE.EXC different from QUARTILE.INC?
k×(n+1) and excludes the endpoints; INC uses k×(n-1)+1 and includes them. The inner quartiles differ — e.g. Q1 is 2.5 (EXC) versus 3.5 (INC) for the sample data.Does the median differ between QUARTILE.EXC and QUARTILE.INC?
quart=2 (the median) gives the same result in both methods — only the first and third quartiles differ.When should I use QUARTILE.EXC?
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