Calculate a Binomial Distribution Probability in Excel

A binomial distribution is basically a type of distribution that has only two possible outcomes: Success or Failure. An example would be toss of a typical coin...you either get a heads or tails. If you choose heads , that would be your success and tail would be the failure. Now if we wanted to calculated the probability of success based on X number of tosses, there is actually a formula to calculate that probability. Excel makes it really easy, but I'll show four different ways to get this answer.

Use the LET Function in Excel

If you familiar with programming or VBA you'll love the LET function. It basically lets you define a name with a cell, assign it a value and perform calculations with that name. It might be overkill with basic functions, but when you've got more complicated formula that call on the same range or set data ranges, the LET functions makes it more efficient to execute and easier to read and troubleshoot. It's only available on Microsoft 365 version, so if you got that version check out this video to get an introduction to the LET function.

Create Interactive Power Query Report Start & End Date

Power Query can make interactive reports with a start date and end date with a simple function query. This is not as hard as it sounds even though it involves getting into the M code a bit. The nice thing about this method is that you can then hide the data source from a user and give some basic instruction on how to use this to generate a basic report. Though it covers date selection, this method can be applied to other type of user input like text selections.