AVERAGEA
Supported, behaves as documentedCategory: Statistical · Last tested 2026-09-01
Real compatibility results for the AVERAGEA function: executed in Excel for the web, Google Sheets and LibreOffice Calc, with desktop Excel behavior from Microsoft’s official documentation (we do not run desktop Excel — Excel for the web is a different application and is executed separately). Syntax and links to that documentation are below.
Support matrix
| Engine | Documented | Live-tested | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Excel (desktop) | Yes | No — documented only | n/a |
| Excel for the web | — | Yes (recalc, 2026-09-01) | Supported, behaves as documented |
| Google Sheets | Yes | Yes (Drive import, 2026-08-31) | Supported, behaves as documented |
| LibreOffice Calc | Yes | Yes (25.8.7.3, 2026-08-31) | Supported, behaves as documented |
LibreOffice version history
We executed the same test cases under each LibreOffice release to show exactly when AVERAGEA’s support changed — not documentation claims, real results.
| LibreOffice version | Verdict | Tested |
|---|---|---|
| 24.2.0.3 | Supported, behaves as documented | 2026-08-31 |
| 24.8.7.2 | Supported, behaves as documented | 2026-08-31 |
| 25.2.0.3 | Supported, behaves as documented | 2026-08-31 |
| 25.8.7.3 | Supported, behaves as documented | 2026-08-31 |
Executed test cases
Excel for the web (executed 2026-09-01 via OneDrive recalculation)
These values come from Excel for the web, not from desktop Excel. They are two different implementations of the calculation engine, and this run measured only the web one: the corpus was uploaded to OneDrive as .xlsx, recalculated by Excel for the web on open, and downloaded again for readback. Excel for the web is a rolling service with no pinnable version, so the run is identified by its date. Where a value here disagrees with the Expected column — which is Microsoft’s documentation of the desktop product — we cannot tell you whether the web engine diverges from the desktop one or the documentation is wrong about both, because we do not run desktop Excel.
| Formula | Description | Result | Expected | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| =ROUND(AVERAGEA(A1:A5),4) | Microsoft's documented example: four numbers plus a text cell, where the text is averaged in as 0 | 5.6 | 5.6ProvenanceMicrosoft publishes this example's result as 5.6 and explains it as 'The cell with the text "Not available" is used in the calculation', i.e. (10+7+9+2+0)/5. The text cell contributes a 0 AND is counted in the divisor, which is exactly how AVERAGEA differs from AVERAGE (AVERAGE would give 28/4 = 7). This worked example is what resolves the same text-vs-ignored contradiction that appears on the MAXA, MINA and VARPA pages |
Matched |
| =ROUND(AVERAGEA(A1:A3),4) | DIVERGENCE PROBE: TRUE is counted as 1 and FALSE as 0, both counted in the divisor | 0.6667 | 0.6667ProvenanceExcel documents TRUE as 1 and FALSE as 0 for AVERAGEA: (1+1+0)/3 = 0.666666... -> 0.6667 at 4 dp. An engine using AVERAGE semantics (logicals in ranges ignored) would return 1 |
Matched |
| =ROUND(AVERAGEA(A1:A3),4) | Empty cells are ignored entirely -- not counted as 0 and not counted in the divisor | 15 | 15ProvenanceMicrosoft's second worked example on the same page averages a range plus a separate cell and still returns 5.6 because the empty cell is not counted. Empty cells are ignored by AVERAGEA (only text and logicals are coerced), so the answer here is (10+20)/2 = 15, not (10+0+20)/3 |
Matched |
| =ROUND(AVERAGEA(A1:A2),4) | A range containing only text averages the coerced zeros rather than erroring | 0 | 0ProvenanceUnder the documented 'array or reference arguments that contain text evaluate as 0' rule both cells count as 0 and both count in the divisor: (0+0)/2 = 0. Microsoft's page also states explicitly that empty text ("") evaluates as 0 |
Matched |
| =AVERAGEA(A1:A3) | A range of only empty cells has no data points at all | #DIV/0! | #DIV/0!ProvenanceDERIVED, not quoted: Microsoft's AVERAGEA page documents no error condition. But it does document that empty cells are ignored, so a range of only empty cells leaves no data points and the average's divisor is zero -- #DIV/0! is the only consistent result |
Matched |
Google Sheets (executed 2026-08-31 via Drive import)
Google Sheets is a rolling service with no pinnable version, so this run is identified by its date. The corpus was imported to Drive as .xlsx, recalculated by Sheets, and exported back for readback.
| Formula | Description | Result | Expected | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| =ROUND(AVERAGEA(A1:A5),4) | Microsoft's documented example: four numbers plus a text cell, where the text is averaged in as 0 | 5.6 | 5.6ProvenanceMicrosoft publishes this example's result as 5.6 and explains it as 'The cell with the text "Not available" is used in the calculation', i.e. (10+7+9+2+0)/5. The text cell contributes a 0 AND is counted in the divisor, which is exactly how AVERAGEA differs from AVERAGE (AVERAGE would give 28/4 = 7). This worked example is what resolves the same text-vs-ignored contradiction that appears on the MAXA, MINA and VARPA pages |
Matched |
| =ROUND(AVERAGEA(A1:A3),4) | DIVERGENCE PROBE: TRUE is counted as 1 and FALSE as 0, both counted in the divisor | 0.6667 | 0.6667ProvenanceExcel documents TRUE as 1 and FALSE as 0 for AVERAGEA: (1+1+0)/3 = 0.666666... -> 0.6667 at 4 dp. An engine using AVERAGE semantics (logicals in ranges ignored) would return 1 |
Matched |
| =ROUND(AVERAGEA(A1:A3),4) | Empty cells are ignored entirely -- not counted as 0 and not counted in the divisor | 15 | 15ProvenanceMicrosoft's second worked example on the same page averages a range plus a separate cell and still returns 5.6 because the empty cell is not counted. Empty cells are ignored by AVERAGEA (only text and logicals are coerced), so the answer here is (10+20)/2 = 15, not (10+0+20)/3 |
Matched |
| =ROUND(AVERAGEA(A1:A2),4) | A range containing only text averages the coerced zeros rather than erroring | 0 | 0ProvenanceUnder the documented 'array or reference arguments that contain text evaluate as 0' rule both cells count as 0 and both count in the divisor: (0+0)/2 = 0. Microsoft's page also states explicitly that empty text ("") evaluates as 0 |
Matched |
| =AVERAGEA(A1:A3) | A range of only empty cells has no data points at all | #DIV/0! | #DIV/0!ProvenanceDERIVED, not quoted: Microsoft's AVERAGEA page documents no error condition. But it does document that empty cells are ignored, so a range of only empty cells leaves no data points and the average's divisor is zero -- #DIV/0! is the only consistent result |
Matched |
LibreOffice Calc 25.8.7.3 (tested 2026-08-31)
| Formula | Description | Result | Expected | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| =ROUND(AVERAGEA(A1:A5),4) | Microsoft's documented example: four numbers plus a text cell, where the text is averaged in as 0 | 5.6 | 5.6ProvenanceMicrosoft publishes this example's result as 5.6 and explains it as 'The cell with the text "Not available" is used in the calculation', i.e. (10+7+9+2+0)/5. The text cell contributes a 0 AND is counted in the divisor, which is exactly how AVERAGEA differs from AVERAGE (AVERAGE would give 28/4 = 7). This worked example is what resolves the same text-vs-ignored contradiction that appears on the MAXA, MINA and VARPA pages |
Matched |
| =ROUND(AVERAGEA(A1:A3),4) | DIVERGENCE PROBE: TRUE is counted as 1 and FALSE as 0, both counted in the divisor | 0.6667 | 0.6667ProvenanceExcel documents TRUE as 1 and FALSE as 0 for AVERAGEA: (1+1+0)/3 = 0.666666... -> 0.6667 at 4 dp. An engine using AVERAGE semantics (logicals in ranges ignored) would return 1 |
Matched |
| =ROUND(AVERAGEA(A1:A3),4) | Empty cells are ignored entirely -- not counted as 0 and not counted in the divisor | 15 | 15ProvenanceMicrosoft's second worked example on the same page averages a range plus a separate cell and still returns 5.6 because the empty cell is not counted. Empty cells are ignored by AVERAGEA (only text and logicals are coerced), so the answer here is (10+20)/2 = 15, not (10+0+20)/3 |
Matched |
| =ROUND(AVERAGEA(A1:A2),4) | A range containing only text averages the coerced zeros rather than erroring | 0 | 0ProvenanceUnder the documented 'array or reference arguments that contain text evaluate as 0' rule both cells count as 0 and both count in the divisor: (0+0)/2 = 0. Microsoft's page also states explicitly that empty text ("") evaluates as 0 |
Matched |
| =AVERAGEA(A1:A3) | A range of only empty cells has no data points at all | #DIV/0! | #DIV/0!ProvenanceDERIVED, not quoted: Microsoft's AVERAGEA page documents no error condition. But it does document that empty cells are ignored, so a range of only empty cells leaves no data points and the average's divisor is zero -- #DIV/0! is the only consistent result |
Matched |
Docs & syntax
- Excel (desktop): official documentation
- Google Sheets: official documentation
- LibreOffice Calc: official documentation
Where AVERAGEA behaves differently
- MAXA, MINA, AVERAGEA, VARPA vs MAX, MIN, AVERAGE, VAR.P
The A-variants count text as 0 and TRUE as 1; the plain ones ignore them. Executed: LibreOffice implements all four A-variants faithfully, but its VAR.P returns 8.2222 on {4, 8, TRUE} where Microsoft documents 4 and Google Sheets returns 4 - a silent wrong number in all four builds tested.