BETA.INV
Quirk foundCategory: Statistical · Last tested 2026-09-01
Real compatibility results for the BETA.INV 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) | Quirk found |
LibreOffice version history
We executed the same test cases under each LibreOffice release to show exactly when BETA.INV’s support changed — not documentation claims, real results.
| LibreOffice version | Verdict | Tested |
|---|---|---|
| 24.2.0.3 | Quirk found | 2026-08-31 |
| 24.8.7.2 | Quirk found | 2026-08-31 |
| 25.2.0.3 | Quirk found | 2026-08-31 |
| 25.8.7.3 | Quirk found | 2026-08-31 |
Why isn't BETA.INV working in LibreOffice?
BETA.INV exists in LibreOffice 25.8.7.3, but it is not a drop-in match for
Excel — our executed tests found real behavioral differences (detailed in the test results on this
page). If a formula that works in Excel or Google Sheets misbehaves in LibreOffice, compare your usage
against the failing cases above before assuming your data is wrong.
Discovered quirks
-
=BETA.INV(0,8,10,1,3) on
LibreOffice Calc returned
1, but the documented/expected
result is #NUM!.
Provenance
Excel documents: "If probability <= 0 or probability > 1, BETA.INV returns the #NUM! error value." Note the asymmetry -- probability = 1 is allowed but probability = 0 is not; MISMATCH vs expected: expected '#NUM!', got 1
-
=BETA.INV(1.5,8,10,1,3) on
LibreOffice Calc returned
#VALUE!, but the documented/expected
result is #NUM!.
Provenance
Excel documents the same rule for probability > 1; MISMATCH vs expected: expected '#NUM!', got '#VALUE!'
-
=BETA.INV(0.5,8,0,1,3) on
LibreOffice Calc returned
#VALUE!, but the documented/expected
result is #NUM!.
Provenance
Excel documents: "If alpha <= 0 or beta <= 0, BETA.INV returns the #NUM! error value."; MISMATCH vs expected: expected '#NUM!', got '#VALUE!'
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(BETA.INV(A2,A3,A4,A5,A6),6) | Microsoft's documented worked example: the inverse of the cumulative beta distribution at probability 0.685470581, alpha=8, beta=10 on [1,3] | 2 | 2.0ProvenanceMicrosoft's page publishes this example's result as 2. Independently derived from the documented inverse relationship ("BETA.INV seeks that value x such that BETA.DIST(x, alpha, beta, TRUE, A, B) = probability"): A + (B-A)*betaincinv(8,10,0.685470581) = 1 + 2*0.4999999999815714 = 1.9999999999631428 -> 2 at 6 dp. The tiny shortfall comes from the input probability itself being the 9-dp rounding of BETA.DIST(2,8,10,TRUE,1,3), so 6 dp is the honest assertion depth |
Matched |
| =ROUND(BETA.INV(0.5,2,3),7) | The median of a Beta(2,3) distribution on the default [0,1] interval | 0.3857276 | 0.3857276ProvenanceExcel documents that omitting A and B uses the standard beta distribution on [0,1]. Independently derived: scipy.special.betaincinv(2,3,0.5) = 0.3857275681323895 -> 0.3857276 at 7 dp |
Matched |
| =BETA.INV(0,8,10,1,3) | A probability of exactly zero | #NUM! | #NUM!ProvenanceExcel documents: "If probability <= 0 or probability > 1, BETA.INV returns the #NUM! error value." Note the asymmetry -- probability = 1 is allowed but probability = 0 is not |
Matched |
| =BETA.INV(1.5,8,10,1,3) | A probability above 1 | #NUM! | #NUM!ProvenanceExcel documents the same rule for probability > 1 |
Matched |
| =BETA.INV(0.5,8,0,1,3) | A beta parameter of zero | #NUM! | #NUM!ProvenanceExcel documents: "If alpha <= 0 or beta <= 0, BETA.INV returns the #NUM! error value." |
Matched |
| =BETA.INV("abc",8,10,1,3) | A non-numeric probability argument | #VALUE! | #VALUE!ProvenanceExcel documents: "If any argument is nonnumeric, BETA.INV returns the #VALUE! error value." |
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(BETA.INV(A2,A3,A4,A5,A6),6) | Microsoft's documented worked example: the inverse of the cumulative beta distribution at probability 0.685470581, alpha=8, beta=10 on [1,3] | 2 | 2.0ProvenanceMicrosoft's page publishes this example's result as 2. Independently derived from the documented inverse relationship ("BETA.INV seeks that value x such that BETA.DIST(x, alpha, beta, TRUE, A, B) = probability"): A + (B-A)*betaincinv(8,10,0.685470581) = 1 + 2*0.4999999999815714 = 1.9999999999631428 -> 2 at 6 dp. The tiny shortfall comes from the input probability itself being the 9-dp rounding of BETA.DIST(2,8,10,TRUE,1,3), so 6 dp is the honest assertion depth |
Matched |
| =ROUND(BETA.INV(0.5,2,3),7) | The median of a Beta(2,3) distribution on the default [0,1] interval | 0.3857276 | 0.3857276ProvenanceExcel documents that omitting A and B uses the standard beta distribution on [0,1]. Independently derived: scipy.special.betaincinv(2,3,0.5) = 0.3857275681323895 -> 0.3857276 at 7 dp |
Matched |
| =BETA.INV(0,8,10,1,3) | A probability of exactly zero | #NUM! | #NUM!ProvenanceExcel documents: "If probability <= 0 or probability > 1, BETA.INV returns the #NUM! error value." Note the asymmetry -- probability = 1 is allowed but probability = 0 is not |
Matched |
| =BETA.INV(1.5,8,10,1,3) | A probability above 1 | #NUM! | #NUM!ProvenanceExcel documents the same rule for probability > 1 |
Matched |
| =BETA.INV(0.5,8,0,1,3) | A beta parameter of zero | #NUM! | #NUM!ProvenanceExcel documents: "If alpha <= 0 or beta <= 0, BETA.INV returns the #NUM! error value." |
Matched |
| =BETA.INV("abc",8,10,1,3) | A non-numeric probability argument | #VALUE! | #VALUE!ProvenanceExcel documents: "If any argument is nonnumeric, BETA.INV returns the #VALUE! error value." |
Matched |
LibreOffice Calc 25.8.7.3 (tested 2026-08-31)
| Formula | Description | Result | Expected | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| =ROUND(BETA.INV(A2,A3,A4,A5,A6),6) | Microsoft's documented worked example: the inverse of the cumulative beta distribution at probability 0.685470581, alpha=8, beta=10 on [1,3] | 2 | 2.0ProvenanceMicrosoft's page publishes this example's result as 2. Independently derived from the documented inverse relationship ("BETA.INV seeks that value x such that BETA.DIST(x, alpha, beta, TRUE, A, B) = probability"): A + (B-A)*betaincinv(8,10,0.685470581) = 1 + 2*0.4999999999815714 = 1.9999999999631428 -> 2 at 6 dp. The tiny shortfall comes from the input probability itself being the 9-dp rounding of BETA.DIST(2,8,10,TRUE,1,3), so 6 dp is the honest assertion depth |
Matched |
| =ROUND(BETA.INV(0.5,2,3),7) | The median of a Beta(2,3) distribution on the default [0,1] interval | 0.3857276 | 0.3857276ProvenanceExcel documents that omitting A and B uses the standard beta distribution on [0,1]. Independently derived: scipy.special.betaincinv(2,3,0.5) = 0.3857275681323895 -> 0.3857276 at 7 dp |
Matched |
| =BETA.INV(0,8,10,1,3) | A probability of exactly zero | 1 | #NUM!ProvenanceExcel documents: "If probability <= 0 or probability > 1, BETA.INV returns the #NUM! error value." Note the asymmetry -- probability = 1 is allowed but probability = 0 is not |
Mismatch |
| =BETA.INV(1.5,8,10,1,3) | A probability above 1 | #VALUE! | #NUM!ProvenanceExcel documents the same rule for probability > 1 |
Mismatch |
| =BETA.INV(0.5,8,0,1,3) | A beta parameter of zero | #VALUE! | #NUM!ProvenanceExcel documents: "If alpha <= 0 or beta <= 0, BETA.INV returns the #NUM! error value." |
Mismatch |
| =BETA.INV("abc",8,10,1,3) | A non-numeric probability argument | #VALUE! | #VALUE!ProvenanceExcel documents: "If any argument is nonnumeric, BETA.INV returns the #VALUE! error value." |
Matched |
Docs & syntax
- Excel (desktop): official documentation
- Google Sheets: official documentation
- LibreOffice Calc: official documentation