MODE
Quirk foundCategory: Compatibility · Last tested 2026-08-06
Real, executed compatibility results for the MODE function across Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, and LibreOffice Calc — verified by actually running it. Syntax and links to each vendor’s official documentation are below.
Support matrix
| Engine | Documented | Live-tested | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Excel | Yes | Not yet | n/a |
| Google Sheets | Yes | Not yet | n/a |
| LibreOffice Calc | Yes | Yes (25.8.7.3, 2026-08-06) | Quirk found |
LibreOffice version history
We executed the same test cases under each LibreOffice release to show exactly when MODE’s support changed — not documentation claims, real results.
| LibreOffice version | Verdict | Tested |
|---|---|---|
| 24.2.0.3 | Quirk found | 2026-07-19 |
| 24.8.7.2 | Quirk found | 2026-07-19 |
| 25.2.0.3 | Quirk found | 2026-07-24 |
| 25.8.7.3 | Quirk found | 2026-08-06 |
Why isn't MODE working in LibreOffice?
MODE 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
- =MODE(A1:A4) on LibreOffice Calc returned #VALUE!, but the documented/expected result is #N/A. Microsoft's MODE docs state verbatim: 'If the data set contains no duplicate data points, MODE returns the #N/A error value' -- https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/mode-function-e45192ce-9122-4980-82ed-4bdc34973120; MISMATCH vs expected: expected '#N/A', got '#VALUE!'
Executed test cases
LibreOffice Calc 25.8.7.3 (tested 2026-08-06)
| Formula | Description | Result | Expected | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| =MODE(A1:A6) | Basic case with one clearly most-frequent value | 4 | 4 This is Microsoft's own documented MODE example data set -- https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/mode-function-e45192ce-9122-4980-82ed-4bdc34973120 -- 4 appears 3 times, more than any other value |
Matched |
| =MODE(A1:A4) | When every value in the data set is unique (no duplicates at all), MODE has nothing to return | #VALUE! | #N/A Microsoft's MODE docs state verbatim: 'If the data set contains no duplicate data points, MODE returns the #N/A error value' -- https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/mode-function-e45192ce-9122-4980-82ed-4bdc34973120 |
Mismatch |
| =MODE(A1:A5) | MODE works the same way on negative numbers | -3 | -3 | Matched |
| =MODE(A1:A6) | Text values and blank cells in the range are ignored when finding the mode | 1 | 1 Only the numeric cells 1,1,2,3 participate; 1 is the most frequent among them |
Matched |
Docs & syntax
- Excel: official documentation
- Google Sheets: official documentation
- LibreOffice Calc: official documentation