In Excel: use the appropriate test function, such as =T.TEST(array1,array2,2,2) for a two-tailed two-sample t-test, and interpret the result against your chosen alpha level.
On this page7
Choose the statistical test before writing the formula.
Put each sample in a clean numeric range.
Use the matching Excel test function and tail/type arguments.
Report p-value with sample sizes and the test used.
Need it as an auditable file?
Ships inside the linked template — formula-driven, unlocked, audit-ready.
What this does
A p-value is not a generic spreadsheet statistic; it comes from a specific hypothesis test. Excel can calculate p-values with T.TEST, Z.TEST, CHISQ.TEST and Data Analysis ToolPak outputs. The right function depends on the design, distribution assumptions and whether the test is one-tailed or two-tailed. The same idea underpins a lot of everyday Excel work, so the few minutes spent getting it right here pay back across every sheet you build afterwards. Treat it as a pattern, not a one-off, and it stops being something you look up and starts being something you reach for. The difference between a quick fix and a sheet you can trust is the extra minute you spend validating “get a p value in excel”. Start on a copy or a tiny sample, keep the affected cells visible, and compare the result with the tool above before you touch the real workbook. When a formula is involved, keep the inputs labelled beside it, reference cells instead of typing values, and apply number formatting only after the result checks out. The point is a calculation you can defend to a CFO or an auditor, but the practical win is that someone else can open the file and understand what happened without asking you.
A worked example
Scores before training are in A2:A21 and after training in B2:B21 for separate groups. =T.TEST(A2:A21,B2:B21,2,2) returns the two-tailed p-value for a two-sample equal-variance t-test. If p is 0.03 and alpha is 0.05, the difference is statistically significant under that test. P-value content needs caution because users can easily produce a number that looks authoritative but comes from the wrong test. One habit worth forming early: name the cells that hold your inputs, so the formula reads in plain language instead of a string of cell addresses. A reviewer — or you in three months — can then follow the logic without decoding what B7 and D2 were supposed to mean, which is most of what makes a sheet maintainable.
In Google Sheets
Everything above works in Google Sheets too. Excel and Sheets share the formula syntax used here; only the surrounding menus are arranged differently. That portability is deliberate — learn it once and it follows you between the two tools and across Windows and Mac. Nothing on this page is behind a login or a download: the exact answer is at the top, and the detail below it is there for when you need it. That is the whole promise here — the answer first, and just enough context to make it stick. Here is the takeaway for “get a p value in excel”: copy the answer if you are busy, but if you have a spare few minutes, rebuild the example in Excel yourself with the tool above open beside it. That single pass — type it, run it, watch the result move when you change an input — is what turns a formula you found into a technique you trust. Keep your inputs labelled and referenced, never hard-coded, and the same sheet stays correct and auditable as it grows. Done that way, you will not need to look this up again, and you will be the person others ask.
Common mistakes
- Using
T.TESTfor every p-value question. - Ignoring paired versus unpaired samples.
- Treating p-value as effect size.
- Changing one-tailed versus two-tailed after seeing results.
Frequently asked questions
Which Excel function gives a p-value?
It depends on the test: T.TEST, Z.TEST, CHISQ.TEST and ToolPak tests can return p-values.
Is p < 0.05 always significant?
Only relative to a prechosen alpha and suitable test assumptions.
Does p-value show importance?
No. It is evidence against a null hypothesis, not effect size.
Other ways people ask this
On the way here you may have searched this as “how to get the p value on excel”, “how to get p value on excel”, “how to get the p-value in excel” and “how to get r value in excel” — it is all the same task, and this page is the single, complete answer to it.
Why do people search for this in so many different ways?
Because the same task has many names. “how to get the p value on excel”, “how to get p value on excel”, “how to get the p-value in excel” all point at the one operation explained on this page, which is why they all lead here.