In Excel: lay the input values along a row or column next to your formula, select the block including the formula cell, then Data ▸ What-If Analysis ▸ Data Table and give the row and/or column input cell.
On this page7
Build the model first so one formula cell holds the number you care about.
For one variable: list the input values down a column, and put a reference to the formula (=B5) one row up and one column right of the list.
Select the rectangle covering both the input list and the formula reference.
Data ▸ What-If Analysis ▸ Data Table. Set Column input cell to the model cell the listed values should replace (use Row input cell if the values run across a row).
For two variables: put one set of values down the left column, the other across the top row, the formula reference in the corner, and fill in both input cells.
For the reverse question, use Data ▸ What-If Analysis ▸ Goal Seek: set the formula cell to a target value by changing one input cell.
What this does
What-If Analysis is three tools on one menu. A Data Table recalculates one formula across a grid of input values — one variable along a column, or two variables across a column and a row — and shows every result at once. Goal Seek runs the opposite direction: you state the answer you want and Excel solves for the single input that produces it. Scenario Manager stores named sets of input values so you can flip between Base, Best and Worst. Data Tables are the ones people mean by "sensitivity analysis". Before you run it on a workbook other people depend on, try it on a copy or a few rows first. Undo only reaches back through the current session, so a quick trial run is the cheapest way to see exactly what will change before the file is saved and shared. Treat “excel what if data table” as a small repeatable workflow rather than a one-off click you hope to remember next time. Use a small test block before the live file, so any surprise in the affected cells shows up while it is still harmless. When this is a ribbon command, the selection matters more than the button: confirm the range, apply the command, then spot-check the output before saving. That turns a workflow that saves repeating the same clicks every week into a method you can reuse, explain, and defend when the workbook leaves your screen.
A worked example
A loan payment sits in B5 as =PMT(B2/12, B3, -B1). To see the payment at several rates, put rates 3%, 3.5%, 4%, 4.5%, 5% down D3:D7 and the formula reference =B5 in E2. Select D2:E7, then Data ▸ What-If Analysis ▸ Data Table, leave Row input cell empty and set Column input cell to B2. Excel fills E3:E7 with the payment at each rate — €1,264, €1,347, €1,432, €1,520, €1,610 on a €300,000 25-year loan. It answers the question every model gets asked — "and what if the rate is a point higher?" — without cloning the sheet five times and losing track of which copy was which. When the result is not what you expected, undo straight away rather than repairing it by hand — undo restores the sheet exactly, while manual fixes tend to leave small inconsistencies behind that surface later.
In Google Sheets
This is a command rather than a formula, so there is no syntax to carry over. Google Sheets arranges its commands in menus across the top instead of a ribbon, names some of them differently and does not have every Excel command — look for the equivalent in the Sheets menus or its help before assuming the steps match. 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. Treat “excel what if data table” as a routine rather than a one-off. Once you know which setting or command controls it, the same few steps handle every workbook where it comes up in Excel, and you can explain them to a colleague in a sentence.
Common mistakes
- Putting the formula in the wrong corner — it belongs above the column of inputs and left of the row of inputs, in the cell where the two axes meet.
- Selecting only the input values without the formula cell, which produces an empty table.
- Trying to edit or delete individual result cells; a Data Table is one array and only clears as a whole.
- Pointing the input cell at a cell the formula does not actually depend on, which produces the same number in every row.
- Leaving a large two-variable table on Automatic calculation in a heavy workbook — set Formulas ▸ Calculation Options ▸ Automatic Except for Data Tables.
Frequently asked questions
What is What-If Analysis in Excel?
A menu on the Data tab holding three tools: Data Table (recalculate a formula across a grid of inputs), Goal Seek (solve for the input that hits a target output) and Scenario Manager (save named sets of inputs).
How do I make a two-variable data table?
Put one variable's values down a column, the other's across a row, and a reference to the formula in the corner cell where they meet. Select the whole block and set both Row input cell and Column input cell.
Why can I not delete part of my data table?
The results are a single array formula. Select the entire result range and delete it in one go.
Data Table or Scenario Manager?
A Data Table when you want to see one output across many values of one or two inputs. Scenario Manager when you want to switch several inputs at once between named cases.