How to use the Excel HARMEAN function

Summary

The Excel HARMEAN function returns the harmonic mean for a set of numeric values. The harmonic mean is the reciprocal of the arithmetic mean of reciprocals. Harmonic mean can be used to calculate a mean that reduces the impact of outliers.

Purpose

Calculate harmonic mean

Return value

Calculated mean

Syntax

=HARMEAN (number1, [number2], ...)

Arguments

number1 - First value or reference.
number2 - [optional] Second value or reference.

Usage notes

The Excel HARMEAN function returns the harmonic mean for a set of numeric values. The harmonic mean is the reciprocal of the arithmetic mean of reciprocals. Harmonic mean can be used to calculate a mean that reduces the impact of outliers. The harmonic mean is always less than the geometric mean, which is always less than the arithmetic mean.

In the example shown, the formula in E7 is:

=HARMEAN(B5:B14)

The formulas in E5 and E6 are, respectively:

=AVERAGE(B5:B14) // arithmetic mean
=GEOMEAN(B5:B14) // geometric mean

Notes

Arguments can be numbers, names, arrays, or references that contain numbers.
Empty cells, and cells that contain text or logical values are ignored.

Related functions

Excel AVERAGE Function

The Excel AVERAGE function calculates the average (arithmetic mean) of supplied numbers. AVERAGE can handle up to 255 individual arguments, which can include numbers, cell references, ranges, arrays, and constants.

Excel TRIMMEAN Function

The Excel TRIMMEAN function calculates mean (average) while excluding outliers. The number of data points to exclude is provided as a percentage.

Excel GEOMEAN Function

The Excel GEOMEAN function returns the geometric mean for a set of numeric values. Geometric mean can be used to calculate average rate of return with variable rates.