Written and maintained by CASRAI Editorial Board
Last updated
To make a box plot in Google Sheets, select your raw data, choose Insert > Chart, open the Setup tab, and under Chart type scroll to the Statistical group and pick Box and whisker chart. Sheets calculates the minimum, quartiles, median, maximum and outliers for you, so you do not need to build quartile formulas first.
That is a change from older tutorials, which build a box plot by hand from a stacked column or candlestick chart. The native chart handles raw data directly; a candlestick chart is the right choice only when you already hold the summary statistics.
What a box plot is used for in research
Google describes the box and whisker chart as a way to show the distribution of values in a data set, including medians, quartiles and outliers. In research it is the quick comparison tool for one numeric measurement across groups, such as a score by treatment arm, department or year. The NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods describes the box as representing the middle 50% of the data, with a line at the median, so the plot identifies the middle half of the data, the median and the extreme points at a glance.
For the underlying quartile arithmetic, see how the interquartile range drives a box plot and the five-number summary guide.
Install or access
The box and whisker chart is a built-in chart type in Google Sheets, so nothing needs installing. Open the spreadsheet that holds your data in Google Sheets. Google’s help page also notes that Excel spreadsheets imported into Sheets work with the chart unchanged.
Step-by-step: build the chart
1. Lay out the data
Per Google’s help page, the first column is optional and holds labels or categories used to group the data, for example department, class or year. Each following column holds numerical values. Each column or group gets its own box plot. Put raw observations in the cells, not pre-computed summaries.
2. Insert the chart
- Open the spreadsheet and select the cells that contain your data.
- Click Insert, then Chart.
- In the Chart editor, open the Setup tab.
- Under Chart type, scroll to the Statistical group and select Box and whisker chart.
If the chart editor is not showing, double-click the chart to open it (Google’s general chart help describes the same Setup tab and Chart type drop-down).
3. Customize the series
Under Customize, in Series, Google lists these options:
- Show outlier points beyond the whiskers.
- Show a mean marker for each series.
- Show a mean line connecting the mean markers across categories.
- Choose the quartile calculation method: inclusive or exclusive median.
You can also add titles for the chart and axes and edit legend labels.
Output and how to read it
Per Google’s help page, the box spans the interquartile range (the 25th to the 75th percentile) with a line at the median. The whiskers extend to the lowest and highest values that fall within 1.5 times the IQR, and values beyond the whiskers are plotted as outliers. Sheets calculates the minimum, quartiles, median, maximum and outliers from the raw data automatically.
Cross-walk to the NIST definition
| Convention | Whiskers reach to | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Google Sheets box and whisker chart | Lowest and highest values within 1.5 × IQR; outliers plotted beyond | Google Docs Editors Help |
| NIST basic box plot | Minimum and maximum of the data | NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook |
| NIST box plot with fences | Smallest point greater than Q1 − 1.5 × IQ and largest point smaller than Q3 + 1.5 × IQ | NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook |
NIST also separates points beyond the 1.5 fences (small circles) from points beyond 3.0 interquartile ranges from the quartiles (large circles). The Sheets help page describes a single outlier category beyond the whiskers, so if your field uses a two-tier outlier convention, state in your methods which rule your software applied. The chart editor’s inclusive or exclusive median setting changes how quartiles are computed, and quartile methods differ between programs; the CASRAI guide on the IQR and box plots explains this, and how to find an outlier in statistics covers the outlier rule itself.
Troubleshooting
I already have the quartiles, not raw data
The box and whisker chart computes summary statistics itself from raw values. Google’s help page says that if you already have summary statistics, use a candlestick chart instead.
Groups are not separated
Check the layout: group labels belong in the optional first column, and each further column of numbers becomes its own box plot.
No outlier dots or mean markers appear
Open Customize, then Series, and confirm the outlier and mean options are switched on.
Other tools for the same plot
If your analysis lives elsewhere, CASRAI has companion step-by-step guides for the same chart:
| Tool | CASRAI guide |
|---|---|
| R | Box plots in R |
| SPSS | Box plots in SPSS |
| Stata | Box plots in Stata |
For another statistical chart in Sheets, see how to make a histogram in Google Sheets.
FAQ
Does Google Sheets have a built-in box plot?
Yes. Box and whisker chart is listed under the Statistical group of chart types in the Chart editor.
What data do I need?
Raw numerical values in one or more columns, with an optional first column of group labels. Each column or group gets its own box.
What do the whiskers show?
The lowest and highest values within 1.5 times the interquartile range; points beyond are drawn as outliers.
Can I use summary statistics instead?
Not with this chart type. Google recommends a candlestick chart when you already have the summary statistics.
Sources
- Google Docs Editors Help, Box and whisker charts (checked 2026-10-29).
- Google Docs Editors Help, Types of charts and graphs in Google Sheets (checked 2026-10-29).
- Google Docs Editors Help, Add and edit a chart or graph (checked 2026-10-29).
- NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, Box Plot (checked 2026-10-29).
