CalcRaven

Average Calculator

To find the average (mean), add up all the numbers, then divide by how many numbers there are. For example, the average of 72, 85, 90, 68 and 85 is 80. Paste or type your numbers below to get the mean, median, mode and range, or switch to a weighted average for grades and scores.

Works with whole numbers, decimals and negative numbers

Calculate an average

Type of average
Separate numbers with commas, spaces or new lines. You can paste a column from a spreadsheet. Don’t use commas inside numbers (write 1500, not 1,500).

How to use the average calculator

  1. Choose Simple average for a plain list of numbers, or Weighted average when some values count more than others, such as a final exam worth half your grade.
  2. Type or paste your numbers, then press Calculate.
  3. Check the working under the answer to see exactly how each figure was reached.

How to find the average (mean)

  1. Add up all the numbers.
  2. Count how many numbers there are.
  3. Divide the total by the count. The answer is the average, also called the mean.

For example, the average of 4, 8 and 9 is (4 + 8 + 9) ÷ 3 = 21 ÷ 3 = 7.

How to find the median and mode

To find the median, sort the numbers from smallest to largest and take the middle one. If there are two middle numbers, average them. The mode is the number that appears most often.

Mean, median, mode and range formulas

Mean = sum of the values ÷ number of values

Median = the middle value once sorted (the mean of the two middle values if the count is even)

Mode = the value or values that appear most often

Range = largest value − smallest value

Weighted average = Σ(value × weight) ÷ Σ(weight)

In the weighted formula, Σ means “add them all up.” Multiply each value by its weight, add those results, then divide by the total of the weights.

Worked examples

Simple average: a week of commutes

Your commute took 32, 45, 28, 51 and 34 minutes this week.

  1. Add them: 32 + 45 + 28 + 51 + 34 = 190 minutes.
  2. Divide by the number of trips: 190 ÷ 5 = 38 minutes (the mean).
  3. Sort them to find the median: 28, 32, 34, 45, 51. The middle value is 34 minutes.
  4. Range: 51 − 28 = 23 minutes. There is no mode, because no time repeats.

The mean is higher than the median because one slow 51-minute day pulls it up. That gap is a quick sign that an outlier is in the data.

Weighted average: a course grade

Homework is worth 25% (you scored 92), quizzes are worth 25% (84), and the final exam is worth 50% (75).

  1. Multiply each score by its weight: 92 × 25 = 2,300; 84 × 25 = 2,100; 75 × 50 = 3,750.
  2. Add the results: 2,300 + 2,100 + 3,750 = 8,150.
  3. Divide by the total weight: 8,150 ÷ 100 = 81.5.

For grades, GPA and other weighted problems, the dedicated weighted average calculator has more examples.

When you’d actually use an average

  • Settling the fantasy football argument. Average your weekly points against your brother-in-law’s before the group chat declares a winner on vibes alone.
  • Finding your real grocery bill. Average a month of receipts so “just running in for milk” stops being a budget surprise.
  • Working out what you need on the final. Use the weighted average to see how much that exam can move your grade, then decide how much coffee the week requires.

Mean, median or mode: which should you use?

Use the mean for evenly spread data without extreme values, such as test scores in a class. Use the median when a few very high or low values would skew the result, such as home prices or salaries. Use the mode for the most common choice or size, such as the shoe size a store sells most. A weighted average is the right tool whenever some values should count more than others.

How we calculate

Numbers are read exactly as typed, including decimals and negative values. The mean and weighted average are calculated in standard double-precision arithmetic and displayed rounded to at most four decimal places. The median is found after sorting the values from smallest to largest. Up to 10,000 values can be entered at once.

Frequently asked questions

Is the mean the same as the average?

In everyday use, yes. When people say “average” they almost always mean the arithmetic mean: add the numbers up and divide by how many there are.

When should I use the median instead of the mean?

Use the median when a few unusually large or small values would distort the mean, such as home prices or incomes. The median is the middle value, so outliers barely move it.

How do I calculate a weighted average?

Multiply each value by its weight, add those products together, then divide by the total of the weights. The weights do not need to add up to 100.

Can a set of numbers have more than one mode?

Yes. If two or more values tie for appearing most often, each of them is a mode. If every value appears only once, the set has no mode.

How do I average percentages?

If each percentage comes from a group of a different size, use a weighted average with the group sizes as the weights. A simple average of the percentages only works when the groups are the same size.

Can I paste numbers from Excel or Google Sheets?

Yes. Copy a column or row of cells and paste it into the box. Numbers can be separated by new lines, spaces, tabs, commas or semicolons.