Free Online Standard Deviation Calculator with Step-by-Step Solution
Standard Deviation Calculator instantly computes population and sample standard deviation, mean, variance, and range from your dataset. Paste your numbers, get detailed step-by-step breakdown with formulas, and copy results — all free, private, and right in your browser.
Calculate Standard Deviation
Step-by-Step Calculation
| xᵢ | xᵢ − x̄ | (xᵢ − x̄)² |
|---|
How to Use the Standard Deviation Calculator
Enter Your Data
Type or paste your numbers into the input field, separated by commas, spaces, or new lines. You can enter as many values as needed.
Select Calculation Type
Choose between Population Standard Deviation (σ) for complete datasets or Sample Standard Deviation (s) for data samples.
Click Calculate
Click the Calculate button or press Enter to instantly compute the standard deviation, mean, variance, and other statistics.
Review Step-by-Step Breakdown
Examine the detailed calculation steps showing how each value deviates from the mean and contributes to the final result.
Copy or Download Results
Copy the results to your clipboard or use the reset button to clear all fields and start a new calculation.
Key Features
100% Free Forever
Calculate standard deviation unlimited times without any charges, subscriptions, or premium feature locks.
High Precision Results
Uses IEEE 754 double-precision arithmetic for accurate results up to 6 decimal places across all computations.
Instant Calculations
Get results in under 100 milliseconds with step-by-step breakdowns showing every intermediate calculation clearly.
Complete Privacy
All processing happens in your browser. No data leaves your device, no cookies, no tracking whatsoever.
No Signup Required
Start calculating immediately without creating accounts, verifying email, or providing any personal information.
Mobile Friendly
Fully responsive design works perfectly on smartphones, tablets, and desktops with touch-optimised controls.
How Standard Deviation Is Calculated
Population SD: σ = √[ Σ(xᵢ − μ)² / N ] Sample SD: s = √[ Σ(xᵢ − x̄)² / (N − 1) ]Calculation Components
For example, consider a scenario where a teacher at Delhi Public School records the marks of 5 students in a Maths test: 72, 85, 90, 68, 95. The mean is (72+85+90+68+95)/5 = 82. The squared deviations are: (72−82)²=100, (85−82)²=9, (90−82)²=64, (68−82)²=196, (95−82)²=169. Sum of squares = 538. Population variance = 538/5 = 107.6. Population SD = √107.6 ≈ 10.373. This tells us that on average, student scores deviate about 10.37 marks from the class mean of 82.
Practical Examples
CBSE Class 10 Maths Scores
Input: 78, 82, 91, 65, 88, 73, 95, 70
Mean: 80.25
Population SD (σ): 9.81
Use Case: Anita, a teacher at Kendriya Vidyalaya, analyses variation in her students' maths test scores to identify who needs extra coaching for the board exams.
Monthly Sales Data in ₹
Input: 45000, 52000, 38000, 61000, 47000, 55000
Mean: ₹49,666.67
Sample SD (s): ₹7,839.47
Use Case: Rajesh, a shop owner in Jaipur, measures consistency in his monthly revenue to plan inventory and staffing for the next quarter.
Cricket Batting Averages
Input: 42, 56, 31, 78, 15, 93, 47, 62
Mean: 53
Population SD (σ): 23.05
Use Case: Priya analyses the batting consistency of a player during IPL season to determine reliability for selection in her fantasy cricket team.
Product Quality Control (International)
Input: 10.2, 10.5, 9.8, 10.1, 10.3, 9.9, 10.4, 10.0
Mean: 10.15
Sample SD (s): 0.236
Use Case: A manufacturing unit in Germany checks whether widget dimensions stay within acceptable tolerance limits using standard deviation as a quality measure.
What Is the Standard Deviation Calculator?
The Standard Deviation Calculator is a free online statistical tool that helps you measure how spread out numbers are in a dataset. It calculates both population standard deviation (σ) and sample standard deviation (s), along with mean, variance, sum, count, minimum, maximum, median, and range — all from a single input. Whether you are a student solving statistics homework, a teacher preparing exam solutions, a researcher analysing experimental data, or a business professional reviewing performance metrics, this tool delivers instant and accurate results.
Standard deviation is one of the most fundamental concepts in statistics and data analysis. It quantifies the amount of variation or dispersion in a set of values. A low standard deviation indicates that data points tend to be close to the mean, while a high standard deviation indicates the data is spread over a wider range. This tool is particularly valuable for students preparing for CBSE, ICSE, ISC board exams, JEE, NEET, GATE, and competitive examinations where statistics questions appear frequently. The step-by-step breakdown provided by this calculator mirrors the working format expected in examination answer sheets, making it an excellent study companion.
Built by the StoreDropship team with a focus on accuracy, privacy, and ease of use, this calculator processes all data entirely within your browser. No information is ever sent to any server, making it completely safe for handling sensitive academic, financial, or medical data. The tool supports large datasets, handles edge cases gracefully, and works flawlessly across all devices and browsers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, this Standard Deviation Calculator is 100% free to use without any limitations. There are no premium tiers, no hidden charges, and no subscription fees. You can perform unlimited calculations for population standard deviation, sample standard deviation, variance, mean, and other statistical measures. The tool is provided by StoreDropship as a free educational resource for students, teachers, researchers, and professionals across India and worldwide.
Absolutely. All calculations are performed entirely within your web browser using client-side JavaScript. Your data never leaves your device and is never transmitted to any server. No cookies, no localStorage, and no tracking mechanisms are used. When you close or refresh the page, all entered data disappears completely. This makes the tool perfectly safe for handling sensitive academic, financial, or research data without any privacy concerns whatsoever.
This calculator delivers highly accurate results using standard IEEE 754 double-precision floating-point arithmetic, the same precision used in scientific computing applications. The formulas implemented follow the exact mathematical definitions for population and sample standard deviation as taught in universities worldwide. Results are displayed with up to 6 decimal places for precision. The tool handles edge cases including single values, identical values, negative numbers, and very large datasets correctly.
Population standard deviation (σ) is used when your dataset represents the entire population you are studying. It divides by N (total number of values). Sample standard deviation (s) is used when your data is a subset or sample from a larger population. It divides by N-1 to correct for bias, known as Bessel's correction. For example, if you measure the heights of all 40 students in a class, use population SD. If you measure 10 students to estimate the variation of all students in the school, use sample SD.
You can enter thousands of numbers into this calculator. There is no hard limit on the number of values you can input. The tool processes large datasets efficiently within your browser. You can enter numbers separated by commas, spaces, tabs, or new lines. This flexibility makes it ideal for handling everything from small homework datasets to large research datasets with hundreds or thousands of observations.
Yes, the calculator fully supports negative numbers, decimals, and zero. You can enter values like -5.75, 0, 3.14159, -100, 22.5 without any issues. The tool correctly handles mixed positive and negative values in all calculations including mean, variance, and standard deviation. This makes it suitable for datasets involving temperature changes, profit and loss figures, scientific measurements, and any other data that may include negative or decimal values.
Beyond standard deviation, this tool calculates several important statistical measures: the arithmetic mean (average), variance (both population and sample), sum of all values, count of values, minimum value, maximum value, and range (difference between max and min). It also provides a complete step-by-step breakdown showing each value's deviation from the mean and its squared deviation, which is invaluable for learning and verification purposes.
Yes, this calculator is an excellent tool for CBSE and ICSE board exam preparation for Class 10 and Class 12 Statistics. The step-by-step breakdown shows the exact working process that examiners expect to see in your answer sheets. You can verify your manual calculations by entering the same data here. However, remember that in actual exams, you must show your working steps manually. Use this tool for practice, verification, and building your understanding of the concepts.
Variance is the average of the squared differences from the mean. Standard deviation is simply the square root of the variance. While variance gives you a measure of spread, its units are squared (e.g., if your data is in rupees, variance is in rupees squared), which can be hard to interpret. Standard deviation converts this back to the original units, making it more practical for real-world interpretation. Both are calculated automatically by this tool for your convenience.
Yes, this Standard Deviation Calculator is fully responsive and works perfectly on all mobile phones, tablets, and desktop computers. The interface automatically adapts to your screen size for optimal usability. Touch targets are designed to be large enough for comfortable tapping on smartphones. Whether you are using an Android phone, iPhone, iPad, or laptop, the calculator delivers the same fast and accurate results with a clean, easy-to-use interface.
A low standard deviation means your data points are clustered closely around the mean, indicating consistency. A high standard deviation means the data is spread out over a wider range, indicating variability. For example, if the average marks of a class are 75 with SD of 5, most students scored between 70 and 80. But with SD of 20, scores varied widely from 55 to 95. In the context of the 68-95-99.7 rule for normal distributions, about 68% of data falls within one SD of the mean.
Yes, you can paste data directly from Excel, Google Sheets, or any spreadsheet application. When you copy a column of numbers from a spreadsheet, the values are separated by new lines, which this calculator handles perfectly. You can also paste comma-separated values or space-separated values. The tool automatically detects and parses different separators, making data entry quick and effortless for large datasets copied from other applications.
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