Free Box Plot Maker
Paste values and compare quartiles, medians, whiskers, and outliers.
How to Make a Box Plot (3 Steps)
- Paste your data — one value per line or comma-separated
- Toggle outlier display and customize color and labels
- Download as PNG, SVG, or PDF — free, with no watermark added
How to Read a Box Plot
The box spans Q1 (25th percentile) to Q3 (75th percentile) — this range is the IQR (interquartile range). The line inside the box is the median (50th percentile). Whiskers extend to the smallest and largest values within 1.5× IQR from the box. Points beyond the whiskers are outliers.
How to Make a Box Plot in Google Sheets
Google Sheets does not have a built-in box plot chart type. The closest option is a candlestick chart: calculate your five-number summary (min, Q1, median, Q3, max) manually using MIN, QUARTILE, MEDIAN, and MAX functions, then insert a candlestick chart. For a true box plot with automatic outlier detection (1.5×IQR rule), this online tool computes everything directly from your raw values.
How to Make a Box Plot in Excel
In Excel 2016+, select your data and go to Insert → Charts → Statistical → Box and Whisker. Excel uses the inclusive quartile method, which may differ slightly from other tools. Right-click the chart to access “Format Data Series” to toggle outlier display and whisker style. For a quick box plot without Excel, paste your values into this tool and download .
Box Plot vs Histogram
Box plots summarize distribution in five numbers (min, Q1, median, Q3, max) and are ideal for comparing multiple groups side-by-side. Histograms show the full shape of a single distribution. For comparing groups, use box plots; for exploring one distribution's shape, use a histogram.
FAQ
What counts as an outlier?
By the 1.5×IQR rule: any value below Q1 − 1.5×IQR or above Q3 + 1.5×IQR. This tool uses that standard definition.
How many values do I need?
At least 4 values are required to compute meaningful quartiles. For reliable outlier detection, aim for 20+ values.
Related Tools
- Line Graph Maker — Track ordered values and changes over time.
Related Guides
- What Is a Box Plot? — Quartiles, IQR, whiskers, outliers — everything in a box plot explained.
- How to Make a Box Plot Online — Step-by-step guide with five-number summary example.
- How to Make a Box Plot in Excel — Built-in Box and Whisker chart in Excel 2016+.
- How to Make a Box Plot in Python — matplotlib and seaborn methods with examples.
- Histogram vs Box Plot vs Dot Plot — Which distribution chart to use for your data.
Further Reading
- Wikipedia: Box Plot — Full history including John Tukey's introduction of the box-and-whisker plot in Exploratory Data Analysis (1977).
- Khan Academy: Box Plot Review — Step-by-step guide to constructing and reading box plots.
- NIST Engineering Statistics Handbook: Box Plot — Technical reference on box plot construction and outlier detection methods.
- Wikipedia: Interquartile Range — Explanation of IQR, the core measure behind box plot whiskers and outlier detection.