Functions 6: RAND & RANDBETWEEN

Function: RAND / RANDBETWEEN

Generate a list of random numbers instantly for your research!

Time to learn: 20 minutes

So, what is this?

RAND

RAND is a function that gives you a set of random numbers from between 0 and 1. Here’s an example:

=RAND()

RANDBETWEEN

This is a function that gives you more control when you want random numbers…which is kind of a oxymoron.

So, here’s an example:

=RANDBETWEEN(1,10)

This gives you a random number between, yup, 1 and 10. Copying the contents of the cell give you more random numbers in this range.  If you’d like a different set of numbers, just press F9.

Here’s something extra:

=LARGE(ROW($1:$9)*NOT(COUNTIF($A$1:A1, ROW($1:$9))), RANDBETWEEN(1,10-ROW(A1)))

Put this formula in cell A2 and instead of just pressing ‘Enter’, press ‘Ctrl+Shift+Enter’.

This gives you a formula that produces 1-9 in a random order, with no repeated numbers.  I didn’t come up with this though, but it is cool.