Binomial Distribution Calculator
Find the probability of k successes in n trials.
Result
How it is calculated
The binomial distribution counts successes in n independent trials that each succeed with probability p. The exact probability of k successes is P(X=k) = C(n,k) × pk × (1−p)n−k, where C(n,k) = n! / (k!(n−k)!). The tool also returns the cumulative P(X ≤ k), the sum of the exact probabilities from 0 to k, and P(X ≥ k), which equals 1 − P(X ≤ k) + P(X=k). Here p is a probability between 0 and 1 (not a percentage), n is a whole number up to 1000 and k must lie between 0 and n. Probabilities are shown to five decimals.
Worked example
Flip a fair coin 10 times (n = 10, p = 0.5) and ask for exactly 3 heads (k = 3). C(10,3) = 120, and 0.5³ × 0.5⁷ = 1/1024, so P(X=3) = 120/1024 = 0.11719. Cumulative: the exact chances for 0, 1, 2 and 3 heads are 1, 10, 45 and 120 out of 1024, totalling 176/1024 = 0.17188 for at most 3 heads. At least 3 heads is 1 − 0.17188 + 0.11719 = 0.94531.
Common mistakes
- Entering p as a percentage (50) instead of a probability (0.5).
- Confusing "exactly k" with "at most k" or "at least k"; they are three separate outputs.
- Using the model when trials are not independent or the success chance changes, such as drawing cards without replacement.
- Exceeding n = 1000 or setting k above n, which gives no result.
- Reading "at least k" as 1 − P(X ≤ k); that excludes k itself, so it understates the answer.
About this calculator
The binomial distribution models the number of successes in n independent trials, each with the same success probability p. The exact probability of getting precisely k successes is P(X=k) = C(n,k) · pᵏ · (1−p)ⁿ⁻ᵏ, where C(n,k) is the number of ways to choose which k trials succeed; this calculator also sums that formula to give the cumulative probabilities P(X≤k) and P(X≥k).
Statisticians, quality-control engineers, and data scientists use the binomial distribution whenever an outcome is binary and trials are independent — defect rates in manufacturing batches, coin-flip and dice problems in intro statistics, and conversion-rate comparisons in A/B testing all reduce to this model. Clinical researchers use it too, for example to compute the probability of a given number of patients responding to treatment out of a fixed trial size.
Was this helpful?
You can pick up to 3 reactions.
Popular calculators
Loan Calculator
Monthly payment, total interest and full amortization schedule.
Percentage Calculator
Percent change, percent of, and ratio calculations.
Discount Calculator
Calculate final price, savings, and discount amount.
BMI Calculator
Body mass index from height and weight (metric or imperial).
Age Calculator
Compute your exact age in years, months and days from a birth date.
Compound Interest Calculator
Calculate the final amount and interest earned with compounding.
All Calculators
- Loan Calculator
- Profit Calculator
- Discount Calculator
- BMI Calculator
- Percentage Calculator
- Ideal Weight Calculator
- Age Calculator
- Pregnancy Due Date Calculator
- Compound Interest Calculator
- BMR Calculator (Basal Metabolic Rate)
- Tip Calculator
- Fuel Cost Calculator
- Date Difference Calculator
- Sleep Cycle Calculator
- Daily Water Intake Calculator
- Simple Interest Calculator
- Heart Rate Zones Calculator
- Running Pace Calculator
- Pet Age Calculator
- Calories Burned Calculator
- Macro Calculator
- TDEE Calculator (Total Daily Energy Expenditure)
- Waist-to-Hip Ratio Calculator
- Honor Roll Calculator
- One Rep Max (1RM) Calculator
- Ovulation Calculator
- Electricity Cost Calculator
- Unit Price Calculator
- Savings Goal Calculator
- Break-Even Point Calculator
- Paint Calculator
- Course Grade Average Calculator
- Business Days Calculator
- Time Duration Calculator
- Fuel Economy Calculator
- Temperature Converter
- Tile Calculator
- Aspect Ratio Calculator
- Roman Numeral Converter
- Goal Weight Timeline Calculator
- Salary Converter (Hourly to Annual)
- Credit Card Validator (Luhn)
- Body Surface Area (BSA) Calculator
- Feels-Like Temperature Calculator
- Ohm’s Law Calculator
- PPI (Pixel Density) Calculator
- Molar Mass Calculator
- Zodiac Sign Calculator (Western + Chinese)
- IBAN Validator
- Shoe Size Converter
- Country Info & Dialing Code Lookup
- Time Zone Difference (World Clock)
- CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) Calculator
- Rule of 72 Calculator
- Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) Calculator
- Lean Body Mass (LBM) Calculator
- Pythagorean Theorem Calculator
- Speed Converter
- Download Time Calculator
- Date Calculator (Add/Subtract)
No calculators found
Comments (1)
A practical use is spot checks in quality control. Suppose each of 20 items has a 5% chance of being defective, so n = 20 and p = 0.05. Enter k = 2 and read the at-least line: the chance of finding two or more defective items is about 0.264. Use it only if items are independent. What kind of sampling or yes/no situation are you trying to model?