Median and percentiles calculator

Q: What is the median?

The value "in the middle" of the sample after ordering. Half of the data are below the median, half above. Robust to outliers.

Q: How does median differ from mean?

Mean is sum divided by count; sensitive to outliers. Median is the central value; often preferred for skewed data and outliers.

Q: What is a percentile?

Percentile Pk — value below which k% of data lie. P50 is the median. P90 — 90% of data below this value.

Q: What are quartiles?

Quartiles split the sample into four parts. Q1 (25%), Q2 — median (50%), Q3 (75%). IQR = Q3 − Q1 — spread of the "middle half".

Q: When to use median instead of mean?

For skewed distributions, outliers (e.g. response time, income), ordinal scales. For symmetric data median and mean are close.

Q: How to enter numbers in the calculator?

Comma or newline separated. You can paste a column from Excel. Non-numeric values and empty lines are ignored.

Q: Where are percentiles used in research?

SLA (e.g. 95% of responses within N seconds), satisfaction benchmarks (median by segment), task completion time analysis.

Q: What is linear interpolation for percentiles?

When the desired percentile falls between two order statistics, the value is computed by linear interpolation. Different software uses different methods (we use an analogue of R type 6).

Enter numbers — get median, quartiles Q1/Q3 and percentiles

Median and percentiles — summary statistics for a set of numbers: median, quartiles (Q1, Q3), and custom percentiles.

FAQ about median and percentiles

Enter survey data

Numbers (comma or newline separated)

E.g.: 3, 5, 7, 8, 9 or one number per line

Assumptions and limitations

Linear interpolation between order statistics (R type 6 method)
Median = P50 = Q2
Non-numeric values and empty lines are ignored

Median and percentiles

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Median and percentiles

Median

Value in the middle of the ordered sample. Robust to outliers unlike the mean. For even n — average of the two central values.

Quartiles

Q1 — 25% of data below; Q2 — median (50%); Q3 — 75% below. Interquartile range IQR = Q3 − Q1.

Percentiles

P25 = Q1, P50 = median, P75 = Q3. P90 — value below which 90% of data lie. Used in benchmarks and SLA.

When to use

Median — for skewed data and outliers (income, response time). Percentiles — for SLA ("95% of responses within N sec"), satisfaction benchmarks, task completion time in UX.

Interpretation examples

1 Sample of 1–10 scale scores

Data: 3, 5, 6, 7, 7, 8, 8, 9, 9, 10. n = 10.

Median (P50) = 7.5 · Q1 = 6 · Q3 = 8.5 · IQR = 2.5. Half of scores below 7.5. Useful for reports: "median satisfaction 7.5 out of 10".

2 Response time (sec)

SLA metric: P95 < 3 sec. P95 — value below which 95% of measurements lie.

Paste all measurements into the calculator. P50, P90, P95 show median and tail. If P95 = 2.8 — 95% of responses faster than 2.8 sec, SLA met.

3 Time to purchase (days)

Data: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 10, 14, 21, 30 — days from first visit to conversion.

Median ≈ 6 days — half of customers convert faster. P75 and P90 show the "long tail".

4 Cost per customer

CAC sample: 2, 3, 4, 5, 5, 6, 8, 10, 15, 25. Contains outliers.

Median is more robust than mean. P50 ≈ 5.5; P90 ≈ 15 — 90% of customers acquired for less than 15.

5 NPS by region

NPS for 8 regions: 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 50. Need median across regions.

Median = average of 25 and 30 = 27.5. In report: "median NPS by region 27.5".

6 Session length (minutes)

Measurements: 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 12, 20, 45. P95 used to cap extremes.

P50 ≈ 4.5 min, P95 ≈ 20 min. Median gives typical time; P95 — boundary of "long" sessions.

Frequently asked questions about median and percentiles

What is the median?

The value "in the middle" of the sample after ordering. Half of the data are below the median, half above. Robust to outliers.

How does median differ from mean?

Mean is sum divided by count; sensitive to outliers. Median is the central value; often preferred for skewed data and outliers.

What is a percentile?

Percentile Pk — value below which k% of data lie. P50 is the median. P90 — 90% of data below this value.

What are quartiles?

Quartiles split the sample into four parts. Q1 (25%), Q2 — median (50%), Q3 (75%). IQR = Q3 − Q1 — spread of the "middle half".

When to use median instead of mean?

For skewed distributions, outliers (e.g. response time, income), ordinal scales. For symmetric data median and mean are close.

How to enter numbers in the calculator?

Comma or newline separated. You can paste a column from Excel. Non-numeric values and empty lines are ignored.

Where are percentiles used in research?

SLA (e.g. 95% of responses within N seconds), satisfaction benchmarks (median by segment), task completion time analysis.

What is linear interpolation for percentiles?

When the desired percentile falls between two order statistics, the value is computed by linear interpolation. Different software uses different methods (we use an analogue of R type 6).

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Median and percentiles calculator

Enter survey data

Assumptions and limitations

Interpretation

Median and percentiles

Median

Quartiles

Percentiles

When to use

Interpretation examples

1 Sample of 1–10 scale scores

2 Response time (sec)

3 Time to purchase (days)

4 Cost per customer

5 NPS by region

6 Session length (minutes)

Frequently asked questions about median and percentiles

What is the median?

How does median differ from mean?

What is a percentile?

What are quartiles?

When to use median instead of mean?

How to enter numbers in the calculator?

Where are percentiles used in research?

What is linear interpolation for percentiles?

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