A combination is a group of items where orderdoes notmatter.

There are two kinds of combinations:

The COMBINA functionallowsrepetitions.

To count combinations thatdo notallow repetitions, use theCOMBIN function.

Excel COMBIN function

To count permutations (combinations where orderdoesmatter) see thePERMUT function.

The COMBINA function takes two arguments:number, andnumber_chosen.Numberis the number of different items available to choose from.

Thenumber_chosenargument is the number of items in each combination.

Excel COMBINA function

Both arguments are required.

The COMBIN functiondoes notallow repetitions.

To count combinations thatallowrepetitions, use theCOMBINA function.

Excel PERMUT function

COMBINA Function

The Excel COMBINA function returns the number of combinations with repetitionsallowed.

To count combinations thatdo notallow repetitions, use theCOMBIN function.

The PERMUT functiondoes notallow repetitions.

Excel PERMUTATIONA function

For example, =FACT(3) returns 6, equivalent to 3 x 2 x 1.

Excel FACT function