How to run a what-if analysis in Excel on Mac: three built-in tools

A what-if analysis asks a simple question. What happens to my result if this input changes? Excel for Mac answers that question with three built-in tools under the Data tab: Goal Seek, Data Table and Scenario Manager. Solver is a fourth tool, but it is an add-in, so you load it first. Each tool asks a slightly different question. Pick the one that matches yours before you open a dialog.

Find the What-If Analysis button on a Mac

Open your workbook in the Excel desktop app. Click the Data tab on the ribbon, then find the What-If Analysis button. Click it, and you see a menu with Goal Seek, Data Table and Scenario Manager. Microsoft's Mac pages use the menu path Data > What-If Analysis > Goal Seek, with the same pattern for the other two tools.

Some community answers describe a Forecast group on the Data tab, with What-If Analysis inside it. That layout matches the Windows ribbon. Microsoft's Mac steps do not mention a Forecast group. If your Data tab looks different, check your Excel version first, then look for What-If Analysis on the Data tab itself.

Pick the right tool for your question

Start with the question, not the menu. If you know the answer you want and need the input behind it, use Goal Seek. If you want to see many answers across a list of inputs, use a Data Table. If you want to compare named cases, use Scenario Manager. If several inputs must move together within limits, use Solver.

• Goal Seek: you know the output you want and need the input that produces it.
• Data Table: you want a grid of results for a list of input values.
• Scenario Manager: you want named cases, such as a base case and a downside case, side by side.
• Solver: you need to change several inputs at once, within limits. On Mac it is an add-in.

How Goal Seek works on Mac

Goal Seek works backward. You name the result you want, and Excel changes one input until a formula reaches that result. The result must sit in a formula cell, called the Set cell. The input must be the changing cell, and the formula must depend on it. If the formula ignores the input, Goal Seek has nothing to adjust.

A Goal Seek example with a profit target

Suppose the Profit cell multiplies the Units cell by the margin per unit. You want profit to reach a target you choose. Set Profit as the Set cell, type the target in the To value box, and choose Units as the By changing cell. Click OK. Excel adjusts Units until Profit matches the target.

Read the answer before you keep it. Goal Seek reports that it reached the target. It does not tell you whether the input is realistic. A units figure with decimals may need rounding, and you should judge the result against what you know about the business. Excel changes the input cell in place, so save a copy first if the old value matters.

Data Tables: a grid of results for a list of inputs

A Data Table fills a grid with the result of one formula for each input value in a list. Use it when you want to see how an output moves across a range. For a column of values, place the formula one row above the first value and one column to the right. Select the whole block before you open the dialog.

Then open Data > What-If Analysis > Data Table. For values in a column, enter the input cell in the Column input cell box, then click OK. For values in a row, use the Row input cell box instead. A Data Table on Mac takes at most two variables, and a two-variable table takes both inputs in one dialog.

Worked example: profit at a range of prices

Use the same Profit formula from the Goal Seek example. Put a list of prices down a column, then point the Column input cell at the Price cell. Excel calculates profit for each price in the grid. You can scan the column to see where profit crosses your target, which often helps more than one exact answer.

The grid also shows sensitivity. Look at how much the output moves when the input moves a little. If a small price change swings profit a lot, that is the place to check your assumptions first.

Speed up data tables without slowing Excel down

Large data tables can make Excel feel slow, because each edit can trigger a full recalculation. Excel for Mac has a setting for this. Go to Excel > Preferences > Formulas and Lists > Calculation, then choose Automatic except for data tables. Recalculate the tables yourself when you need the numbers to refresh.

To recalculate, select the formulas in the table and press F9. On some keyboards, press Fn+F9. Microsoft's Mac pages do not list a keyboard shortcut for Goal Seek, Data Table or Scenario Manager, so use the menu for those tools.

Scenario Manager: keep named cases side by side

Scenario Manager stores sets of input values under names, so you can switch between them. Go to Data > What-If Analysis > Scenario Manager, click Add, and name the scenario. Select the changing cells for that case. Each scenario can hold up to 32 changing cells.

When every case is set up, click Scenario Summary. Excel builds a summary or PivotTable report that lists the outputs for each scenario. Scenario reports do not recalculate on their own. If you change an input later, make a new report to see the new numbers.

Scenarios suit a handful of named cases, such as a base case, a best case and a downside case. For a continuous range of one input, a Data Table is often the better fit.

Solver for several inputs at once

Goal Seek moves one input. When you need several inputs to move toward a best result, Microsoft points you to Solver. On Mac, Solver is an add-in, so it may not appear on the Data tab until you load it.

A 2023 community answer on Microsoft Q&A gives this path: Tools > Excel Add-Ins, check Solver Add-In, then click OK. The answer says Solver then appears at the right end of the Data tab, in the Analysis group. Microsoft's official Mac pages do not cover this path, so treat these as community steps, not official instructions.

Solver also needs an objective cell, changing cells and limits. This page covers only how to load it. Set up the model with the same care you would give any Goal Seek input.

Common mistakes that give wrong answers

• Using a plain value as the Set cell. Goal Seek needs a formula in the Set cell.
• Choosing an input the formula never uses. The changing cell must feed the formula, directly or through other cells.
• Treating one Goal Seek answer as the best answer. It finds a value that hits your target, nothing more.
• Forgetting that a Data Table stops at two variables. Switch to scenarios for more inputs.
• Reading an old scenario summary. Reports do not recalculate, so build a new one after changes.
• Running the analysis in Excel for the web. The web version shows results but does not run these tools.
• Overwriting a hard-coded input without a copy. Goal Seek replaces the input's value, so save first.

Check your model before you trust a result

A what-if result is only as good as the formulas behind it. A 2008 paper by Powell, Lawson and Baker cites an earlier study of 50 spreadsheets. That study found errors in 0.8% to 1.8% of all formula cells, depending on how errors were defined. The same paper examined 25 operational spreadsheets from five organizations. It found that many errors had no quantitative impact, while some remaining errors had substantial effects.

Before you act on a result, trace the formula that feeds the output. Change one input you already know, and confirm the output moves the way you expect. If the answer looks wrong, the formula is the first place to look.

Excel for the web, supported versions, and your build

Excel for the web can show what-if results, but it cannot run them. Microsoft's service description says Goal Seek, Data Tables, Solver and Series require the Excel desktop app. For Mac, Microsoft lists Excel for Microsoft 365, Excel 2024 and Excel 2021 among the applicable versions for these tools.

To check your build, open Excel and go to Excel > About Excel. The newest Mac build in Microsoft's release notes is 16.114.3 (Build 26102720), released October 27, 2026. Those October builds were quality and performance fixes, and the notes do not mention What-If changes.

Where to go next

If your what-if result feeds a summary, the pivot table steps for Mac show the next move. If your model uses dates, how to insert the current date in Excel on Mac covers that. For more Excel help, see the Excel help page.