A method and a device are for an automated comparison of at least two sets of measuring values. The measuring values of the two sets are assigned respectively to one class from a finite number of classes defined by indices so that a frequency distribution is defined respectively for each of the two sets, which frequency distribution indicates for each class a frequency of the measuring values assigned to this class. A distance measure reflecting a similarity or dissimilarity between the two sets of measuring values between these frequency distributions is calculated as a function of a final value of a first auxiliary value termed here match by way of example. The first auxiliary value match is calculated by an algorithm using two sets of variables in that, with a given maximum distance dmax≧1 for all integral distances d with 0≦d≦dmax, beginning with d=0 and continuing to larger distances d, respectively for all indices i and j at a distance from each other by the distance d. A current value of a further auxiliary value is defined as m=min (qi′, vj′), m stands for the further auxiliary value, qi′ for the variables of a first of the two sets of variables and vj′ for the variables of the second set of variables, the variables of the two sets of variables being defined at the beginning of the algorithm as qi′=qi, vj′=vj, wherein qi stands for the frequencies from a first of the two frequency distributions and vj for the frequencies of the second frequency distribution. Respectively the variables qi′ and vj′ are defined again by subtracting the current value of the further auxiliary value m and the current value of the further auxiliary value m, multiplied by a matrix element ai, j, is added to a current value of the first auxiliary value match defined originally as match=0, the matrix elements ai, j forming a similarity matrix with ai, i=1 for all indices i and 0≦ai, j≦1 for all indices i and j at a distance of at most dmax with i≠j.