How to Round Up in Excel(and Round Down)?
(Note: This guide on how to round up in Excel (and round down in Excel) is suitable for all Excel versions including Office 365)
We might be familiar with the concept of rounding from our high school math. When a value is represented as 3.141592653589793238, we simply round off the value to the nearest value and represent them as 3.14. That is in the case of pi (𝜋).
To round a value, Excel has a variety of functions that helps in simplifying the number and increasing its readability. The ROUNDUP and ROUNDDOWN functions are extensions of the ROUND function in Excel.
In this article, I will tell you how to round up in Excel. Additionally, you’ll also learn how to round down a function in Excel in simple ways.
You’ll Learn:
- What Are ROUNDUP and ROUNDDOWN Functions and Why Do You Need Them?
- What Is the ROUNDUP Function in Excel?
- What Is the ROUNDDOWN Function in Excel?
Related Reads:
How to Use the ROUND Function in Excel?
How to Stop Excel From Rounding? 4 Easy Ways
How to Wrap Text in Excel? With 6 Simple Methods
What Are ROUNDUP and ROUNDDOWN Functions and Why Do You Need Them?
Before we learn how to round up or round down in Excel, let us see how the ROUNDUP and ROUNDDOWN functions work.
When you use the ROUND function in Excel, the number gets rounded off to the specified significant digits. When the number after the last digit is greater than 5, the last significant digit is incremented by 1. When the number after the last digit is less than 5, the last significant digit remains the same.
In some cases, rounding off to a greater value when the last digit is greater than 5 (or rounding off when the last digit is less than 5) might not always work.
In such cases, you can use the ROUNDUP function to always round the value to the upper value and the ROUNDDOWN function to always round the value to its lower value.
The functionality of ROUNDUP and ROUNDDOWN is also similar to the ROUND function. When the significant digit is a positive value, the number is rounded off to the right of the decimal point. And, when the digit is a negative value the number is rounded off to the left of the decimal point.
What Is the ROUNDUP Function in Excel?
ROUNDUP is a variation of the ROUND function in Excel. This is used to always round up the value irrespective of the value of the last digit.
Consider a number, 5.14. When you use the ROUND function, the resulting value will only have 1 decimal place. The rounded-off value becomes 5.1. But, when you use the ROUNDUP function, the rounded value becomes 5.2.
How to ROUNDUP in Excel?
Syntax
=ROUNDUP(number,digit)
Where the value of “number” can be a constant such as a number, a variable, or a cell name. The digit denotes the place at which the number should be rounded i.e to the right or left of the decimal point.
Now that you know the syntax, let us learn how to use the ROUND function in Excel.
- Enter the formula in the desired cell where you want to round up the value.
When you enter =ROUNDUP(, Excel shows you a list of suggestions. You can either enter the full formula or use the suggestions from the dropdown menu. Select them by using the arrow keys, pressing the Tab key, or by double-clicking on the formula.
- Then for the number parameter, you can either enter a number directly or the cell name that houses the value. In this case, we’ll enter the cell number A4 which houses the value. Then, enter a separator (,).
- You can pass the digit parameter as a constant value or as a variable. Additionally, this value can also be positive or negative. In this case, we’ll select cell B4 and press Enter.
This gives you the rounded-up value for the given value. The number 6.123456, when rounded to 3 decimal places, gives the value 6.124. Since the significant digit is 3, the third value to the right of the decimal point is incremented by a value of 1.
Here are some similar cases of using the ROUNDUP function and their corresponding results.
It can be seen from the results that when the digit is positive, the ROUNDUP function acts to the right of the decimal point. When the digit is negative or zero, the ROUNDUP function acts to the left of the decimal point.
Also Read:
How to Use the PROPER Function in Excel? 3 Easy Examples
How to Convert XML to Excel? – 2 Easy Methods
How to Use Excel Split Screen? 3 Simple Ways
What Is the ROUNDDOWN Function in Excel?
The ROUNDDOWN function is also an extension of the ROUND function in Excel. This function always rounds down a value even if the value after the last significant digit is greater than 5.
Consider the number 5.66. When you use the ROUND function on this value, the rounded-off value becomes 5.7. But, when you use the ROUNDDOWN function, the rounded value becomes 5.6.
How to ROUNDDOWN in Excel?
The syntax for the ROUNDDOWN function is the same as that of the ROUND and ROUNDUP functions. The usability and syntax are also pretty much the same.
Syntax
=ROUNDDOWN(number,digit)
Where number is the value that is to be rounded and the digit is the significant digits to which the number is to be rounded.
Now, let us see how to use the ROUNDDOWN function in Excel
- Select a destination to enter the formula. Enter =ROUNDDOWN( in the destination cell.
- Then for the number and digit parameter, you can either enter a number directly or the cell name that houses the value. In this case, we’ll enter the cell number A4 which houses the number value.
- Enter a separator (,). Then, enter the cell number B4 which houses the digit value. Additionally, the digit value can also be positive, negative, or zero.
- Press Enter.
Consider the example, where the number 6.987654 is to be rounded down to 3 decimal places. Since the digit value is 3, the number is rounded down to 3 digits after the decimal point, and hence the value 6.987.
Here are some similar cases of using the ROUNDDOWN function and their corresponding results.
It can be seen from the results that when the digit is positive, the ROUNDDOWN function acts to the right of the decimal point. When the digit is negative or zero, the ROUNDDOWN function acts to the left of the decimal point. From the example in cell A7, the value gets rounded up to the nearest whole number.
Suggested Reads:
How to Graph a Function in Excel? 2 Easy Ways
Short Date Format in Excel – 3 Different Methods
How to Create a Venn Diagram in Excel? 2 Easy Ways
Closing Thoughts
In this article, we saw how to round up in Excel with its syntax and functionality. Additionally, we also learned how to round down in Excel.
Rounding a number is a great way to provide an estimate of the data and remember it easily. Additional cases like rounding up and rounding down can be specific to your purpose and needs.
If you need more high-quality Excel guides, please check out our free Excel resources center. Simon Sez IT has been teaching Excel for over ten years. For a low, monthly fee you can get access to 130+ IT training courses. Click here for advanced Excel courses with in-depth training modules.
Simon Calder
Chris “Simon” Calder was working as a Project Manager in IT for one of Los Angeles’ most prestigious cultural institutions, LACMA.He taught himself to use Microsoft Project from a giant textbook and hated every moment of it. Online learning was in its infancy then, but he spotted an opportunity and made an online MS Project course - the rest, as they say, is history!
