How to Use the CEILING Function in Excel? A Step-by-Step Guide

• Facebook
• Twitter
• YouTube

(Note: This guide on how to use the CEILING function in Excel is suitable for all Excel versions including Office 365)

Functions are an integral part of operations in Excel. Using functions, you can accomplish various tasks with ease. Excel contains a variety of functions that can be tailored based on the user’s needs and get the desired output. 

In some cases, you might want to find the rounded-up value of a particular data which is usually greater than the number. To get the resultant value, you can use the CEILING function in Excel. 

In this article, I will tell you how to use the CEILING function in Excel.

You’ll Learn:

• What Is the CEILING Function in Excel?
• Syntax
• How to Use the CEILING Function in Excel?
• How Does the CEILING Function Work?
• Other Use Cases
• Points to Remember

Related Reads:

How to Use FLOOR Function in Excel? 2 Easy Ways

How to Calculate IRR in Excel? 3 Important Functions

How to Use Excel MATCH Function? 3 Use Cases

What Is the CEILING Function in Excel?

The Excel CEILING function is a part of the Math & Trigonometry set of functions and it can be found under the name CEILING.MATH. 

The CEILING function is similar to the roundup function. This function returns a rounded number greater than the nearest multiple of the given significant digit.

Syntax

=CEILING(number, significant_value)

Where

number argument refers to the value to be rounded. It is a mandatory field and it can either take up a constant number value or a cell value which refers to the constant value.

significant_value is also a mandatory field. This field denotes the multiples to which the numerical values should be rounded. 

How to Use the CEILING Function in Excel?

You can use the CEILING function in Excel in two ways. It can be done by manually entering the formula into the cell or by choosing it from the Formulas tab.

By Entering the Formula

The first method is a pretty common way of using formulas. In this method, you can directly enter the formula into the cell and pass the arguments. 

• To use the CEILING function in Excel, first, select a destination cell. 

• In the destination cell, enter the formula =CEILING. Once you start typing the formula, the formula suggestions start showing up. Press the Tab key to select the formula. 

• Choose CEILING.MATH function either by double-clicking on it or by pressing the Tab key.

• Now, let’s pass on the arguments. 

• You can pass the arguments as a constant value or a variable that points out the value in a cell. In this case, let us pass the number argument as A4 and the significance argument as B4. the cells A4 and B4 contain the values 13 and 2 respectively. 

• Now, press Enter.

This gives the ceiling value of the values based on the significant digits. 

By Selecting From the Formulas List

Another way to use the CEILING function is by selecting it from the Formulas menu. This method greatly helps you find the correct formula when you’re unsure of the particular formula. 

• To use this method, first, choose a destination cell. 

• Then, navigate to the Formulas main menu ribbon, and under the Function Library, click on the dropdown from Math & Trig. 

• Scroll down and select CEILING.MATH function.

• This opens the Functions Arguments dialog box. 

• In the Function Arguments dialog box, you can either pass the arguments by entering the constant values directly or by selecting the cell that contains the value.

• Once you have populated the arguments, press OK.

• This gives you the resultant value in the destination cell.

Suggested Reads:

How to Use CONVERT Function in Excel? A Step-by-Step Guide

How to Use the Excel TREND Function? A Step-by-Step Guide

How to Use SUMPRODUCT Function in Excel? 5 Easy Examples

How Does the CEILING Function Work?

Above, we saw how to use the CEILING function either by entering the formula or by choosing it from the list of formulas. But, how does the function work and how does it give the resultant value? 

Let us see how.

The CEILING function works by rounding up the numerical value to the corresponding significant digits. 

Let us consider the above example, where the number value is 13 and its significance is 2. 

The multiples of 2 are 2, 4, 6, 8,10, 12, 14, 16, and so on. Here, the value 13 lies between 14 and 16 (which are multiples of 2). Since the CEILING function always rounds up the value, it chooses the largest value 14, and returns the value. 

Other Use Cases

• Let’s take the number argument as the decimal value 6.7 and the significance as 2. Upon applying the CEILING function, the value 6.7 is rounded up to the value 8, as 8 is the next greatest value which is a multiple of 2.
• If both the number argument and significance are negative, then the CEILING function in Excel returns the number away from zero. Consider the number value -2.6 and the significance is -3, the CEILING function returns the value -3. This is because -2.6 lies between -3 and 0, with -3 being the nearest multiple.
• In the case where the number argument is a negative value and significance is a positive value, the CEILING function returns the nearby greater value close to 0. Consider the example, where the number is -3.4 and the significance is 2, then the CEILING function returns the value -2.
• The CEILING function returns an error when the number value is positive and the significance is negative. For example, if the number value is 4.5 and the significance is -2, the CEILING function returns #NUM! Error.
• When the number value is 2.38 and the significance is 0.1, the ceiling value becomes 2.4 as it is the nearest greater multiple 0f 0.1.
• Likewise, consider the number value 2.3845 with a significant value of 0.01. The CEILING function returns the value 2.39.

Points to Remember

• The CEILING function always returns a #VALUE! error if the number or the significance argument is a non-numerical value.
• When the argument is positive and the significant value is negative, the CEILING function returns a #NUM! Error.
• The CEILING function does not round the value when the number value is an exact multiple of the digit. 
• The CEILING value is rounded up towards zero if the number argument is positive.
• The greater the significance, the greater will be the difference between the resultant ceiling values and the number value.

Also Read:

How to Use the ROUND Function in Excel?

Battle of the Excel Lookup Functions: VLOOKUP vs INDEX/MATCH vs XLOOKUP

How to Use the Excel IFS Function? – 2 Easy Examples

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Thoughts

Rounding up a number to the multiples of the significant digits using the CEILING function can be used in a variety of places. In this article, we saw how to use the CEILING function in Excel. We also saw 2 different ways to use the function along with its use cases. 

Please visit our free resources center for more high-quality guides on Excel and other Microsoft Suite applications.

Ready to dive deep into Excel? Click here for advanced Excel courses with in-depth training modules.

Simon Sez IT has been teaching Excel and other business software for over ten years. For a low, monthly fee you can get access to 150+ IT training courses.

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!