Math function

Excel ROUND function

Q: How do I round to 2 decimal places in Excel?

Use =ROUND(A1,2). If you only want it to look rounded, use the Decrease Decimal button instead.

Q: How do I round to the nearest 1000 in Excel?

Use a negative digit count: =ROUND(A1,-3). Use -2 for hundreds and -1 for tens.

ROUND rounds a number to the number of digits you choose. Halves round away from zero, so 2.5 becomes 3. Unlike cell formatting, it changes the actual value, which matters when you add rounded figures up.

=ROUND(number, num_digits)

Arguments

number: The number or cell to round.
num_digits: How many decimal places to keep. Use 0 for a whole number and negative numbers to round to tens, hundreds and so on.

ROUND examples

Every result below was calculated from this sample sheet by the same spreadsheet engine the Cellwise app uses.

	A	B	C
1	Item	Net	Tax rate
2	Office chair	149.99	0.0825
3	Standing desk	429	0.0825
4	Desk mat	18.75	0.0825
5	Annual budget	48362

=ROUND(B2*C2,2)
Result: 12.37
Tax on the chair, rounded to the nearest cent.
=ROUND(B4,0)
Result: 19
Zero digits rounds to a whole number. 18.75 rounds up to 19.
=ROUND(B5,-3)
Result: 48000
Negative digits round to the left of the decimal point. This rounds to the nearest thousand.
=ROUND(-2.5,0)
Result: -3
Halves round away from zero, so -2.5 becomes -3, not -2.

How to use ROUND

Click an empty cell.
Type =ROUND( and the number or formula to round.
Type a comma and the number of decimal places.
Close the bracket and press Enter.

Common ROUND mistakes

Using number formatting instead

Formatting only hides decimals. The full value is still used in later sums. Use ROUND when the stored value must change.

Rounding too early

Rounding each line and then summing can differ from rounding the total. Decide which one your invoice or report needs.

Forgetting num_digits

ROUND needs both arguments. Use 0 if you want a whole number.

ROUND FAQ

How do I round to 2 decimal places in Excel?

Use =ROUND(A1,2). If you only want it to look rounded, use the Decrease Decimal button instead.

How do I round to the nearest 1000 in Excel?

Use a negative digit count: =ROUND(A1,-3). Use -2 for hundreds and -1 for tens.

Does Excel round 0.5 up or down?

ROUND always rounds halves away from zero, so 0.5 becomes 1 and -0.5 becomes -1. Excel does not use banker's rounding.

What is the difference between ROUND, ROUNDUP and ROUNDDOWN?

ROUND goes to the nearest value. ROUNDUP always moves away from zero and ROUNDDOWN always moves toward zero.

Practice ROUND in these lessons

Guides that use ROUND

Related functions

Updated October 31, 2026