Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here: Rounding Numbers.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated January 12, 2022)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003
Excel provides a number of built-in worksheet functions for rounding numbers. The exact function you should use depends on exactly what you need to do with a value.
The first worksheet function is ROUND. This function allows you to essentially round to any power of ten. The syntax is as follows:
=ROUND(num, digits)
The num argument is the number you want to round, while digits indicates how many digits you want the result rounded to. If digits is a positive value, then it represents the number of decimal places to use when rounding. Thus, if digits is 3, then num is rounded to three decimal places. If digits is zero, then ROUND returns a rounded whole number. If digits is a negative number, then ROUND returns a number rounded to the number of tens represented by digits. Thus, if digits is –2, then ROUND returns a number rounded to the nearest 100.
Two other worksheet functions that return rounded values are ROUNDUP and ROUNDDOWN. These functions use the same arguments as ROUND and behave virtually identically. The only difference is that ROUNDUP always rounds num up, meaning away from 0. ROUNDDOWN is the opposite, always rounding down, toward 0.
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2147) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Excel (Excel 2007 and later) here: Rounding Numbers.
Solve Real Business Problems Master business modeling and analysis techniques with Excel and transform data into bottom-line results. This hands-on, scenario-focused guide shows you how to use the latest Excel tools to integrate data from multiple tables. Check out Microsoft Excel Data Analysis and Business Modeling today!
You may use Excel's trigonometric functions to do some quick calculations, and suddenly notice that the results in your ...
Discover MoreNeed to round a value by a power of 10? You can do it by using the ROUND function as described in this tip.
Discover MoreCreating math formulas is a particular strong point of Excel. Not all the functions that you may need are built directly ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)
Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here:
Comments