5 Ways to Round Up a Formula Result in Excel

ByRhidi Barma Updated on Basic Excel

One common task in Excel is to perform calculations with formulas. These formulas do not return the rounded-up results automatically. Sometimes you may want to round up the result of a formula to make it more readable or to comply with specific requirements. In this article, I will introduce you to 5 ways that will help you round up a formula result in Excel.

Whether you are a beginner or an experienced Excel user, this article will help you learn how to round up formula results in Excel and improve your data analysis skills.

Round up a Formula Result in Excel.xlsx

In the following scenario, the total prices are calculated with an easy formula shown in the Formula Bar. Notice, that all the total prices exhibit 2 decimal places. But to make it easy to understand, I want to round up the formula results shown in the column, Total Price. So, let’s begin.

Item prices in a dataset of Excel

Round Up a Formula Result in Excel Using ROUNDUP Function

First, I am going to use the ROUNDUP function. Because it is assigned for rounding up numbers with any type of decimal place.

Syntax

=ROUNDUP([formula], [number of digits])

Formula

=ROUNDUP((B2*C2),0)

Formula Explanation

  • Formula: The formula that is already used in cell D2. The formula that I have in cell D2 is B2*C2.
  • Number of digits: It is the number of digits that you want after the decimal point.

To round up a formula with the ROUNDUP function, follow these steps below:

  1. First, type the formula in cell D2.
    Use ROUNDUP function to Round up a Formula Result in Excel
  2. Hit ENTER.
  3. Now, place the cursor on the right-bottom corner of cell D2.
    The Fill Handle (+) icon will show up.
  4. Double-click on the Fill Handle icon to apply the formula and round up the formula results.

Copy down the ROUNDUP function in the cell range to Round up a Formula Result in Excel

The formula results in the cell range D2:D12 are now all rounded up. I find the ROUNDUP function the most straightforward way to round up a formula result in Excel.

Final result of applying the ROUNDUP function to Round up a Formula Result in Excel

Round Up a Formula Result in Excel by Applying CEILING Function

The CEILING function is similar to the ROUNDUP function. But the CEILING function always rounds up to the nearest multiple of a given value.

Syntax

=CEILING([formula],[significance])

Formula

=CEILING((B2*C2),1)

Formula Explanation

  • Formula: It represents the formula that you need to round up. The formula that I use is B2*C2.
  • Significance: The number to whose multiple you want to round up your number.

Apply the CEILING function to round up a formula in Excel. To do that, go through these steps below:

  1. First, type the formula in cell D2.
    Rounding up a fomula result in Excel with CEILING function
  2. Press the ENTER key.
  3. Move the cursor to the lower-right corner of cell D2. The Fill Handle (+) icon will appear.
    Using Fill Handle button in Excel
  4. Double-click the Fill Handle icon to copy down the formula and round the formula results up.

The CEILING function perfectly performed the same job as the ROUNDUP function.

CEILING function to round up a formula result in Excel

Note: Remember, when using the CEILING function to round up a value, always use “1” as the Significance. As 1 represents the smallest possible value to which the number can be rounded up, we use 1 as the Significance to round up a number to the nearest whole number.

Round Up a Formula Result in Excel with MROUND Function

The MROUND function is similar to the CEILING function. But the MROUND function is used for rounding up or down to a multiple of a specified number.

Syntax

=MROUND([formula],multiple)

Formula

=MROUND((B2*C2),1)

Formula Explanation

  • Formula: The formula that requires rounding up in cell D2. In my dataset, I have B2*C2 inside cell D2.
  • Multiple: It is the value to which you want to round up the Formula.

To round up a formula with the MROUND function, here are the steps below:

  1. Select a cell.
  2. Write the formula: =MROUND((B2*C2),1)
    Use the MROUND Function to Round up a Formula Result in Excel
  3. Then press the ENTER key.
  4. Then place the cursor on the right-bottom corner of cell D2.
    It will show up as the Fill Handle (+) icon.
    Using Fill Handle to drag down the formula with MROUND function
  5. Double-click on the Fill Handle button to apply the formula and round up the formula results.

The MROUND function works fine to round up the formula results in Excel.

MROUND function rounded up results in Excel

Round Up a Formula Result in Excel Using Cell Format Dialog Box

You can also round up a formula result by formatting the cell to display a certain number of decimal places. Follow the steps below to do that:

  1. At first, select the cells from D2 to D12.
  2. Then right-click on the cell range D2:D12.
    This will display the Context Menu in front of the selected cell range.
  3. Select the Format Cells option from the menu to open the Format Cells dialog box.
    Using Format Cells otion to open the Cell Format Dialog Box in Excel
  4. Now, under the Number tab, select the number format you want from the Category.
    In my case, the dataset is about the pricing of some grocery items. That’s why I selected Currency from the Category.
  5. Now, type “0” in the Decimal places box to round up the values.

Using Cell Format Dialog Box to Round up a Formula Result in Excel

You can specify the number of decimal places to display in the Decimal places box. For example, If you type 1, the formula result of cell D2 will show 16.2; if you type 2, the result of cell D2 will display 16.23. You can see Excel has rounded up the formula results to the specified number of decimal places.

Displaying rounded up formula with Cell Format dialog box

Round Up a Formula Result in Excel Using Decrease Decimal Button

You can also use the Decrease Decimal buttons on the Home tab of the ribbon. This will not change the actual value of the cell, but it will round up the displayed value to the specified number of decimal places. Now, follow these steps below to do that:

  1. At first, select the cells from D2 to D12.
  2. Now go to the Home tab.
  3. Then click on the Decrease Decimal button located on the Number group.

Use the Decrease Decimal Button to Round up a Formula Result in Excel

Note: Hit on the Decrease Decimal button as many times as you want to remove the decimal places. If you want to reappear the decimal places, click on the Increase Decimal button.

Using the Decrease Decimal button is a very handy way to round up formula results or any sort of value in Excel.

Displaying output Using Decrease decimal button

Conclusion

I discussed 5 very efficient techniques in this article. I hope now you can round up formula results by using any of these methods. Feel free to ask questions regarding this topic in our comment section below. To read more articles related to rounding up in Excel, click here. Thank you!

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you round up in Excel if Formula?

To round up in Excel using a formula, use the ROUNDUP function. The syntax is as follows: =ROUNDUP(number, num_digits)

  • number: The value you want to round.
  • num_digits: The number of digits to which you want to round up (use a negative value to round to the left of the decimal point).
    Example:
    To round up 3.678 to the nearest tenth: =ROUNDUP(3.678, 1) The result will be 3.7.

Use this formula to round up numbers in Excel for specific precision.

Does Excel automatically round up?

Yes, in Microsoft Excel, numbers are automatically rounded up by default. Excel uses a method called “round half to even” or “bankers’ rounding,” which rounds to the nearest even number in the case of a tie (when the digit to be rounded is exactly 5). This helps minimize bias in rounding and is the default rounding method in Excel.

How do you round off decimals?

To round off decimals, follow these steps:

  1. Identify the desired decimal place (e.g., tenths, hundredths).
  2. Look at the digit to the right of the desired decimal place.
  3. If the digit is 5 or greater, round up the digit in the desired place.
  4. If the digit is less than 5, leave the digit in the desired place unchanged.
  5. Replace all digits to the right of the desired decimal place with zeros.
    Example: Round 3.678 to the nearest tenth: The tenth place digit is 7 (5 or greater), so round up. The rounded number is 3.7.

Remember: If the digit to the right is 5, round to the nearest even number for tie-breaking.

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Data Analyst

Howdy! I'm Rhidi Barma. I'm a professional Excel user. I've completed my graduation from Jahangirnagar University, Bangladesh. I've been working with Microsoft Excel since 2015. I love writing blogs on MS Excel tips & tricks, data analysis, business intelligence, capital market, etc. I love to spend my leisure time reading books and watching movies. To know more about me, you can follow me on social media platforms. Thanks!

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