How to Round Up in Google Sheets

To round up in Google Sheets, use =ROUNDUP(value, places). For example, =ROUNDUP(A2, 0) turns 4.12 into 5, and =ROUNDUP(A2, 1) turns it into 4.2. ROUNDUP always rounds away from zero, so -2.3 becomes -3. To round up to a multiple, such as the next 5 or 0.25, use CEILING.

Table of Contents hide

1 Quick Answer

2 Steps to Use ROUNDUP

3 Rounding Functions Compared

4 Round Up Prices, Time and Quantities

5 Troubleshooting

6 Frequently Asked Questions

7 Summary

Quick Answer

=ROUNDUP(A2, 0) for whole numbers, =ROUNDUP(A2, 2) for two decimal places, =CEILING(A2, 5) for the next multiple of 5.

Steps to Use ROUNDUP

Click an empty cell next to your number.
Type =ROUNDUP( and click the cell with the number, or type a number.
Type a comma and the number of decimal places: 0 for whole numbers, 1 for one decimal place, and so on.
Close the bracket and press Enter. Drag the fill handle down to copy the formula.

Spreadsheet using ROUNDUP to round values up to whole numbers and one decimal place — The second argument sets how many decimal places to keep.

Rounding Functions Compared

Formula	Result	What it does
`=ROUNDUP(4.12, 0)`	5	Always up (away from zero)
`=ROUND(4.12, 0)`	4	Nearest value
`=ROUNDDOWN(4.12, 0)`	4	Always down (toward zero)
`=ROUNDUP(1234, -2)`	1300	Negative places round up to tens, hundreds and so on
`=CEILING(4.12, 0.5)`	4.5	Up to the next multiple

Round Up Prices, Time and Quantities

Next 10: =CEILING(A2, 10)
Whole boxes needed: =ROUNDUP(A2 / 12, 0) for items packed in twelves.
Next quarter hour: =CEILING(A2, TIME(0, 15, 0)) on a time value.

Troubleshooting

Cell still shows decimals: Formatting may add zeros. Use Format > Number > Number and reduce decimal places.
Result looks wrong: The cell may only display a rounded value. Formatting changes what you see, not the stored number; ROUNDUP changes the value itself.
Negative numbers: ROUNDUP moves them further from zero. Use CEILING.MATH if you want -2.3 to become -2.
Counting or searching data too? See counting a word in Google Sheets or converting a range to a table.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I round up a whole column at once?

Yes. Use =ARRAYFORMULA(ROUNDUP(A2:A, 0)) in the top cell of an empty column.

Is ROUNDUP the same in Excel?

Yes. ROUNDUP, ROUNDDOWN and CEILING work the same way in Excel.

What if I leave out the second argument?

Google Sheets treats it as 0 and rounds up to a whole number.

Summary

Use ROUNDUP(value, places).
Use 0 for whole numbers and negatives for tens or hundreds.
Use CEILING for multiples.
Use ROUND for normal rounding.

Kermit Matthews

Kermit Matthews runs Live2Tech from just outside Philadelphia. He is an IT specialist with over 20 years of experience, from a university help desk to small-business IT, IT management and his own consulting practice, and has written tech guides full time since 2020. Steps are checked against the current software on a real device or the maker’s official documentation. More about Kermit.