Excel

How to Use the ROUND Function in Excel (Step-by-Step Guide with Examples)

 

When working with numbers in Excel, you may not always want long decimal values. Whether it’s financial data, percentages, or measurements, rounding helps simplify results and make reports cleaner.

The ROUND function in Excel lets you round numbers to a specific number of digits—either to the left or right of the decimal point.

Contents
  1. 🔍 What is the ROUND Function?
  2. ✅ Example 1: Round to Two Decimal Places
  3. ✅ Example 2: Round to Nearest Whole Number
  4. ✅ Example 3: Round to Nearest Ten
  5. ✅ Example 4: Round to Nearest Hundred
  6. ✅ Example 5: Difference from ROUNDUP and ROUNDDOWN
  7. 🎯 Practical Uses of ROUND
  8. 📝 Conclusion

🔍 What is the ROUND Function?

The ROUND function rounds a number to a specified number of digits.

Syntax:

=ROUND(number, num_digits)

  • number → The value you want to round.

  • num_digits → The number of digits to round to:

    • Positive = digits to the right of the decimal.

    • Zero = nearest whole number.

    • Negative = digits to the left of the decimal.

💡 Note: If the digit after your rounding point is 5 or greater, Excel rounds up. Otherwise, it rounds down.

✅ Example 1: Round to Two Decimal Places

Formula:

=ROUND(12.3456, 2)

Result: 12.35

✔️ Explanation: Rounds 12.3456 to two decimal places.

✅ Example 2: Round to Nearest Whole Number

Formula:

=ROUND(12.7, 0)

Result: 13

✔️ Explanation: Rounds to 0 decimal places (nearest integer).

✅ Example 3: Round to Nearest Ten

Formula:

=ROUND(127, -1)

Result: 130

✔️ Explanation: Negative digits round to the left of the decimal (nearest 10).

✅ Example 4: Round to Nearest Hundred

Formula:

=ROUND(1345, -2)

Result: 1300

✔️ Explanation: Rounds to nearest hundred.

✅ Example 5: Difference from ROUNDUP and ROUNDDOWN

  • =ROUND(12.45, 1) → 12.5 (normal rounding)

  • =ROUNDUP(12.45, 1) → 12.5 (always up)

  • =ROUNDDOWN(12.45, 1) → 12.4 (always down)

✔️ Tip: Use ROUND for standard rules, ROUNDUP or ROUNDDOWN for strict rounding directions.

🎯 Practical Uses of ROUND

  1. Finance → Round currency to two decimal places.

  2. Accounting → Simplify reports by rounding to nearest 1,000.

  3. Data Presentation → Make results easier to read by removing unnecessary decimals.

  4. Scientific Work → Round measurements to significant digits.

📝 Conclusion

The ROUND function is one of Excel’s most useful tools for controlling number precision. By specifying the number of digits, you can clean up messy data, ensure consistency, and make your reports more professional.

👉 For more control, explore related functions like ROUNDUP, ROUNDDOWN, MROUND, CEILING, and FLOOR.

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