Excel CEILING Function
Summary
The Excel CEILING function rounds a given number up to the nearest specified multiple. CEILING works like the MROUND function, but CEILING always rounds up.
Purpose
Round a number up to nearest multiple
Return value
A rounded number.
Syntax
=CEILING (number, multiple)
Arguments
- number - The number that should be rounded.
- multiple - The multiple to use when rounding.
Usage notes
The Excel CEILING function rounds a number up to a given multiple.
Example #1 - round up to nearest 5
To round a number in A1 up to the nearest multiple of 5, you can use a formula like this:
=CEILING(A1,5)
Example #2 - round pricing up to end with .99
CEILING can be a can be useful to set pricing after currency conversion or discounts are applied. For example, the formula below will round a value in A1 to the nearest 1 dollar, then subtract 1 cent, and return a price like $2.99, $5.99, $49.99, etc.
=CEILING(A1,1) - 0.01
Example #3 - round time up to nearest 15 minutes
CEILING can be used to round time up to a given multiple. For example, to round a time in A1 down to the nearest 15 minutes, you can use CEILING like this:
=CEILING(A1,"0:15") // round up to nearest 15 min
Rounding functions in Excel
Excel provides a number of functions for rounding:
- To round normally, use the ROUND function.
- To round to the nearest multiple, use the MROUND function.
- To round down to the nearest specified place, use the ROUNDDOWN function.
- To round down to the nearest specified multiple, use the FLOOR function.
- To round up to the nearest specified place, use the ROUNDUP function.
- To round up to the nearest specified multiple, use the CEILING function.
- To round down and return an integer only, use the INT function.
- To truncate decimal places, use the TRUNC function.
Notes
- CEILING works like the MROUND function, but CEILING always rounds up.
- If number is an exact multiple of significance, no rounding occurs.
- If number and significance are both negative, CEILING rounds down, away from zero.
- If number is negative, and significance is positive, CEILING rounds up, towards zero.
- For more control over how CEILING rounds negative numbers, see the CEILING.MATH function.
CEILING formula examples
To round up to the next bundle size, you can use the CEILING function which automatically rounds up away from zero.
In the example shown, we need a certain number of items, and the items come in specific bundle sizes....
If you need to round a number up to the nearest specified multiple (i.e. round a number up to the nearest dollar, up to the nearest $.25, up to the nearest multiple of 5, etc.) you can use the CEILING function.
In the...
If you need to round a number to the nearest multiple of 5, you can use the MROUND function and supply 5 for number of digits.
How this formula works
In the example, cell C6 contains this formula:
=MROUND(B6,5)
The...
To creating a running count of groups of a variable size, you can use the COUNTA and CEILING function. In the example shown, C5 contains this formula:
=CEILING(COUNTA($B$5:B5)/size,1)
where "size" is the named range...
To round a time to the nearest 15 minute interval, you can use the MROUND function, which rounds based on a supplied multiple. In the example shown, the formula in C6 is:
=MROUND(B6,"0:15")
How this formula...
To highlight rows in groups of "n" (i.e. shade every 3 rows, every 5 rows, etc.) you can apply conditional formatting with a formula based on the ROW, CEILING and ISEVEN functions.
In the example shown, the formula...
Next biweekly payday from dateTo get the next payday - assuming a biweekly schedule, with paydays on Friday - you can use a formula based on the CEILING function.
In the example shown, the formula in C6 is:
=CEILING(...
To randomly assign people to groups or teams of a specific size, you can use a helper column with a value generated by the RAND function, together with a formula based on the RANK and ROUNDUP functions. In the example...
If you need to round a number up to the next half, you can use the CEILING function, which always rounds up based on a supplied multiple.
Note that MROUND also rounds based on a supplied multiple, but it always rounds...
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