CEILING rounds a number up to the nearest multiple of a value you specify — not just to a number of decimal places.
CEILING rounds a number up to the nearest multiple of a "significance" value you choose — rounding up to the nearest 5, nearest 100, or nearest 0.25.
This is different from ROUNDUP, which rounds to a number of decimal places rather than a multiple.
=CEILING(number, significance)| Argument | Description |
|---|---|
| number required | The value to round up. |
| significance required | The multiple to round up to. |
CEILING still works for backward compatibility, but Microsoft now recommends CEILING.MATH, which handles negative numbers more predictably.
=CEILING(22,5)Returns 25.
=CEILING(1430,100)Returns 1500 — useful for rounding a budget up to a clean figure.
=CEILING(4.10,0.25)Returns 4.25 — common in pricing that only uses quarter increments.
=CEILING(B2,1)-0.01Rounds up to the next whole number, then subtracts a cent — a common pricing trick.
CEILING(22,5) rounds to the nearest 5, not to 5 decimal places — a very different idea from ROUNDUP.
Classic CEILING can behave inconsistently with negative numbers — CEILING.MATH is the safer modern choice if negatives are involved.
Practice this formula yourself — type it in a real spreadsheet and get instant feedback. Free, no download needed.
Start the Excel Basics track free →