Excel POWER Function — How to Use It (with 3 Examples)

Contents

What does POWER do?

POWER raises a base number to an exponent — POWER(2,3) means 2 to the power of 3, which is 8.

It does exactly the same thing as the ^ operator (2^3), but as an explicit function — some people find it clearer inside long formulas.

=POWER(number, power)

Argument	Description
number required	The base number.
power required	The exponent to raise it to.

Example 1

Basic exponent

=POWER(2,3)

Returns 8, same as =2^3.

Example 2

Square a number

=POWER(B2,2)

Squares whatever value is in B2 — used in BMI, variance, and other squared-term formulas.

Example 3

Compound growth over time

=A1*POWER(1.05,10)

Grows A1 by 5% per year, compounded over 10 years.

⚠️ Treating POWER and ^ as different

They are functionally identical — use whichever reads more clearly in context.

Can the exponent be a decimal?

Yes — fractional exponents calculate roots, e.g. =POWER(9,0.5) is the same as the square root of 9.

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