ROUNDUP always rounds a number further from zero, regardless of the digit that follows — useful when you must never underestimate.
ROUNDUP rounds a number away from zero to a specified number of digits, no matter what the next digit is — 4.1 rounds up to 5 just as readily as 4.9 does.
This differs from ROUND, which rounds to the nearest value. ROUNDUP is the right choice whenever underestimating would cause a real problem — like rounding up the number of boxes needed to ship an order.
=ROUNDUP(number, num_digits)| Argument | Description |
|---|---|
| number required | The value to round. |
| num_digits required | How many digits to round to. 0 rounds to a whole number, negative values round to tens/hundreds. |
=ROUNDUP(4.561,2)Returns 4.57 — rounds away from zero even though 4.561 is closer to 4.56.
=ROUNDUP(12.1,0)Returns 13 — any fractional amount rounds up to the next whole number.
=ROUNDUP(124,-1)Returns 130 — negative num_digits rounds to tens, hundreds, etc.
=ROUNDUP(53/12,0)53 items at 12 per box needs 5 boxes, not 4.42 — ROUNDUP guarantees you never under-order packaging.
If rounding down would cause a shortfall (boxes, budget, staff needed), ROUNDUP is the safer choice over plain ROUND.
Positive num_digits rounds after the decimal point; negative rounds before it, into the tens/hundreds/thousands.
ExcelPro has hands-on ROUNDUP exercises built into real job scenarios — free to start.
Try ROUNDUP exercises →