The MROUND function takes two arguments, number and significance. Number is the numeric value to round. The significance argument is the multiple to which number should be rounded. In most cases, significance is provided as a numeric value, but MROUND can also understand time entered as text like “0:15” or “0:30”. Number and significance must have the same sign, otherwise MROUND will return a #NUM! error.
Examples
Below are some examples of MROUND formulas with hardcoded values: To round a number in A1 to the nearest multiple of 5, you can use MROUND like this:
Nearest negative number
To round negative numbers with MROUND, use a negative sign for significance:
Nearest .99
MROUND can be used to round pricing to end with .99. The formula below will round a value in A1 to the nearest 1 dollar, subtract 1 cent, and return a final price like $2.99, $5.99, $49.99, etc.
Nearest 15 minutes
MROUND can be used to round time. To round a time in A1 to the nearest 15 minutes, you can use a formula like this:
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
If a number is already an exact multiple, no rounding occurs. Rounding occurs when the remainder from dividing number by significance is greater than or equal to half the value of significance. Number and significance must have the same sign. MROUND returns #NUM! if number and significance are not the same sign. MROUND returns #VALUE! if number or significance is not numeric.
Dave Bruns
Hi - I’m Dave Bruns, and I run Exceljet with my wife, Lisa. Our goal is to help you work faster in Excel. We create short videos, and clear examples of formulas, functions, pivot tables, conditional formatting, and charts.
