Round Excel Without Decimals: Formula or Formatting?

To round a value in Excel to the nearest whole number, use =ROUND(A1,0) when the value is in A1. If you only want to hide the decimal places, select the cells and choose Home > Number > Decrease Decimal until none are shown; this changes the display, not the stored values.

Quick answer: two ways to remove decimals

Excel offers two different approaches that can make a number appear without decimal places. The right one depends on whether you need the underlying value to change.

Round with a formula: Use ROUND when later calculations should use the rounded number. For a value in A1, =ROUND(A1,0) returns a numeric result rounded to the nearest integer.
Change number formatting: Use the Decrease Decimal button or set Decimal places to 0 when you want a cleaner display but need to preserve the original precision for calculations.

For example, 12.6 rounded with ROUND becomes 13. Formatting 12.6 to show zero decimal places also displays 13, but the cell still contains 12.6. That difference can affect totals, averages, and comparisons.

How number formatting works

Number formatting controls how a value looks in a cell. It does not ordinarily replace the value saved in the cell. To show whole numbers, select the cells, open Home > Number, and click Decrease Decimal until no decimal places remain. The button may be represented by an icon showing decimal places and an arrow; its tooltip identifies it as Decrease Decimal.

For more control, select the cells and press Ctrl+1 on Windows to open Format Cells. On a Mac, use Command+1. In the Number tab, choose Number and set Decimal places to 0. You can also choose a format with a thousands separator, so a value such as 12500 displays as 12,500 rather than 12500. The formatting options vary slightly with the selected number category.

This is usually the best choice for reports, dashboards, or tables where the underlying decimal precision remains useful. A column of prices can appear as whole dollars while formulas continue to use cents. If you later increase the displayed decimal places, the original precision is still available.

Rounding values with the ROUND formula

ROUND changes a number into a rounded numeric result. Its second argument specifies how many decimal places to keep: zero means a whole number, a positive number keeps that many places after the decimal point, and a negative number rounds to the left of the decimal point.

With the value 8.74 in A1, =ROUND(A1,0) returns 9. With 8.24 in A1, the same formula returns 8. To keep one decimal place instead, and assuming the value is in A1, use =ROUND(A1,1); 8.74 then returns 8.7. These results are numbers, so they can be used in other calculations.

Excel rounds a halfway value away from zero. If A1 contains 2.5, =ROUND(A1,0) returns 3; if A1 contains -2.5, it returns -3. This is important when a workbook needs to follow a particular accounting, scientific, or organizational rounding policy. Do not assume that every system or policy handles midpoint values in the same way.

To apply the same rounding to a list, enter the formula in a neighboring column and fill it down. For example, if the original values are in A2:A20, enter =ROUND(A2,0) in B2, then copy or fill B2 through B20. Each row will refer to its corresponding value. Keep the original column if you may need to compare the precise and rounded figures later.

Choosing the right rounding rule

ROUND is for the nearest whole number, but sometimes the requirement is always to move in one direction. Excel provides separate functions for those cases. With a value in A1, =ROUNDUP(A1,0) rounds away from zero, while =ROUNDDOWN(A1,0) rounds toward zero. For a positive 4.2, those results are 5 and 4; for -4.2, they are -5 and -4.

That behavior makes ROUNDUP different from the everyday idea of “round up.” For negative numbers, moving away from zero produces a smaller numerical value. If your policy means “always toward positive infinity,” ROUNDUP is not the same rule for negative inputs, so check the sign and the intended result before choosing a function.

Two other functions are easy to confuse with rounding:

INT rounds down to the next integer, toward negative infinity. With -4.2 in A1, =INT(A1) returns -5.
TRUNC removes the fractional part without rounding. With -4.2 in A1, =TRUNC(A1,0) returns -4.

For positive values, INT and TRUNC can look alike, but their negative-number results differ. If the request is simply “nearest whole number,” use ROUND rather than INT or TRUNC.

Rounding percentages and other displayed values

Percentages need special care because Excel stores a percentage as a decimal fraction. A cell displaying 12.5% normally contains 0.125. If you format that cell to show zero decimal places, it displays 13%, while its stored value remains 0.125. That is often exactly what a report needs.

If you want a formula to produce a proportion rounded to a whole percentage point, and A1 contains 0.125, use =ROUND(A1*100,0)/100. The result is 0.13, which displays as 13% when the result cell is formatted as Percentage. Rounding the stored fraction directly to zero decimal places would instead return 0, which is not the intended 13% result.

The same distinction applies to currencies and measurements. Formatting a currency value to zero decimal places hides cents but retains them for totals. A formula can instead round each line item before it is added. Decide which level your rules require: rounding each transaction, rounding each subtotal, or rounding only the final total can produce different answers.

Totals, averages, and when rounding changes an answer

Suppose A2:A4 contain 1.4, 1.4, and 1.4. If you format those cells to show zero decimals, each appears as 1, but their actual sum is 4.2. If the total cell is also formatted with zero decimals, the displayed total is 4. If you round each item first, the three rounded values are 1, 1, and 1, and their sum is 3.

For that example, with the original values in A2:A4, =SUM(A2:A4) returns 4.2. If you put rounded values in B2:B4 using =ROUND(A2,0) in B2 and fill down, then =SUM(B2:B4) returns 3. These are different calculations, not an Excel display error. Use the method that matches the rule for the figures you are reporting.

Rounding can also affect comparisons. A value that displays as 10 may actually be 9.6, while another that also displays as 10 may be 10.4. A test against the underlying values can treat them as different. If decisions must be made using whole numbers, create and compare rounded results rather than relying on how the cells look.

Common problems and practical checks

The decimals still appear: The cell may use a format that displays decimal places, or the selected range may not include every relevant cell. Re-select the cells and set Decimal places to 0 in Format Cells.
The formula shows decimals: Check that the second argument is zero, as in =ROUND(A1,0). Also check the result cell’s number format; formatting can show decimal places even when the formula returns a whole-number value.
The total seems inconsistent: Determine whether the cells are merely formatted or have been rounded by formulas. Displayed figures can differ from calculations based on the stored values.
A negative result surprises you: ROUNDUP, ROUNDDOWN, INT, and TRUNC handle negative numbers differently. Test the formula with a negative example before applying it to a full dataset.
A cell contains text instead of a number: Imported data may look numeric but be stored as text. Check whether Excel treats the cell as a number before troubleshooting the rounding rule; converting the source data to numbers may be necessary.

Also check formulas that reference the rounded column. A formula in a different cell may continue to use the original, unrounded input. Changing a number format does not redirect formulas or rewrite source values.

Rounding to tens, hundreds, or a chosen increment

The number of decimal places in ROUND can be negative. With 126 in A1, =ROUND(A1,-1) returns 130, rounding to the nearest ten. With 126 in A1, =ROUND(A1,-2) returns 100, rounding to the nearest hundred. The same midpoint rule applies when a value lies exactly halfway between two increments.

This is useful for estimating, grouping, or presenting large figures at a readable scale. It is not the same as formatting a number to show fewer digits: a formula actually returns the rounded value. If you only want to display 126 as 130 without changing the stored value, use a custom display format or another presentation method carefully; ordinary zero-decimal formatting would display 126, not 130.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I remove decimals in Excel without changing the value?
Select the cells and use Home > Number > Decrease Decimal, or set Decimal places to 0 in Format Cells. The cell displays a whole number, but calculations can still use the original decimal value.

What formula rounds a number to a whole number in Excel?
If the value is in A1, use =ROUND(A1,0). It returns a numeric value rounded to the nearest integer, with midpoint values rounded away from zero.

How do I always round a number up to an integer?
If the value is in A1, =ROUNDUP(A1,0) rounds away from zero. For negative values, that means a result farther below zero, so verify that this matches what “up” means in your requirements.

Why does my Excel total differ from the numbers I can see?
The cells may be displaying rounded values while retaining decimal precision. Excel normally calculates from the underlying values, not from the digits shown on screen. Use formulas to round the inputs if the calculation itself must use whole numbers.

Does ROUND(A1,0) remove the decimal part without rounding?
No. ROUND chooses the nearest integer. If the value is 6.8, it returns 7. To discard the fractional part instead, use TRUNC; for a value in A1, =TRUNC(A1,0) returns 6.

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Sources: Function behaviour and menu paths: Microsoft Support documentation for Excel. Method & sources

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