How to Use CEILING, CEILING.MATH, CEILING.PRECISE Function in Excel + Tips

Hello everyone! Today i will show you how to use CEILING, CEILING.MATH, and CEILING.PRECISE functions in Microsoft Excel step by step.

What is CEILING Function in Excel?

The CEILING function is a Math formula in Excel that help you round a number UP to the nearest multiple of significance (or nearest step number like 5, 10, 0.05, etc.).

Unlike normal ROUND formula that can round up or down, CEILING always rounds number UP away from zero to the nearest multiple!

Excel have 3 variation of Ceiling formula:

CEILING: Traditional ceiling formula (needs both number and significance).
CEILING.MATH: Newer version in Excel 2013+. Can round negative numbers towards or away from zero with mode option.
CEILING.PRECISE: Round up number regardless of sign, default significance is 1.

📚 Related Tutorial: Want to round numbers down instead? Check out ROUND vs ROUNDUP vs ROUNDDOWN Function in Excel!

🛠️ Formula Syntax & Parameters

1. CEILING Formula Syntax

=CEILING(number, significance)

number: Required. The number or cell reference you want to round up.
significance: Required. The multiple value you want to round up to (example: 5, 10, 0.05).

2. CEILING.MATH Formula Syntax

=CEILING.MATH(number, [significance], [mode])

number: Required. The number to round up.
[significance]: Optional. The multiple to round to (Default is 1).
[mode]: Optional. For negative numbers only:
- 0 (or omitted): Rounds away from zero (more negative).
- 1 (or non-zero): Rounds towards zero (closer to zero).

3. CEILING.PRECISE Formula Syntax

=CEILING.PRECISE(number, [significance])

number: Required. The value to round up.
[significance]: Optional. Multiple to round (Default is 1).

📋 Sample Data & Simple Examples

Example 1: Round Currency to Nearest $0.05 or $0.25 (Nickel / Quarter)

Suppose Cell A2 = $1.23:

=CEILING(A2, 0.05)

👉 Result: $1.25
(Because $1.25 is the nearest multiple of $0.05 above $1.23!)

Suppose Cell A2 = $4.10 and you want nearest $0.25:

=CEILING(A2, 0.25)

👉 Result: $4.25

Example 2: Calculate Box Container Packaging

Imagine your product items come in boxes of 6 items per box. You have 23 items in cell A2:

=CEILING(A2, 6)

👉 Result: 24
(It means you need 24 total item capacity, which equals 4 boxes!)

To find exact number of boxes needed:

=CEILING(A2, 6) / 6

👉 Result: 4 boxes.

Example 3: Compare Negative Numbers in CEILING.MATH

Suppose Cell A2 = -4.5:

=CEILING.MATH(-4.5, 1, 0)

👉 Result: -5 (Rounds away from zero)

=CEILING.MATH(-4.5, 1, 1)

👉 Result: -4 (Rounds towards zero)

🎥 CEILING Function Video Tutorial (Khmer)

Follow this step-by-step video guide to learn CEILING, CEILING.MATH, and CEILING.PRECISE in Excel:

CEILING vs FLOOR Comparison Video Tutorial

Watch this extra video to see how CEILING (round UP) works together with FLOOR (round DOWN):

💡 Quick Tips for Using CEILING Functions

CEILING vs FLOOR: Remember rule of thumb: CEILING rounds UP to upper roof, while FLOOR rounds DOWN to ground level!
CEILING vs ROUNDUP: ROUNDUP rounds by decimal places (e.g. 2 decimal places), but CEILING rounds by multiple significance (e.g. nearest 5, 10, or 25).
Significance Sign Error in Classic CEILING: In older =CEILING(number, significance), if number is negative and significance is positive (or vice-versa), Excel returns #NUM! error. Use CEILING.MATH or CEILING.PRECISE to avoid this problem!
Default Significance is 1 in CEILING.MATH: If you leave out significance in =CEILING.MATH(4.2), Excel automatically assumes significance is 1 and returns 5.
Great for Pricing & Invoicing: Use CEILING when you want prices to end in .99 or .50 or round up working hours for billing client (e.g. round up working time to nearest 15 minutes =CEILING(A2, "0:15")).