ROUND Function (LibreOffice Calc)
The ROUND function in LibreOffice Calc rounds a number to a specified number of decimal places. It supports rounding to whole numbers, decimals, and even tens, hundreds, and beyond. Learn syntax, examples, common errors, and best practices.
Compatibility
▾| Excel | ✔ |
| Gnumeric | ✔ |
| Google_sheets | ✔ |
| Libreoffice | ✔ |
| Numbers | ✔ |
| Onlyoffice | ✔ |
| Openoffice | ✔ |
| Wps | ✔ |
| Zoho | ✔ |
What the ROUND Function Does ▾
- Rounds numbers to a specified number of decimal places
- Supports rounding to whole numbers, decimals, or large place values
- Works with positive and negative numbers
- Supports rounding to tens, hundreds, thousands, etc.
- Works with cell references, formulas, and expressions
It is designed to be precise, flexible, and universally compatible.
Syntax ▾
ROUND(number; digits)
Arguments
-
number:
The numeric value to round. -
digits:
The number of decimal places to round to.- Positive values → round to decimal places
- Zero → round to nearest integer
- Negative values → round to tens, hundreds, etc.
Basic Examples ▾
Round to 2 decimal places
=ROUND(12.3456; 2)
Returns 12.35.
Round to the nearest whole number
=ROUND(5.7; 0)
Returns 6.
Round a negative number
=ROUND(-3.4; 0)
Returns -3.
Round using a cell reference
=ROUND(A1; 2)
Rounds A1 to two decimal places.
Advanced Examples ▾
Round to tens (negative digits)
=ROUND(123.45; -1)
Returns 120.
Round to hundreds
=ROUND(987.65; -2)
Returns 1000.
Round a calculated value
=ROUND(A1 / B1; 3)
Rounds the result of the division to three decimals.
ROUND vs TRUNC vs INT
=ROUND(-5.8; 0)
Returns -6.
=TRUNC(-5.8)
Returns -5.
=INT(-5.8)
Returns -6.
ROUND for financial calculations
=ROUND(A1 * 1.13; 2)
Useful for tax calculations and currency formatting.
ROUND for percentage precision
=ROUND((A1 - B1) / B1; 4)
Rounds a percentage difference to four decimals.
Common Errors and Fixes ▾
ROUND returns unexpected results
Cause:
- Rounding follows standard rules:
- 0.5 and above → round up
- Below 0.5 → round down
ROUND returns 0 unexpectedly
Possible causes:
- digits is too large (e.g., rounding to 10 decimal places)
- number is very small
- number is stored as text
Fix:
Convert text to numbers using:
Data → Text to Columns → OK
Err:502 — Invalid argument
Occurs when:
- digits is non‑numeric
- number is non‑numeric text
- a formula returns an error passed into ROUND
Fix:
Wrap the expression with IFERROR:
IFERROR(ROUND(A1; 2); 0)
Best Practices ▾
- Use ROUND for precise numeric control
- Use ROUNDDOWN or ROUNDUP for directional rounding
- Use TRUNC when you want to remove decimals without rounding
- Use ROUND with negative digits for coarse rounding (tens, hundreds)
- Avoid rounding too early in multi‑step calculations
Related Patterns and Alternatives ▾
- Use ROUNDDOWN to always round toward zero
- Use ROUNDUP to always round away from zero
- Use TRUNC to remove decimals without rounding
- Use FLOOR and CEILING for significance‑based rounding
- Use INT for rounding down toward negative infinity
By mastering ROUND and its combinations with other math functions, you can build precise, reliable numeric models in LibreOffice Calc that maintain consistent precision across all calculations.