Spreadsheet Practice

How to round percentages in Excel

Formula (Excel and Google Sheets)

=ROUND(B2,3)

A percentage is a decimal, so round one more place than you want to show: =ROUND(B2,3) keeps one decimal place of a percent (45.7%).

Result on the example
one result per row in C2, filled down to C6
Works in
Every current version
Google Sheets
Same formula

See it work

The formula is already in C2, filled down to C6. Change any input and the result updates, or edit the formula to experiment.

How it works

45.678% is stored as 0.45678. One decimal place of a percent is the third decimal place of the number, so ROUND uses 3 digits: 0.457, shown as 45.7%. Unlike formatting alone, ROUND changes the stored value, so later calculations use the rounded rate.

=ROUND(B2,3)

Result0.457

  1. B20.45678

    The value in B2.

  2. ROUND(B2,3)0.457

    ROUND: Rounds to a number of digits; negative digits round left of the decimal.

    • numberB20.45678
    • num_digits3

In Google Sheets

The same formula works in Google Sheets: =ROUND(B2,3). We ran it in Google Sheets mode on the same data and it returns the same results.

Other ways to do it

Each one was run on the same example sheet.

FormulaResultWhen to use it
=ROUND(B2*100,1)/10045.7%, 12.3%, 100.0%…Rounds the percentage as you read it, then turns it back into a fraction. Same result, and easier to reason about.
=ROUND(B2,1)50.0%, 10.0%, 100.0%…Different resultThe usual mistake: one decimal place of the fraction, not of the percentage. Rounds to whole tens of percent, such as 50% for 45.7%.

Common mistakes

  • Formatting with fewer decimals only changes the display; sums and comparisons still use the full value. Use ROUND when the rounded number must be used.
  • Rounded shares may not add up to exactly 100%. Show a note, or adjust the largest share so the total matches.

Try it yourself

Same data, empty answer cell. Your formula is graded instantly, then re-checked on changed data, so a typed-in number won't pass.

Round percentages

In C2, round the rate to one decimal place of a percent (like 45.7%), then fill down to C6.

Questions

How do I round a percentage to a whole percent?

Use 2 digits: =ROUND(B2,2) turns 45.678% into 46%.

How do I always round a percentage up?

Use ROUNDUP the same way: =ROUNDUP(B2,3).

Checked by running on 2026-10-30: every formula and result on this page was calculated by the Spreadsheet Practice formula engine, in both Excel and Google Sheets modes.