How to round to the nearest 5 in Excel
Formula (Excel and Google Sheets)
=MROUND(B2,5)Use MROUND with 5 as the multiple, =MROUND(B2,5), which rounds halfway values like 17.5 up to 20.
- Result on the example
- one result per row in
C2, filled down toC7 - Works in
- Every current version
- Google Sheets
- Same formula
See it work
The formula is already in C2, filled down to C7. Change any input and the result updates, or edit the formula to experiment.
How it works
MROUND rounds to the nearest multiple of its second argument. 12 is closer to 10 than to 15, 23 is closer to 25, and 17.5 sits exactly halfway, so it rounds away from zero to 20. Change the 5 to round to any step: 10, 25, 0.5.
=MROUND(B2,5)Result10
B212The value in B2.
MROUND(B2,5)10MROUND: Rounds to the nearest multiple.- number
B212 - multiple
5
- number
In Google Sheets
The same formula works in Google Sheets: =MROUND(B2,5). 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.
| Formula | Result | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| =ROUND(B2/5,0)*5 | 10, 20, 25… | Divide by 5, round to a whole number, multiply back. Works with negative numbers, where MROUND fails. |
| =CEILING(B2,5) | 15, 20, 25…Different result | Always rounds up to the next multiple of 5. Rounds every value up: 15, 20, 25, 40, 45, 10. |
Common mistakes
- MROUND returns #NUM! when the number and the multiple have different signs:
=MROUND(-7,5)fails. Use=MROUND(-7,-5)or the ROUND version. - MROUND changes the value, not just the display. Keep the original column if you need exact totals later.
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 to the nearest 5
C2, round the estimate to the nearest 5 minutes, then fill down to C7.Questions
How do I round to the nearest 0.05?
Use =MROUND(B2,0.05), common for cash rounding of prices.
How do I always round up or down to a multiple of 5?
Use =CEILING(B2,5) to round up and =FLOOR(B2,5) to round down.
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.