# How to round to the nearest 5 in Excel

Use MROUND with 5 as the multiple, `=MROUND(B2,5)`, which rounds halfway values like 17.5 up to 20.

**Excel:** `=MROUND(B2,5)` (Every current version)

**Google Sheets:** the same formula works.

## Example

Sample data (row 1 is the header):

| A | B | C |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Task | Estimate (min) | Rounded |
| Write brief | 12 |  |
| Review draft | 17.5 |  |
| Client call | 23 |  |
| Edit video | 38 |  |
| Final QA | 41 |  |
| Publish | 7.4 |  |

Formula in C2, filled to C7: `=MROUND(B2,5)`

Result: 10; 20; 25; 40; 40; 5

## 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.

## Other ways

- `=ROUND(B2/5,0)*5`: Divide by 5, round to a whole number, multiply back. Works with negative numbers, where MROUND fails.
- `=CEILING(B2,5)`: 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.

## 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.

Every formula and result on this page was checked by running it in the Spreadsheet Practice formula engine on 2026-10-30.

Source: https://spreadsheetpractice.com/formulas/round-to-the-nearest-5