POWER Function in Apple Numbers: Raise a number to a power

=POWER(number, exponent)

Apple’s version 15.4 Functions Help reference gives this function name, argument order and argument types; checked on 2026-10-11.

All parameters shown as required above must be supplied; only arguments explicitly labelled optional may be omitted. Enter = before the function. Apple writes argument lists with commas in its English help; when the user’s decimal separator is a comma, Apple says to type semicolons between function arguments. This does not change any cell values, and a one-argument function has no separator to change. See Apple’s functions syntax guide.

Version and device scope: The specific documentation URL is the Apple 15.4 Functions Help page. Apple describes the in-app Functions Browser for Numbers on Mac, iPhone and iPad, and for iWork apps on iCloud.com (official welcome). That help entry does not establish the first Numbers release that supported this function, nor that every historical macOS/iOS/iPadOS/web edition handles every edge case identically. No first-supported version has been invented; native version-by-version testing is still pending.

Numbers references: Examples below enter formulas in the same table as the data, so B2, C2, and B2:D2 are legitimate Numbers cell references. For references into a different table, Apple documents forms such as Table Name::B2 or Sheet Name::Table Name::B2; use the formula editor to select cross-table cells (Apple cell references).

Use POWER when calculating an exponential increase, squared distances or lengths, inverse powers, and compound growth. Apple’s POWER reference states that both arguments are numeric and that POWER(x,y) produces the same result as x^y. Unlike the PRODUCT function, POWER repeatedly raises a single base to an exponent; PRODUCT(2,3) gives 6, while POWER(2,3) gives 8.

Create a Numbers table named Powers with one header row:

In D2 of the same table enter:

=POWER(B2,C2)

Expected result: 8 (2 × 2 × 2). Copy the formula through D5; the expected D3, D4 and D5 values are 81, 0.25, and 4. For the last row, an exponent of 0.5 computes the positive square root. Apple demonstrates noninteger powers with POWER(100,0.5) in its documented examples.

As an independent syntax check, =B2^C2 should compute the same result as =POWER(B2,C2) in D2. In hand-entered formulas, preserve the parentheses around POWER’s arguments and use the proper separator for your decimal region.

In another table named Forecast, enter this row (B2:D2):

Put this formula in E2:

=B2*POWER(1+C2,D2)

Expected underlying number: 1157.625. With a 2-decimal numeric display, the figure is 1,157.63 in a comma-thousands-point-decimal locale; the cell’s stored unrounded value is used by later formulas. The arithmetic is 1000 × 1.05 × 1.05 × 1.05.

This is a deterministic illustration, not a financial projection or a claim that a real investment pays 5%. The rate is a numeric percentage value: if C2 is formatted as 5%, it represents 0.05. Typing the number 5 into an ordinary numeric cell would incorrectly make the multiplier 6 instead of 1.05.

To vary scenarios, change C2 or D2 rather than rewriting the POWER expression. When referring to this data from another table, select the source cell in Numbers so that the formula editor supplies a valid table qualifier (for instance Forecast::B2 when required); Apple documents the double-colon table-reference form.

• Arguments reversed: POWER(2,3) is 8, whereas POWER(3,2) is 9. Double-check which cell is the base and which is the exponent.
• Exponent zero: For a nonzero base, raising it to 0 mathematically yields 1. This is not the same as multiplying the base by zero. No app test for special 0^0 behaviour is claimed.
• Negative exponent: POWER(2,-2) produces the mathematical expectation 1/4. Do not report its output rounded to 0 if the cell uses too few decimal places.
• Negative base and fractional exponent: Many such combinations lack a real result. Do not assume Numbers supports complex numbers or that a specific error message appears: check the source value and the in-app error indicator.
• Errors from text and references: If a pasted power is stored as text or a reference points to an unexpected column, inspect the numeric formatting and cell references. The Apple formula-error guide explains where to review warnings.
• Overflow/precision: Extremely large powers can exceed the spreadsheet’s useful numeric precision/range. The exact boundary was not established by this documentation review; test critical work in a native copy.

POWER(base, exponent) and the caret operator ^ are familiar in Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets; use the explicit Apple syntax above in Numbers. Apple also documents SQRT, a direct positive-square-root function, when that’s all you need. Imported tables may produce changed cross-table reference syntax or displayed precision. Do not reuse an Excel structured reference verbatim in Numbers without adapting it.

• Apple SQRT — the positive square root.
• Apple PRODUCT — multiplication of factors.
• Apple ROUND — explicit rounded numeric output when required; see the ROUND guide for related examples.

• Apple Numbers — function documentation
• Apple’s functions syntax guide
• official welcome
• Apple cell references
• Apple formula-error guide
• SQRT
• Apple PRODUCT

Verification status: Official documentation checked; example outcomes were independently reasoned or arithmetically checked where applicable. Not executed in Apple Numbers.

• No genuine Apple Numbers screenshots are included; this guide does not use mock application images.