FLOOR Function (LibreOffice Calc)
The FLOOR function in LibreOffice Calc rounds a number down to the nearest multiple of a specified significance. Learn syntax, examples, common errors, and best practices.
Compatibility
▾| Excel | ✔ |
| Gnumeric | ✔ |
| Google_sheets | ✔ |
| Libreoffice | ✔ |
| Numbers | ✔ |
| Onlyoffice | ✔ |
| Openoffice | ✔ |
| Wps | ✔ |
| Zoho | ✔ |
What the FLOOR Function Does ▾
- Rounds a number down to the nearest multiple of a significance
- Works with positive and negative numbers
- Supports fractional and whole-number significance values
- Useful for pricing, grouping, and interval-based calculations
- Works with cell references, formulas, and expressions
It is designed to be precise, predictable, and universally compatible.
Syntax ▾
FLOOR(number; significance)
Arguments
-
number:
The numeric value to round down. -
significance:
The multiple to round down to.
Examples:1→ nearest whole number0.5→ nearest half10→ nearest ten0.01→ nearest cent
Basic Examples ▾
Round down to nearest whole number
=FLOOR(5.9; 1)
Returns 5.
Round down to nearest 0.5
=FLOOR(5.9; 0.5)
Returns 5.5.
Round down to nearest 10
=FLOOR(123; 10)
Returns 120.
FLOOR with a cell reference
=FLOOR(A1; 0.25)
Rounds A1 down to the nearest quarter.
Advanced Examples ▾
FLOOR with negative numbers
=FLOOR(-5.2; 1)
Returns -6.
FLOOR with fractional significance
=FLOOR(7.34; 0.1)
Returns 7.3.
FLOOR for pricing
=FLOOR(A1; 0.05)
Rounds prices down to the nearest 5 cents.
FLOOR for binning/grouping
=FLOOR(A1; 10)
Groups values into buckets of 10.
FLOOR for time rounding
=FLOOR(A1; 1/24)
Rounds down to the nearest hour.
FLOOR vs INT comparison
=FLOOR(A1; 1)
Equivalent to INT for positive numbers.
Common Errors and Fixes ▾
FLOOR returns unexpected results with negative numbers
Cause:
- FLOOR always rounds toward negative infinity, not toward zero.
Example:
FLOOR(-5.2; 1) → -6
FLOOR returns Err:502
Occurs when:
- significance is zero
- significance has a different sign than number
- number or significance is non-numeric
Fix:
Ensure both values are numeric and have compatible signs.
FLOOR returns 0 unexpectedly
Possible causes:
- significance is larger than the number
- number is between -significance and significance
- number is stored as text
Fix:
Convert text to numbers using:
Data → Text to Columns → OK
Best Practices ▾
- Use FLOOR when rounding must always go downward
- Use CEILING when rounding must always go upward
- Use ROUND for standard rounding
- Use ROUNDDOWN for rounding toward zero
- Use FLOOR for pricing, grouping, and interval-based calculations
Related Patterns and Alternatives ▾
- Use CEILING to round up to a significance
- Use ROUND, ROUNDDOWN, or ROUNDUP for decimal rounding
- Use INT for rounding down to the nearest integer
- Use TRUNC to remove decimals without rounding
- Use MOD with FLOOR for bucket indexing
By mastering FLOOR and its combinations with other math functions, you can build precise, significance-based numeric models in LibreOffice Calc that behave consistently across all data scenarios.