VALUE Function in Excel: Convert Text to a Number

⏱ 1 min readUpdated 28 September 2026

TextLevel: IntermediateAvailable in: Excel 2007+

In this article
  1. Syntax
  2. Examples
  3. Example 1
  4. Example 2
  5. Related functions

VALUE turns text that looks like a number into a real number, so SUM and lookups work.

Syntax

=VALUE(text)
Argument What it means
text Text such as “1,250” or “12.5”.

Examples

Example 1

=VALUE(A2)

“1,250” → 1250.

Example 2

=--A2

The double-minus shortcut does the same.

TEXT · NUMBERVALUE · TRIM

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