ceil
Learn how to use the ceil function in Notion formulas.
The
ceil()
function returns the smallest integer that is greater than or equal to its argument.1
ceil(number)
In other words,
ceil()
rounds a non-whole number to the next largest integer. When used on an integer, it will return that integer.1
ceil(4.2) // Output: 5
2
3
ceil(3.845) // Output: 4
4
5
ceil(4) // Output: 4
6
7
// Calculate the donated change in a round-up donation
8
// Assume prop("Subtotal") is $5.34
9
ceil(prop("Subtotal")) - prop("Subtotal")
10
// Output: $0.66
It’s worth noting that
ceil()
rounds “upward towards positive infinity”, while its counterpart, floor, rounds “downward towards negative infinity”When a negative value is passed as
ceil()
's argument, you’ll still get a greater value.1
ceil(-3.7) // Output: -3
ceil()
does not round “away from zero”, and floor does not round “towards” zero.In JavaScript, the Math.trunc function rounds “towards” zero. It simply removes all decimal values from a non-whole number - e.g.
Math.trunc(3.7) == 3
and Math.trunc(-3.7) == -3
.1
// Assume a number property exists called Num
2
prop("Num") >= 0 ? floor(prop("Num")) : ceil(prop("Num"))
Stores often ask customers if they would like to make a donation to charity along with their purchase.
This example database calculates donations based on four possible options - $1, $5, Round-Up, and no donation.
A “round-up” donation simply rounds the purchase sub-total to the next greatest whole dollar, and donates the change.

1
// Compressed
2
if(contains(prop("Donation Choice"),"$"),toNumber(replaceAll(prop("Donation Choice"),"[^\\d]","")),if(prop("Donation Choice") == "Round-Up",ceil(prop("Subtotal")) - prop("Subtotal"),0))
3
4
// Expanded
5
if(
6
contains(
7
prop("Donation Choice"),
8
"$"
9
),
10
toNumber(
11
replaceAll(
12
prop("Donation Choice"),
13
"[^\\d]",
14
""
15
)
16
),
17
if(
18
prop("Donation Choice") == "Round-Up",
19
ceil(prop("Subtotal")) - prop("Subtotal"),
20
0
21
)
22
)
The Donation Choice select property models multiple-choice buttons that customers may press on a point-of-sale system.
This formula calculates the donation based on the customer’s choice of $1, $5, Round-Up, or no donation.
A nested if statement is used to check which option was chosen, and to execute different logic depending on the choice.
First, the contains function is used to check if the choice contains
$
. If so, we know that the choice was either $1 or $5.Since Select options are strings by default, we use replaceAll and a small regular expression to remove any non-numeric character from that string (
[^\\d]
translates to “any character that isn’t a digit”). If so, we use
ceil()
to find the amount of change donated in the round-up donation: ceil(prop("Subtotal")) - prop("Subtotal")
.Finally, if the
None
option was chosen, we set the donation to $0
.
My name is Thomas Frank, and I'm a Notion-certified writer, YouTuber, and template creator. I've been using Notion since 2018 to organize my personal life and to run my business and YouTube channel. In addition to this formula reference, I've created a free Notion course for beginners and several productivity-focused Notion templates. If you'd like to connect, follow me on Twitter.

Last modified 4mo ago