DOLLAR Function

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All Excel versions Text

The Excel DOLLAR function converts a number into currency-formatted text — $1,234.57 — using your system’s currency symbol and accounting conventions, parentheses for negatives included. It shines inside concatenated sentences, where cell formatting can’t reach. Like its siblings FIXED and TEXT, its output is text: perfect for labels, useless for math.

Quick answer: to show the total in B10 as currency inside a sentence:
="Amount due: " & DOLLAR(B10)
Returns Amount due: $1,234.57. The plain concatenation ="Amount due: " & B10 would show the raw 1234.567.

Syntax

=DOLLAR(number, [decimals])
ArgumentDescription
numberRequiredThe number to convert to currency text.
decimalsOptionalDecimal places; default 2. Negative values round left of the decimal point: -2 rounds to the nearest hundred.

Available in: every version of Excel and Excel for the web. The function is locale-aware: on a US system it produces $, on a UK system £, on a euro-locale system € — and the name itself changes in localized Excel versions. Negative results follow accounting style: ($1,234.57).

Worked examples

Default two decimals, custom rounding, the negative-decimals trick, and accounting-style negatives:

AB
1FormulaResult (text)
2=DOLLAR(1234.567)$1,234.57
3=DOLLAR(1234.567, 0)$1,235
4=DOLLAR(1234.567, -2)$1,200
5=DOLLAR(-1234.567)($1,234.57)  ← parentheses

The real-world home for DOLLAR is dynamic text — dashboard headlines, reminder messages, mail-merge style sentences:

="Invoice total: " & DOLLAR(SUM(B2:B20)) // Invoice total: $14,210.50
="Budget left: " & DOLLAR(B2-C2, 0) // Budget left: $4,580

Try it: interactive DOLLAR demo

Live demo

Change the number and decimals — try a negative number to see accounting-style parentheses.

Errors & common pitfalls

The big one: DOLLAR returns text, and text breaks math. A column of DOLLAR output looks like money but sums to zero. For numbers that must stay numbers, keep the value and apply a currency cell format (Ctrl+Shift+4 on Windows) instead. Reserve DOLLAR — like FIXED and TEXT — for strings: sentences, labels, exports.

Pitfall: locale changes the output. The same workbook shows $1,234.57 on a US machine and £1,234.57 on a UK one. If the symbol must be fixed regardless of who opens the file, hard-code it with TEXT: =TEXT(A2,"$#,##0.00").

#VALUE! — non-numeric input. =DOLLAR("twelve") fails. If the source might be text-stored numbers, convert with VALUE first.

Pitfall: parentheses surprise filters and sorts. Negative DOLLAR output like ($350.00) is just a string — it sorts alphabetically, not numerically, and text filters treat the parentheses literally. One more reason to format numbers rather than convert them when sorting matters.

Practice workbook

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Download the free DOLLAR practice workbook
Every example on this page, ready to open in Excel — plus practice challenges with answers on a separate tab. No sign-up required.

Frequently asked questions

Why does SUM ignore my DOLLAR results?
Because DOLLAR returns text strings, not numbers. Keep the underlying numbers for math and apply a currency cell format for display; use DOLLAR only when the value must live inside a text string.
What's the difference between DOLLAR and just formatting the cell as currency?
Cell formatting changes the look and keeps a real number - sums, charts, and sorting all still work. DOLLAR creates a text copy. Formatting is right for data; DOLLAR is right for sentences like ="Total: " & DOLLAR(B10).
What's the difference between DOLLAR, FIXED, and TEXT?
All three produce formatted text. DOLLAR adds your locale’s currency symbol; FIXED does plain decimals and commas; TEXT takes any format code and can replicate both: =TEXT(A2,"$#,##0.00") equals =DOLLAR(A2) — but pinned to the $ symbol on every machine.
Why do my negative amounts show in parentheses?
DOLLAR uses the accounting convention: ($1,234.57) means negative. If you want a minus sign instead, build the string with TEXT: =TEXT(A2,"$#,##0.00;-$#,##0.00").
Will DOLLAR show euros or pounds on other computers?
Yes - it follows the system locale of whoever opens the file, for both the symbol and the separators. For output that never changes, use TEXT with an explicit format code instead.

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Related functions: TEXT · FIXED · VALUE · NUMBERVALUE · CONCAT