Number is the core numeric data type in Google Sheets. All numbers are stored internally as double-precision 64-bit floating point values (IEEE 754).
Characteristics
- Precision: Numbers have approximately 15 decimal digits of precision.
- Range: Supports values from approximately to .
- Storage: Internally, numbers are stored as raw numeric values. Their appearance in the spreadsheet is controlled by Number Format Patterns.
Special Cases
Dates and Times
Google Sheets does not have a separate data type for dates or times. Instead, they are stored as serial numbers:
- The integer portion is the number of days since the epoch (December 30, 1899).
- The fractional portion is the time of day as a fraction of 24 hours.
See Datetime and Date and time storage for more details.
Booleans and Errors
While Booleans and Errors often behave like distinct types, they can sometimes be coerced into numbers (e.g., TRUE → 1, FALSE → 0).
Limits
- Huge numbers may be displayed in scientific notation.
- Calculations that exceed the maximum limit will result in a [[Error|#NUM!]] error.
See Also
- Data type — Overview of the Sheets type system.
- Number Format Patterns — How numbers are displayed.
- Datetime — Internal storage of date/time as numbers.
- VALUE — Function to convert strings to numbers.