Excel ABS Function

ABS returns the absolute value of a number.

Use it when the size of a difference matters more than the direction, such as variance from target, error distance, or positive magnitude from a signed input.

Start with a signed number The input can be positive, negative, or zero

Return its distance from zero The result is always non-negative

ABS syntax & arguments

Syntax

=ABS(number)

Required Optional

1

number
Required

The number, cell reference, or formula result to convert to a non-negative value.

Example

=ABS(C2-D2)

Return the positive difference between C2 and D2.

ABS caveats

The direction disappears

=ABS(A2-B2) shows how far apart two numbers are, but it no longer tells you which one is larger.
It does not round the number

ABS keeps the original decimal precision. Use ROUND when later comparisons should ignore small decimal differences.
Text inputs cause errors

If the input cannot be treated as a number, such as =ABS("North"), ABS returns a #VALUE! error instead of a magnitude.
Errors pass through

If the number argument is already an error, ABS returns an error rather than converting it.

Need tolerance checks? Put ABS inside IF when a difference within a threshold should return a custom label, such as =IF(ABS(A2-B2)<=5,"OK","Review").