MS Excel: NUMBERVALUE function for conversion to actual numeric values

The NUMBERVALUE function in Excel is used to convert text representations of numbers into actual numeric values, especially when the text uses non-standard decimal or thousands separators. This is extremely helpful when working with data imported from CSV files, foreign locales, or web scraping, where formatting may vary.

Syntax

=NUMBERVALUE(text, [decimal_separator], [group_separator])

Parameters:

Argument	Description
text	Required. The text string you want to convert to a number.
decimal_separator	Optional. The character used as the decimal separator (e.g., "." or ",").
group_separator	Optional. The character used as the thousands separator (e.g., "," or ".").

Returns: A numeric value.

Why Use NUMBERVALUE?

Excel typically uses your system's regional settings to interpret numbers. But what if your data uses different formats?For example:

• 1.234,56 (German format) vs. 1,234.56 (US format)

That’s where NUMBERVALUE helps — you define the separators.

Examples with Tables

Example 1: European Format to Number

Convert "1.234,56" where , is decimal and . is group separator.

=NUMBERVALUE("1.234,56", ",", ".")

Formula	Result
=NUMBERVALUE("1.234,56", ",", ".")	1234.56

Example 2: Simple Conversion Without Separators

=NUMBERVALUE("1000")

Formula	Result
=NUMBERVALUE("1000")	1000

Even without defining separators, it works with clean numeric text.

Example 3: Different Thousands Separator

=NUMBERVALUE("2 500,75", ",", " ")

Formula	Result
=NUMBERVALUE("2 500,75", ",", " ")	2500.75

Note: A space " " is used as a thousands separator.

Use Cases

Scenario	How NUMBERVALUE Helps
Imported text uses commas for decimals	You can define , as the decimal separator
Web data with inconsistent formats	Normalize text into actual numbers
Multilingual files (e.g., German, French)	Supports flexible regional parsing

NUMBERVALUE vs VALUE

Function	Use When…
NUMBERVALUE	You need to control decimal/thousands characters
VALUE	Text uses your local system’s formatting

Summary

Feature	Description
Function Name	NUMBERVALUE
Purpose	Convert text to number with custom separators
Return Type	Number
Locale-Aware	✅ Yes – custom separator support
Availability	Excel 2013 and later (including 365 and Excel for Web)

Notes

• If separators are incorrect, the function returns a #VALUE! error.

• You can use this function in Power Query transformations, too, for parsing inconsistent data sources.

• Be careful when using it in formulas on data that already uses proper Excel numbers—it’s primarily for converting textual numbers.

Related Functions

Function	Description
VALUE	Converts text to number using system locale
TEXT	Converts numbers to text with formatting
NUMBERVALUE	Converts text to number with manual separators
SUBSTITUTE	Replace separators in text
TEXTSPLIT	Split data based on a character (Excel 365)

Final Thoughts

The NUMBERVALUE function is essential when importing or cleaning data that doesn’t follow your system’s number format. It provides precise control over decimal and grouping characters, ensuring accurate conversions across international datasets.