Google Sheets POW Function: Syntax, Examples & Tips

What Is POW?

POW raises a base number to an exponent. =POW(2, 10) returns 1024 — the same as =2^10 and =POWER(2, 10). In Google Sheets, POW is the function form of the caret (^) operator.

How POW Relates to the ^ Operator and POWER

All three of these produce identical results:

=POW(5, 3)
=POWER(5, 3)
=5^3

Each returns 125. POWER is the name Excel users will recognise; POW is the shorter alias Google Sheets uses for the operator. Use whichever reads best — there is no difference in behaviour.

One thing to watch with the operator form is precedence. In Sheets, unary negation is applied before exponentiation, so =-2^2 returns 4, not −4. Writing =POW(-2, 2) or =-POW(2, 2) makes your intent explicit and avoids that trap.

Basic Examples

Square a value

=POW(A2, 2)

Square root via a fractional exponent

=POW(81, 0.5)

Returns 9 — the same as SQRT(81). =POW(27, 1/3) returns the cube root, 3.

Negative exponent

=POW(10, -2)

Returns 0.01, because a negative exponent means 1 divided by the positive power.

Compound growth

=B2 * POW(1 + C2, D2)

Grows a starting value in B2 at an annual rate in C2 for D2 years.

Compound annual growth rate (CAGR)

=POW(E2 / B2, 1 / D2) - 1

Returns the average yearly growth rate from a start value B2 to an end value E2 over D2 years.

Rules and Edge Cases

• Any number to the power 0 returns 1.
• 0 to a negative power would require dividing by zero and returns #DIV/0!.
• A negative base with a fractional exponent (for example POW(-8, 0.5)) has no real result and returns #NUM!.
• Very large results beyond the range Sheets can store return #NUM!.
• Blank cells are treated as 0.

Common Use Cases

• Finance: Compound interest, CAGR, discount factors.
• Geometry: Areas and volumes (=PI()*POW(r, 2)).
• Statistics: Squared deviations, root-mean-square calculations.
• Scaling: Exponential growth or decay curves.
• Unit conversions involving powers of ten.

Common Errors

• #NUM!: Negative base with a non-integer exponent, or an overflow.
• #DIV/0!: Zero raised to a negative exponent.
• Wrong sign with the operator: =-3^2 gives 9; use parentheses or POW to get −9.
• #VALUE!: A text value that isn't numeric was passed as an argument.

Tips and Best Practices

• Prefer POW or POWER over ^ in complex formulas where operator precedence could cause confusion.
• Use SQRT for square roots when readability matters; POW with 0.5 is equivalent.
• POW works on single values; apply it to a column with ARRAYFORMULA: =ARRAYFORMULA(POW(A2:A100, 2)).
• To add up squares of many values, SUMSQ is shorter than summing POW results.

Related Functions

POWER, SQRT, EXP, LOG, SUMSQ, and MULTIPLY.