How-To

How to Remove Dollar Signs in Google Sheets

By Ben Stockton

Published January 10, 2023

If you want to remove dollar signs from a data set in Google Sheets, there are a few methods you can try. This guide explains how.

If you’re working in Google Sheets, you might use dollar signs to indicate currency. Unfortunately, these dollar signs might cause formatting and calculation issues further down the line.

Thankfully, Google Sheets has several methods for removing dollar signs from cells in a spreadsheet. These methods include applying different cell formatting, using functions to remove the dollar signs, or manually removing them using the Find and Replace tool to help you.

To use these methods to remove dollar signs in Google Sheets, follow the steps we’ve outlined below.

How to Remove Dollar Signs by Applying Custom Number Formatting to Cells

Google Sheets treats the data in your spreadsheet in different ways. A number, for instance, might contain a date, a time, a currency price, or more. It’s able to do this by using number formatting options.

If there’s a dollar sign in the cell, then you may be able to use custom number formatting to remove it.

To apply custom number formatting to cells in Google Sheets:

1. Open the Google Sheets spreadsheet.
2. Select any cells that contain a dollar sign.
3. To apply standard number formatting rules, go to Format > Number > Number.
   
4. Otherwise, go to Format > Number > Custom Number Formatting.
   
5. On the Custom number formats dialog, type: 0.00 to ensure only integers (and no currency signs like dollar signs) are inserted.
6. Click Apply.
   

At this point, dollar signs should be removed from your cells—but only if they’re applied by formatting in the first place. If they aren’t and are part of a text string, you’ll need to remove them using the steps below.

How to Remove Dollar Signs Using the Find and Replace Tool

The Find and Replace tool in Google Sheets allows users to quickly search for and replace specific text within a range of cells. If you’re trying to remove dollar signs from cells in Google Sheets, you can use this tool to locate each occurrence and remove it.

To remove dollar signs from cells in Google Sheets using the Find and Replace tool:

1. Open your Google Sheets spreadsheet.
2. Go to Edit > Find and Replace.
   
3. On the Find and Replace dialog, enter the dollar sign symbol ($) in the Find field and leave the Replace with field blank.
4. In the Search field, insert the range for the cells you want to remove.
5. Alternatively, select All Sheets to search your entire spreadsheet or This Sheet to search your currently active sheet.
6. Click Replace All to search for and remove all dollar signs within your chosen search range.
   
7. Review the results to ensure that all dollar signs have been removed as expected.
8. If necessary, you can use the Find Next and Replace buttons to make any further changes manually.

How to Remove Dollar Signs Using the SUBSTITUTE Function

The SUBSTITUTE function in Google Sheets allows you to replace specific characters or words within a cell or range of cells with a different character or word. This can be useful if you have a large dataset with dollar signs or other unwanted characters you want to remove.

You can use the SUBSTITUTE function to replace these characters with nothing easily. You can also replace the dollar sign or any other character with another character or word you choose.

To use the SUBSTITUTE function in Google Sheets to remove dollar signs:

1. Open your Google Sheets spreadsheet.
2. Select an empty cell.
3. Type: =SUBSTITUTE( into the formula bar.
4. Next, type your cell reference (e.g., =SUBSTITUTE(A1 or =SUBSTITUTE(A1 as the formula), followed by a comma.
5. Type a dollar sign or another search criteria, surrounded by quotation marks (e.g., =SUBSTITUTE(A1,”$” as the formula).
6. Type another comma, and then type the character or word you want to replace it with, surrounded by quotation marks. If you want to replace it with nothing, use an empty text string. (e.g., =SUBSTITUTE(A1,”$”,”” as the formula)
7. Close the formula with a closing parenthesis. For example, the formula =SUBSTITUTE(A1,”$”,””) will work to remove dollar signs from cells A1 to A10 and replace it with nothing.
8. Press Enter to apply the formula and see the results.
   

Adjusting Data in Google Sheets

If it’s time to remove the dollars from your spreadsheet, you can follow the steps above to remove dollar signs in Google Sheets quickly.

If you’re having trouble with formatting in Google Sheets, you might want to try sorting by date to organize your data. You can also create custom number formats to make your data more presentable.

Unfortunately, not every formula you use is going to work with your data. If you encounter a formula parse error in Google Sheets, you’ll need to troubleshoot the problem.