LN

Quirk found

Category: Math and trigonometry · Last tested 2026-08-06

Real, executed compatibility results for the LN function across Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, and LibreOffice Calc — verified by actually running it. Syntax and links to each vendor’s official documentation are below.

Support matrix

Engine	Documented	Live-tested	Verdict
Excel	Yes	Not yet	n/a
Google Sheets	Yes	Not yet	n/a
LibreOffice Calc	Yes	Yes (25.8.7.3, 2026-08-06)	Quirk found

LibreOffice version history

We executed the same test cases under each LibreOffice release to show exactly when LN’s support changed — not documentation claims, real results.

LibreOffice version	Verdict	Tested
24.2.0.3	Quirk found	2026-07-19
24.8.7.2	Quirk found	2026-07-19
25.2.0.3	Quirk found	2026-07-24
25.8.7.3	Quirk found	2026-08-06

Why isn't LN working in LibreOffice?

LN exists in LibreOffice 25.8.7.3, but it is not a drop-in match for Excel — our executed tests found real behavioral differences (detailed in the test results on this page). If a formula that works in Excel or Google Sheets misbehaves in LibreOffice, compare your usage against the failing cases above before assuming your data is wrong.

Discovered quirks

=LN(0) on LibreOffice Calc returned #VALUE!, but the documented/expected result is #NUM!. Microsoft's LN docs specify the Number argument must be 'the positive real number for which you want the natural logarithm' -- https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/ln-function-81fe1ed7-dac9-4acd-ba1d-07a142c6118f -- 0 and negative numbers are outside that domain and both are well-established to raise #NUM!, matching every other Excel logarithm function; MISMATCH vs expected: expected '#NUM!', got '#VALUE!'
=LN(-5) on LibreOffice Calc returned #VALUE!, but the documented/expected result is #NUM!. MISMATCH vs expected: expected '#NUM!', got '#VALUE!'

Executed test cases

LibreOffice Calc 25.8.7.3 (tested 2026-08-06)

Formula	Description	Result	Expected	Verdict
=LN(1)	Natural log of 1 is 0	0	0	Matched
=LN(2.718281828459045)	Natural log of e is 1	1	1	Matched
=LN(0)	Zero is outside LN's domain -> #NUM!	#VALUE!	#NUM! Microsoft's LN docs specify the Number argument must be 'the positive real number for which you want the natural logarithm' -- https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/ln-function-81fe1ed7-dac9-4acd-ba1d-07a142c6118f -- 0 and negative numbers are outside that domain and both are well-established to raise #NUM!, matching every other Excel logarithm function	Mismatch
=LN(-5)	Negative numbers are outside LN's domain -> #NUM!	#VALUE!	#NUM!	Mismatch

Docs & syntax

Excel: official documentation
Google Sheets: official documentation
LibreOffice Calc: official documentation