NOW
Supported, behaves as documentedCategory: Date and time · Last tested 2026-09-01
Real compatibility results for the NOW function: executed in Excel for the web, Google Sheets and LibreOffice Calc, with desktop Excel behavior from Microsoft’s official documentation (we do not run desktop Excel — Excel for the web is a different application and is executed separately). Syntax and links to that documentation are below.
Support matrix
| Engine | Documented | Live-tested | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Excel (desktop) | Yes | No — documented only | n/a |
| Excel for the web | — | Yes (recalc, 2026-09-01) | Supported, behaves as documented |
| Google Sheets | Yes | Yes (Drive import, 2026-08-29) | Supported, behaves as documented |
| LibreOffice Calc | Yes | Yes (25.8.7.3, 2026-07-29) | Supported, behaves as documented |
LibreOffice version history
We executed the same test cases under each LibreOffice release to show exactly when NOW’s support changed — not documentation claims, real results.
| LibreOffice version | Verdict | Tested |
|---|---|---|
| 24.2.0.3 | Supported, behaves as documented | 2026-08-29 |
| 24.8.7.2 | Supported, behaves as documented | 2026-08-29 |
| 25.2.0.3 | Supported, behaves as documented | 2026-08-29 |
| 25.8.7.3 | Supported, behaves as documented | 2026-07-29 |
Executed test cases
Excel for the web (executed 2026-09-01 via OneDrive recalculation)
These values come from Excel for the web, not from desktop Excel. They are two different implementations of the calculation engine, and this run measured only the web one: the corpus was uploaded to OneDrive as .xlsx, recalculated by Excel for the web on open, and downloaded again for readback. Excel for the web is a rolling service with no pinnable version, so the run is identified by its date. Where a value here disagrees with the Expected column — which is Microsoft’s documentation of the desktop product — we cannot tell you whether the web engine diverges from the desktop one or the documentation is wrong about both, because we do not run desktop Excel.
| Formula | Description | Result | Expected | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| =NOW() | Existence probe only: NOW() is volatile (changes every recalculation), so there is no fixed expected value | 46266.47184803241 | ProvenanceNon-deterministic by design; only check the engine recognizes the function and returns a plausible date-time serial |
Ran OK |
| =N(NOW()-NOW()) | Two NOW() calls inside one cell evaluate in the same recalculation pass, so their difference is exactly 0 — a deterministic assertion about a volatile function (N() keeps the result a plain number instead of a duration-formatted cell) | 0 | 0 | Matched |
| =NOW()>=TODAY() | NOW() includes today's date plus a time fraction, so it is always >= TODAY() within one recalculation | True | True | Matched |
Google Sheets (executed 2026-08-29 via Drive import)
Google Sheets is a rolling service with no pinnable version, so this run is identified by its date. The corpus was imported to Drive as .xlsx, recalculated by Sheets, and exported back for readback.
| Formula | Description | Result | Expected | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| =NOW() | Existence probe only: NOW() is volatile (changes every recalculation), so there is no fixed expected value | 46263.39496 | ProvenanceNon-deterministic by design; only check the engine recognizes the function and returns a plausible date-time serial |
Ran OK |
| =N(NOW()-NOW()) | Two NOW() calls inside one cell evaluate in the same recalculation pass, so their difference is exactly 0 — a deterministic assertion about a volatile function (N() keeps the result a plain number instead of a duration-formatted cell) | 0 | 0 | Matched |
| =NOW()>=TODAY() | NOW() includes today's date plus a time fraction, so it is always >= TODAY() within one recalculation | True | True | Matched |
LibreOffice Calc 25.8.7.3 (tested 2026-07-29)
| Formula | Description | Result | Expected | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| =NOW() | Existence probe only: NOW() is volatile (changes every recalculation), so there is no fixed expected value | 46232.28424054398 | ProvenanceNon-deterministic by design; only check the engine recognizes the function and returns a plausible date-time serial |
Ran OK |
| =N(NOW()-NOW()) | Two NOW() calls inside one cell evaluate in the same recalculation pass, so their difference is exactly 0 — a deterministic assertion about a volatile function (N() keeps the result a plain number instead of a duration-formatted cell) | -1.30972222222222e-10 | 0 | Matched |
| =NOW()>=TODAY() | NOW() includes today's date plus a time fraction, so it is always >= TODAY() within one recalculation | True | True | Matched |
Docs & syntax
- Excel (desktop): official documentation
- Google Sheets: official documentation
- LibreOffice Calc: official documentation