Syntax
=MONTH(date)
date- The date to read.
MONTH function in Google Sheets
MONTH returns the month of a date as a number from 1 (January) to 12 (December). Use it to group data by month, or combine it with YEAR when the data covers more than one year.
Practice MONTH
Task 1 of 1
For the monthly report, return the month number (1 to 12) of the first order. Answer in C2.
Tip: while typing a formula, click a cell or drag across cells to insert references. Press Enter to check, and Tab to accept a function suggestion.
MONTH examples
Each example below runs against this sample sheet. The results are calculated by the same engine as the practice grid.
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Task | Start | Due | Holidays |
| 2 | Kickoff | 1/5/2026 | 1/9/2026 | 1/19/2026 |
| 3 | Design | 1/12/2026 | 2/13/2026 | 2/16/2026 |
| 4 | Build | 2/16/2026 | 4/30/2026 | 5/25/2026 |
| 5 | Launch | 5/4/2026 | 5/29/2026 |
| Formula | Result | What it shows |
|---|---|---|
=MONTH(C3) | 2 | The month the Design task is due. |
=MONTH(B5) | 5 | May is month 5. |
=TEXT(B5, "mmmm") | May | For the month's name instead of its number, use TEXT. |
=YEAR(B4)&"-"&TEXT(MONTH(B4), "00") | 2026-02 | A sortable year-month key. |
Tips and common mistakes
- MONTH ignores the year, so January 2025 and January 2026 both return 1. Group by YEAR and MONTH together when that matters.
- For month names, use TEXT(date, "mmmm") or "mmm" for the short form.
Related functions
Learning step by step? MONTH is covered in Lesson 39: Dates: DATE, YEAR, MONTH, DAY & WEEKDAY of the free course.