How do I make NOW update more often in Google Sheets?

Open File, Settings, Calculation and choose recalculation on change and every minute. The time shown is still that of the spreadsheet’s time zone.

Google Sheets function

NOW in Google Sheets

NOW returns the current date and time in the time zone set under File, Settings, General.

NOW()

It updates on recalculation, and the Calculation setting can add a refresh every minute or every hour.

For a fuller explanation of the arguments and common errors, see the NOW Excel guide.

	A
1

Formula: A1: =INT(NOW())=TODAY()

Result: TRUE

Dropping the time fraction with INT leaves exactly today's date.

	A
1	Start
2	1/1/2020

Formula: C2: =NOW()>A2

Result: TRUE

The present moment is later than any date in the past, so the test is TRUE.

	A
1

Formula: A1: =AND(HOUR(NOW())>=0,HOUR(NOW())<=23)

Result: TRUE

HOUR extracts the current clock hour as an integer from 0 through 23.

A tiny spreadsheet with example data. Edit the formula or any number and see the result.

Formula in F2: =NOW()

Result in F2: 10/29/2026 19:51

How do I make NOW update more often in Google Sheets?: Open File, Settings, Calculation and choose recalculation on change and every minute. The time shown is still that of the spreadsheet’s time zone.

Google Sheets is used here only as a descriptive product name. FormulaCamp is not affiliated with Google.