Excel count cell in column

1. Select the cell where you want the result to appear.

2. On the Formulas tab, click More Functions, point to Statistical, and then click one of the following functions:

   • COUNTA: To count cells that are not empty

   • COUNT: To count cells that contain numbers.

   • COUNTBLANK: To count cells that are blank.

   • COUNTIF: To count cells that meets a specified criteria.

     Tip: To enter more than one criterion, use the COUNTIFS function instead.

3. Select the range of cells that you want, and then press RETURN.

1. Select the cell where you want the result to appear.

2. On the Formulas tab, click Insert, point to Statistical, and then click one of the following functions:

   • COUNTA: To count cells that are not empty

   • COUNT: To count cells that contain numbers.

   • COUNTBLANK: To count cells that are blank.

   • COUNTIF: To count cells that meets a specified criteria.

     Tip: To enter more than one criterion, use the COUNTIFS function instead.

3. Select the range of cells that you want, and then press RETURN.

This tutorial shows how to count cells from a single column that contain numbers (cells that are numeric values) through the use of an Excel formula or VBA

Example: Count cells from entire column that contain numbers

METHOD 1. Count cells from entire column that contain numbers

EXCEL

The formula uses the Excel COUNT function to count the number of cells that contain numbers from the selected column (C).

METHOD 1. Count cells from entire column that contain numbers using VBA

VBA

Sub Count_cells_from_entire_column_that_contain_numbers()

‘declare a variable
Dim ws As Worksheet

Set ws = Worksheets(«Analysis»)

‘count the number of cells in a single column that have numbers
ws.Range(«E5») = Application.WorksheetFunction.Count(ws.Range(«C:C»))

End Sub

ADJUSTABLE PARAMETERS
Output Range: Select the output range by changing the cell reference («E5») in the VBA code.
Column Reference: Select the column that you want to count from, for only numbers, by changing the range reference («C:C») in the VBA code.

Explanation about the formula used to count cells from entire column that contain numbers

EXPLANATION

EXPLANATION

This tutorial shows how to count cells from a single column that contain numbers (cells that are numeric values) using an Excel formula and VBA.

Both the Excel and VBA methods make use of the COUNT function and selecting an entire column to count cells from a single column that contain only numbers (cells that are numeric values).

FORMULA
=COUNT(column_reference)

ARGUMENTS
column_reference: The column from which you want to count the cells that contain numbers.

Related Topic	Description	Related Topic and Description
Count cells from entire column that contain value	How to count cells from a single column that contain a value using Excel and VBA methods
Count cells from entire column that contain text	How to count cells from a single column that contain text (cells that are text values) using Excel and VBA methods
Count cells from multiple columns that contain value	How to count cells from multiple columns that contain a value using Excel and VBA methods
Count cells if greater than	How to count cells that are greater than a specific value using Excel and VBA methods
Count cells if less than	How to count cells that are less than a specific value using Excel and VBA methods

Related Functions	Description	Related Functions and Description
COUNT Function	The Excel COUNT function returns the number of cells that contain numeric values in a specified range

Date yes Add (Subtract) Days to a Date Concatenate Dates Convert Date to Number Convert Date to Text Month Name to Number Create Date Range from Dates Day Number of Year Month Name from Date First Day of Month Add (Subtract) Weeks to a Date If Functions with Dates Max Date Number of Days Between Dates Number of Days in a Month Number of Weeks Between Dates Number of Years Between Dates Split Date & Time into Separate Cells Countdown Remaining Days Insert Dates Random Date Generator Using Dynamic Ranges — Year to Date Values Add (Subtract) Years to a Date Date Formula Examples Extract Day from Date Get Day Name from Date Count Days Left in Month / Year Count Workdays Left in Month / Year Get Last Day of Month Last Business Day of Month / Year Number of Work / Business Days in Month Weekday Abbreviations Auto Populate Dates Number of Months Between Dates Quarter from a Date Years of Service Change Date Format Compare Dates Time yes Add (Subtract) Hours to Time Add (Subtract) Minutes to Time Add (Subtract) Seconds to Time Add Up time (Total Time) Time Differences Change Time Format Convert Minutes to Hours Convert Time to Decimal Convert Time to Hours Convert Time to Minutes Convert Time to Seconds Military Time Round Time to Nearest 15 Minutes Overtime Calculator Number of Hours Between Times Convert Seconds to Minutes, Hours, or Time Count Hours Worked Time Differences Time Format — Show Minutes Seconds Text yes Add Commas to Cells Get First Word from Text Capitalize First Letter Clean & Format Phone #s Remove Extra Trailing / Leading Spaces Add Spaces to Cell Assign Number Value to Text Combine Cells with Comma Combine First and Last Names Convert Text String to Date Convert Text to Number Extract Text From Cell Get Last Word Remove Unwated Characters Extract Text Before or After Character How to Split Text String by Space, Comma, & More Remove Special Characters Remove First Characters from Left Substitute Multiple Values Switch First & Last Names w/ Commas Remove Specific Text from a Cell Extract Text Between Characters (Ex. Parenthesis) Add Leading Zeros to a Number Remove Line Breaks from Text Remove all Numbers from Text Reverse Text Remove Non-Numeric Characters Remove Last Character(s) From Right Separate First and Last Names Separate Text & Numbers Round yes Round Formulas Round Price to Nearest Dollar or Cent Round to Nearest 10, 100, or 1000 Round to Nearest 5 or .5 Round Percentages Round to Significant Figures Count yes Count Blank and Non-blank Cells Count Cells Between Two Numbers Count Cells not Equal to Count if Cells are in Range Count Times Word Appears in Cell Count Words in Cell Count Specific Characters in Column Count Total Number of Characters in Column Count Cells that Equal one of two Results Count Cells that do not Contain Count Cells that Contain Specific Text Count Unique Values in Range Countif — Multiple Criteria Count Total Number of Cells in Range Count Cells with Any Text Count Total Cells in a Table Lookup yes Two Dimensional VLOOKUP VLOOKUP Simple Example Vlookup — Multiple Matches Case Sensitive Lookup Case Sensitive VLOOKUP Sum if — VLOOKUP Case Sensitive Lookup Case Sensitive VLOOKUP Find Duplicates w/ VLOOKUP or MATCH INDEX MATCH MATCH Lookup — Return Cell Address (Not Value) Lookup Last Value in Column or Row Reverse VLOOKUP (Right to Left) Risk Score Bucket with VLOOKUP Sum with a VLOOKUP Function VLOOKUP & INDIRECT VLOOKUP Concatenate VLOOKUP Contains (Partial Match) 17 Reasons Why Your XLOOKUP is Not Working Double (Nested) XLOOKUP — Dynamic Columns IFERROR (& IFNA) XLOOKUP Lookup Min / Max Value Nested VLOOKUP Top 11 Alternatives to VLOOKUP (Updated 2022!) VLOOKUP – Dynamic Column Reference VLOOKUP – Fix #N/A Error VLOOKUP – Multiple Sheets at Once VLOOKUP & HLOOKUP Combined VLOOKUP & MATCH Combined VLOOKUP Between Worksheets or Spreadsheets VLOOKUP Duplicate Values VLOOKUP Letter Grades VLOOKUP Return Multiple Columns VLOOKUP Returns 0? Return Blank Instead VLOOKUP w/o #N/A Error XLOOKUP Multiple Sheets at Once XLOOKUP Between Worksheets or Spreadsheets XLOOKUP by Date XLOOKUP Duplicate Values XLOOKUP Multiple Criteria XLOOKUP Return Multiple Columns XLOOKUP Returns 0? Return Blank Instead XLOOKUP Text XLOOKUP with IF XLOOKUP With If Statement Misc. yes Sort Multiple Columns Use Cell Value in Formula Percentage Change Between Numbers Percentage Breakdown Rank Values Add Spaces to Cell CAGR Formula Average Time Decimal Part of Number Integer Part of a Number Compare Items in a List Dealing with NA() Errors Get Worksheet Name Wildcard Characters Hyperlink to Current Folder Compound Interest Formula Percentage Increase Create Random Groups Sort with the Small and Large Functions Non-volatile Function Alternatives Decrease a Number by a Percentage Calculate Percent Variance Profit Margin Calculator Convert Column Number to Letter Get Full Address of Named Range Insert File Name Insert Path Latitute / Longitude Functions Replace Negative Values Reverse List Range Convert State Name to Abbreviation Create Dynamic Hyperlinks Custom Sort List with Formula Data Validation — Custom Formulas Dynamic Sheet Reference (INDIRECT) Reference Cell in Another Sheet or Workbook Get Cell Value by Address Get Worksheet Name Increment Cell Reference List Sheet Names List Skipped Numbers in Sequence Return Address of Max Value in Range Search by Keywords Select Every Other (or Every nth) Row Basics yes Cell Reference Basics — A1, R1C1, 3d, etc. Add Up (Sum) Entire Column or Row Into to Dynamic Array Formulas Conversions yes Convert Time Zones Convert Celsius to Fahrenheit Convert Pounds to Kilograms Convert Time to Unix Time Convert Feet to Meters Convert Centimeters to Inches Convert Kilometers to Miles Convert Inches to Feet Convert Date to Julian Format Convert Column Letter to Number Tests yes Test if a Range Contains any Text Test if any Cell in Range is Number Test if a Cell Contains a Specific Value Test if Cell Contains Any Number Test if Cell Contains Specific Number Test if Cell is Number or Text If yes Percentile If Subtotal If Sumproduct If Large If and Small If Median If Concatentate If Max If Rank If TEXTJOIN If Sum yes Sum if — Begins With / Ends With Sum if — Month or Year to Date Sum if — By Year Sum if — Blank / Non-Blank Sum if — Horizontal Sum Count / Sum If — Cell Color INDIRECT Sum Sum If — Across Multiple Sheets Sum If — By Month Sum If — Cells Not Equal To Sum If — Not Blank Sum if — Between Values Sum If — Week Number Sum Text Sum if — By Category or Group Sum if — Cell Contains Specific Text (Wildcards) Sum if — Date Rnage Sum if — Dates Equal Sum if — Day of Week Sum if — Greater Than Sum if — Less Than Average yes Average Non-Zero Values Average If — Not Blank Average — Ignore 0 Average — Ignore Errors Math yes Multiplication Table Cube Roots nth Roots Square Numbers Square Roots Calculations yes Calculate a Ratio Calculate Age KILLLLLLL Calculate Loan Payments GPA Formula Calculate VAT Tax How to Grade Formulas Find yes Find a Number in a Column / Workbook Find Most Frequent Numbers Find Smallest n Values Find nth Occurance of Character in Text Find and Extract Number from String Find Earliest or Latest Date Based on Criteria Find First Cell with Any Value Find Last Row Find Last Row with Data Find Missing Values Find Largest n Values Most Frequent Number Conditional Formatting yes Conditional Format — Dates & Times Conditional Format — Highlight Blank Cells New Functions XLOOKUP Replaces VLOOKUP, HLOOKUP, and INDEX / MATCH Logical yes AND Checks whether all conditions are met. TRUE/FALSE IF If condition is met, do something, if not, do something else. IFERROR If result is an error then do something else. NOT Changes TRUE to FALSE and FALSE to TRUE. OR Checks whether any conditions are met. TRUE/FALSE XOR Checks whether one and only one condition is met. TRUE/FALSE Lookup & Reference yes FALSE The logical value: FALSE. TRUE The logical value: TRUE. ADDRESS Returns a cell address as text. AREAS Returns the number of areas in a reference. CHOOSE Chooses a value from a list based on it’s position number. COLUMN Returns the column number of a cell reference. COLUMNS Returns the number of columns in an array. HLOOKUP Lookup a value in the first row and return a value. HYPERLINK Creates a clickable link. INDEX Returns a value based on it’s column and row numbers. INDIRECT Creates a cell reference from text. LOOKUP Looks up values either horizontally or vertically. MATCH Searches for a value in a list and returns its position. OFFSET Creates a reference offset from a starting point. ROW Returns the row number of a cell reference. ROWS Returns the number of rows in an array. TRANSPOSE Flips the oriention of a range of cells. VLOOKUP Lookup a value in the first column and return a value. Date & Time yes DATE Returns a date from year, month, and day. DATEDIF Number of days, months or years between two dates. DATEVALUE Converts a date stored as text into a valid date DAY Returns the day as a number (1-31). DAYS Returns the number of days between two dates. DAYS360 Returns days between 2 dates in a 360 day year. EDATE Returns a date, n months away from a start date. EOMONTH Returns the last day of the month, n months away date. HOUR Returns the hour as a number (0-23). MINUTE Returns the minute as a number (0-59). MONTH Returns the month as a number (1-12). NETWORKDAYS Number of working days between 2 dates. NETWORKDAYS.INTL Working days between 2 dates, custom weekends. NOW Returns the current date and time. SECOND Returns the second as a number (0-59) TIME Returns the time from a hour, minute, and second. TIMEVALUE Converts a time stored as text into a valid time. TODAY Returns the current date. WEEKDAY Returns the day of the week as a number (1-7). WEEKNUM Returns the week number in a year (1-52). WORKDAY The date n working days from a date. WORKDAY.INTL The date n working days from a date, custom weekends. YEAR Returns the year. YEARFRAC Returns the fraction of a year between 2 dates. Engineering yes CONVERT Convert number from one unit to another. Financial yes FV Calculates the future value. PV Calculates the present value. NPER Calculates the total number of payment periods. PMT Calculates the payment amount. RATE Calculates the interest Rate. NPV Calculates the net present value. IRR The internal rate of return for a set of periodic CFs. XIRR The internal rate of return for a set of non-periodic CFs. PRICE Calculates the price of a bond. YIELD Calculates the bond yield. INTRATE The interest rate of a fully invested security. Information yes CELL Returns information about a cell. ERROR.TYPE Returns a value representing the cell error. ISBLANK Test if cell is blank. TRUE/FALSE ISERR Test if cell value is an error, ignores #N/A. TRUE/FALSE ISERROR Test if cell value is an error. TRUE/FALSE ISEVEN Test if cell value is even. TRUE/FALSE ISFORMULA Test if cell is a formula. TRUE/FALSE ISLOGICAL Test if cell is logical (TRUE or FALSE). TRUE/FALSE ISNA Test if cell value is #N/A. TRUE/FALSE ISNONTEXT Test if cell is not text (blank cells are not text). TRUE/FALSE ISNUMBER Test if cell is a number. TRUE/FALSE ISODD Test if cell value is odd. TRUE/FALSE ISREF Test if cell value is a reference. TRUE/FALSE ISTEXT Test if cell is text. TRUE/FALSE N Converts a value to a number. NA Returns the error: #N/A. TYPE Returns the type of value in a cell. Math yes ABS Calculates the absolute value of a number. AGGREGATE Define and perform calculations for a database or a list. CEILING Rounds a number up, to the nearest specified multiple. COS Returns the cosine of an angle. DEGREES Converts radians to degrees. DSUM Sums database records that meet certain criteria. EVEN Rounds to the nearest even integer. EXP Calculates the exponential value for a given number. FACT Returns the factorial. FLOOR Rounds a number down, to the nearest specified multiple. GCD Returns the greatest common divisor. INT Rounds a number down to the nearest integer. LCM Returns the least common multiple. LN Returns the natural logarithm of a number. LOG Returns the logarithm of a number to a specified base. LOG10 Returns the base-10 logarithm of a number. MOD Returns the remainder after dividing. MROUND Rounds a number to a specified multiple. ODD Rounds to the nearest odd integer. PI The value of PI. POWER Calculates a number raised to a power. PRODUCT Multiplies an array of numbers. QUOTIENT Returns the integer result of division. RADIANS Converts an angle into radians. RAND Calculates a random number between 0 and 1. RANDBETWEEN Calculates a random number between two numbers. ROUND Rounds a number to a specified number of digits. ROUNDDOWN Rounds a number down (towards zero). ROUNDUP Rounds a number up (away from zero). SIGN Returns the sign of a number. SIN Returns the sine of an angle. SQRT Calculates the square root of a number. SUBTOTAL Returns a summary statistic for a series of data. SUM Adds numbers together. SUMIF Sums numbers that meet a criteria. SUMIFS Sums numbers that meet multiple criteria. SUMPRODUCT Multiplies arrays of numbers and sums the resultant array. TAN Returns the tangent of an angle. TRUNC Truncates a number to a specific number of digits. Stats yes AVERAGE Averages numbers. AVERAGEA Averages numbers. Includes text & FALSE =0, TRUE =1. AVERAGEIF Averages numbers that meet a criteria. AVERAGEIFS Averages numbers that meet multiple criteria. CORREL Calculates the correlation of two series. COUNT Counts cells that contain a number. COUNTA Count cells that are non-blank. COUNTBLANK Counts cells that are blank. COUNTIF Counts cells that meet a criteria. COUNTIFS Counts cells that meet multiple criteria. FORECAST Predict future y-values from linear trend line. FREQUENCY Counts values that fall within specified ranges. GROWTH Calculates Y values based on exponential growth. INTERCEPT Calculates the Y intercept for a best-fit line. LARGE Returns the kth largest value. LINEST Returns statistics about a trendline. MAX Returns the largest number. MEDIAN Returns the median number. MIN Returns the smallest number. MODE Returns the most common number. PERCENTILE Returns the kth percentile. PERCENTILE.INC Returns the kth percentile. Where k is inclusive. PERCENTILE.EXC Returns the kth percentile. Where k is exclusive. QUARTILE Returns the specified quartile value. QUARTILE.INC Returns the specified quartile value. Inclusive. QUARTILE.EXC Returns the specified quartile value. Exclusive. RANK Rank of a number within a series. RANK.AVG Rank of a number within a series. Averages. RANK.EQ Rank of a number within a series. Top Rank. SLOPE Calculates the slope from linear regression. SMALL Returns the kth smallest value. STDEV Calculates the standard deviation. STDEV.P Calculates the SD of an entire population. STDEV.S Calculates the SD of a sample. STDEVP Calculates the SD of an entire population TREND Calculates Y values based on a trendline. Text yes CHAR Returns a character specified by a code. CLEAN Removes all non-printable characters. CODE Returns the numeric code for a character. CONCATENATE Combines text together. DOLLAR Converts a number to text in currency format. EXACT Test if cells are exactly equal. Case-sensitive. TRUE/FALSE FIND Locates position of text within a cell.Case-sensitive. LEFT Truncates text a number of characters from the left. LEN Counts number of characters in text. LOWER Converts text to lower case. MID Extracts text from the middle of a cell. PROPER Converts text to proper case. REPLACE Replaces text based on it’s location. REPT Repeats text a number of times. RIGHT Truncates text a number of characters from the right. SEARCH Locates position of text within a cell.Not Case-sensitive. SUBSTITUTE Finds and replaces text. Case-sensitive. TEXT Converts a value into text with a specific number format. TRIM Removes all extra spaces from text. UPPER Converts text to upper case. VALUE Converts a number stored as text into a number.

Earlier, we learned about how to count cells with numbers, count cells with text, count blank cells and count cells with specific criterias. In this article, we will learn about how to count all cells in a range in excel.

There is no individual function in excel that returns total count of cells in a given range. But this doesn’t mean we can’t count all cell in excel range. Let’s explore some formulas for counting cells in a given range.
Using COUNTA and COUNTBLANK to Count Cells in a Range
*this method has problem.
As we know that t COUNTA function in excel counts any cell which is not blank. On the other hand COUNTBLANK function counts blank cell in a range. Yes, you guessed it write, we can add them to get total number of cells.
Generic Formula to Count Cells

=COUNTA(range)+COUNTBLANK(range)

Example

Suppose, I want to to count total number of cells in range A1:B6. We can see that it has 12 cells. Now let’s use the above formula for counting the cell in given range.

=COUNTA(A1:B6)+COUNTBLANK(A1:B6)

This formula to get cell count in range returns the correct answer.

The problem: If you read about COUNTA function, you’ll find that it counts any cell containing anything, even a formula that returns blank. COUNTBLANK function also counts any cell which is blank, even if it is returned by a formula. Now since both functions will count same cells, the returned value will be incorrect. So, use this formula to count cells, when you are sure that no formula returns blank value.

Count cells in a range using ROWS and COLUMN Function
Now, we all know that a range is made of rows and columns. Any range has at least one column and one row. So, if we multiply rows with columns, we will get our number of cell in excel range. This is same as we used to calculate the area of a rectangle.

Generic Formula to Count Cells

=ROWS(range)*COLUMNS(range)

Let’s implement this formula in above range to count cells.

=ROWS(A1:B6)*COLUMNS(A1:B6)

This returns the accurate number of cells in range a1:B6. It doesn’t matter what values these cells hold.
How it works
It is simple. The ROWS function, returns count of rows in range, which is 6 in this case. Similarly, COLUMN function returns the number of columns in the range, which is 2 in this example. The formula multiplies and returns the final result as 12.
CountCells VBA Function to Count All Cells in a Range
In both of the above methods, we had to use two function of excel, and provide the same range twice. This can lead to be human error. So we can define a user defined function to count cells in a range. This is easy.
Press ALT+F11 to open VBA editor. Go to insert and click on module. Now copy below VBA code in that module.

Function CountCells(rng As Range)
CountCells = rng.CountLarge
End Function

Return to your excel file. Write CountCells function to count cells in a range. Provide range in parameter. The function will return the number of cell in the given range.

Let’s take the same example.

Write below formula to count cells in range A1:B6

=CountCells(A1:B6)

How it works

Actually, CountLarge is method of range object that counts the cell in a given range. CountCells function takes the range from user as argument and returns the cell count in range using Range.CountLarge.

This method is faster and easy to use. Once you define this function for counting cells in a range in excel, you can use it as many times as you want.

So yeah, these are the formulas to count cells in a range in excel. If you know any other ways, let us know in the comments section below.

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How to Count Cells that contain specific text in Excel

How to Count Unique Values In Excel

How to use the COUNT Function in Excel

How to Count Cells With Text in Excel

How to use the COUNTIFS Function in Excel

How to use the COUNTIF function in Excel

Get the Count of table rows & columns in Excel

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How to Use the COUNT function in Excel (and COUNTA)

How to Use the COUNT function in Excel (and COUNTA)

Apart from storing and manipulating numbers, sometimes, you may want to use Excel to simply count numbers.

For example, the number of students in a class, the number of items on a list, etc.

To do so, Excel offers two functions, the COUNT and the COUNTA function. Both the said functions are super easy to operate and can prove very handy. 😀

Read through this tutorial till the end to master both these functions. Also, download our free sample workbook right here to practice alongside you read.

How to use the COUNT function to count cells in Excel

The COUNT function of Excel is going to be one of the simplest functions you’d ever come across.

Take the data in the image below.

1. To count these cells, write the COUNT function as follows.

=COUNT (A1:A6)

2. Here is the count produced by Excel.

Must note how the COUNT function has ignored the blank cell in between.

Pro Tip!

Did you notice how the COUNT function gives results that are not obvious to the eyes? We can see there are five values in the above formula.

The COUNT formula, however, only returns 4 as the count.

This is because the COUNT function only counts certain values that are either:

• Numeric values
• Date and Time values
• Boolean values (TRUE/FALSE)
• Numeric values enclosed in quotation marks (like “10”)

Umbrella is a text value, hence ignored by the COUNT function.

3. If you do not have a cell range to specify, you may also specify values inside the formula separated by a comma.

=COUNT (1, 2, 12/12/22, hello)

Must know that Excel 2007 (and newer versions) can only accept up to 255 values (arguments).

Until Excel 2007, this number was only 30. 🤨

Kasper Langmann, Microsoft Office Specialist

Counting cells in non-adjacent ranges

Can the COUNT function tackle non-adjacent ranges like in the image below?

1. Write the following formula.

=COUNT (A1:A5, B1:B6, C1:C10)

We have specified each non-adjacent range as a separate argument.

2. The COUNT function counts all the non-blank cells.

COUNT vs COUNTA: Count numbers or non-empty cells

What differentiates the COUNT and COUNTA functions? A few things.

1. The COUNT function only counts cells containing specified values. These values include numbers, dates, time, and logical values (TRUE / FALSE). It also counts in numerical values enclosed in Quotation marks (“”).

Any value other than these would not be counted in by the COUNT function. It also ignores any text string.

2. The COUNT function ignores any blank cell in the specified range.

3. The COUNTA function only counts all non-blank cells.

A blank cell means a cell is all blank (no value). If a cell is only apparently blank, the COUNTA function would treat it as a non-blank cell and count it in.

An apparently blank cell may be the one with space even. Or some function the result whereof is a blank cell.

Kasper Langmann, Microsoft Office Specialist

How to use the COUNTA function to count non-empty cells

It’s time we see how the COUNTA function works.

The COUNTA function counts all non-blank cells (containing any values).

Let’s apply the COUNTA function to the data in the image below.

1. Write the COUNTA function as below.

= COUNTA (A1:A10)

2. COUNTA gives the results as follows.

The results show 8 cells. However, we only see 7 cells that contain values.

That’s what you see. One cell in between doesn’t have a value but a space character.

Even if a cell has a space character, the COUNTA function doesn’t treat it as a blank cell. It is included in the count of cells. 😏

The COUNTA function counts all values including text values and ERROR values. Error values include errors posed by Excel like the #NAME! error etc.

Kasper Langmann, Microsoft Office Specialist

Count cells using the status bar

If you’re running out of time and want a quick count of cells containing data – this section is for you.

You can count non-blank cells in Excel without operating a function.

1. Select the cells containing data.

Navigate to the right bottom of your spreadsheet to see the count of cells.

2. Or you can select multiple column headers (or row headers). In this case, Excel will count the number of non-blank cells in each column (or row).

That’s it – Now what?

This guide teaches you the basics of the COUNT and COUNTA functions. It differentiates between them both and explains when should you use each of them.

Both the COUNT and COUNTA functions would help you in many situations. But these are only two very basic functions of Excel.

There’s much more to learn from this giant spreadsheet software. Some functions of Excel that you MUST learn are the VLOOKUP, SUMIF, and IF functions.

Register for my 30-minute free email course that is designed to offer you insights into these functions (and more).

Other resources

There are many advanced versions of the COUNT and COUNTA functions of Excel. For example the COUNTIF function and the COUNTIFS function.

The COUNTIF function counts cells that meet a single criterion. Whereas, the COUNTIFS function counts cells that meet multiple criteria. Check them out here!

Additionally, you may want to learn how to use operators in the COUNTIF Function.

Kasper Langmann2022-11-03T07:04:06+00:00

Home > Microsoft Excel > How to Count Cells with Text in Excel? 3 Different Use Cases

(Note: This guide on how to count cells with text in Excel is suitable for all Excel versions including Office 365)

Excel deals with a variety of data of diverse data types. Excel can accept data in the form of numbers, text, characters, and operators. When storing large amounts of data, sorting and retrieving one particular type of data can be quite difficult.

In a spreadsheet consisting of different data types, you might sometimes have to pinpoint the cells with text and count them to perform any function or operation. 

In this article, I will tell you how to count cells with text in Excel along with their use cases.

You’ll Learn:

• What Is Count in Excel?
• How to Count Cells with Text in Excel?
  • Count All the Text Values
  • Count Cells with Text Value Without Blank Spaces
  • Count Cells with a Particular Text Value
• Reminders

Watch our video on how to count cells with text in Excel

Related Reads:

How to Count Unique Values in Excel? 3 Easy Ways to Count Unique and Distinct Values

How to Apply the Accounting Number Format in Excel? (3 Best methods)

How to Use Excel COUNTIFS: The Best Guide

What Is Count in Excel?

Before we learn how to count cells with text in Excel, let us refresh the concept of COUNT in Excel. Let us see what COUNT is and how Excel counts the values. 

Counting is one of the most commonly used functions in Excel which provides a numerical summary of the total values which might be useful in a variety of places. In simpler terms, Excel counts how many times a value appears in a column or row.

In Excel, you can count the number of cells or the values it houses by using functions. Excel has a variety of functions that help in counting. Functions like COUNT and COUNTA are used to count all the cells in a particular range or select cells which house a particular value. On the other hand, COUNTIF and COUNTIFS functions count cells only if they satisfy a particular value. 

In the case where we want to count the number of cells with text in Excel, the function COUNTIF/COUNTIFS is the best choice. Using these functions, you can set criteria to the function so it counts only the cells which house the text values in the cell.

How to Count Cells with Text in Excel?

Texts are also called strings in Excel. When it comes to technological terms, strings are a block of text which might contain any identifying values. They can be individual values like name or address, or they can be a variable that points to another constant.

In Excel, they are usually written with alphanumeric characters which are enclosed by double quotation marks or can be written with an apostrophe. Additionally, they can be a result of logical functions like TRUE or FALSE, or may even be special characters like !, @, #, and $.

Count All the Text Values

To count all the text values in the given Excel sheet, you can use the COUNTIF function along with a wildcard character. This function with a wildcard counts all the text values in a given range.

To count the cells with text in Excel, choose a destination cell and enter the formula =COUNTIF(range,criteria). Here, the range denotes the array of cells within which you want the function to act. The criteria variable denotes the condition to satisfy when counting the values.

Consider the below given example. To find the cells with text values in a given range, enter the formula =COUNTIF(A3:A10,”*”). The function COUNTIF acts on the cell range A3 to A10 and finds the text values. The * represents the wildcard element. The * symbol specifies anything other than numbers to be counted, including blank spaces and special characters. However, this method does not count logical values.

The cells with text within a given range are found to be 7. If you count the values manually, you will notice that the cells with text values are 5. But, the cells A11 and A12 also contain characters like space ( ) and apostrophe (‘) which do not show up in the cell.

Also Read:

How to Hide Formulas in Excel? 2 Different Approaches

How to Select Non Adjacent Cells in Excel? 5 Simple Ways

How to Rotate Text in Excel? 3 Effective Ways

Count Cells with Text Value Without Blank Spaces

You can use the same COUNTIF function and wildcards to count the number of cells with text in them. This method only counts cells that hold any text value and does not count any blank cell in the given range.

To count the cells which have text value in them, enter the formula =COUNTIF(range,criteria) in the destination cell. This is the same as the previous case, but adding wildcard “?” together with “*” only counts the cells which have text values.

Consider the below given example. To find the cells with text values in a given range, enter the formula =COUNTIF(A3:A12,”?*”). Here, the function COUNTIF counts the number of cells in the range of cells A3 to A12. Whereas for the criteria parameter, instead of just passing “*” which counts all the cells with text values, adding the “?” wildcard to the criteria counts the cells which have at least one character. 

As result, the cells which have text values are found to be 6. You can see the text values aligned to the left of the cell whereas the numerical values are aligned to the right of the cell. This function also counts the apostrophe as a text character, but it does not count the blank spaces.

Count Cells with a Particular Text Value

With the help of wildcards and the COUNTIF function, you can also count the cells with any specific text values in Excel. 

Using this method, you’ll learn how to count specific words in Excel. To count the cells with the specific value, you can just enter the text to count within quotations when you pass the criteria parameter. 

Let me show you an example. Suppose you want to count the occurrences of the word “two” in a range of cells. You can just enter the formula in the =COUNTIF(A3:A12,”two”) to count the occurrences of the word “two” in the given range of cells A3 to A12.  

Wildcards can be used to count cells with a specific text value. 

Imagine you want to count the number of cells that contain the text starting with any particular letter or character. Say, you want to count the number of cells that starts with the letter “t”, then you can use the “*” wildcard.

Consider the example, in the cell range A3 to A12 you want to count the number of cells which start with the letter “t”. Then, enter the function =COUNTIF(A3:A12,“t*”) in the destination cell.

The resultant value is 2. This denotes that when you want to find the cells which start with the letter “t”, you can enter the value “t*” in the criteria parameter. As a result, the COUNTIF function counts the cells which start with the letter “t” irrespective of the number of characters that follow them. 

Another case to use the wildcard is to count any one particular value. For example, if you want to find the occurrences of a three-letter word that have the starting letter “t” and ends with “o”, you can use the “?” wildcard. As the “*” wildcard replaces any number of characters, the “?” wildcard only replaces one character.

In this case, the count function only counts the cells with three characters which start with “t” and end with “o” and counts them.

Suggested Reads:

How to Use SUMPRODUCT Function in Excel? 5 Easy Examples

How to Use the PROPER Function in Excel? 3 Easy Examples

Excel DATEVALUE – A Step-by-Step Guide

Reminders

• Wildcards can take the place of characters and are of three types: *, ?, and ~. Use the * wildcard when you want to replace more than one character, use the ? wildcard to replace exactly one character, and ~ to replace and search for the exact character. Wildcards are not case-sensitive. Additionally, wildcards only work on text and not on numbers.
• Sometimes when a cell appears blank, it does not necessarily mean that the cell is empty. Characters like space ( ), apostrophe (‘), and double quotation marks(””) also make the cell look empty. But technically, they are considered text.
• When looking for cells with text manually, you can easily distinguish the text from the number in Excel. Numbers are aligned to the right of the cell, whereas text is aligned to the left of the cell.

Frequently Asked Questions

Closing Thoughts

In this article, we saw how to count cells with text in Excel. Additionally, we saw all the ways you can use the COUNTIF function to count the text values without including the blank spaces and counting cells with particular words. 

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