Math and statistics
COUNT function playground
Counts how many cells contain numbers (including dates).
The playground runs in your browser. Nothing you type is sent anywhere.
How COUNT works
COUNT looks at each cell and counts it only if it holds a number. Dates and times count too, because Excel stores them as numbers.
Text, blanks, TRUE/FALSE and errors in a range are not counted. Use COUNTA to count every non-empty cell, or COUNTBLANK-style checks with COUNTIF(range,"").
Syntax
=COUNT(value1, [value2], ...)| Argument | What it means |
|---|---|
value1required | The first cell, range or value to check. |
value2, ...optional | More cells, ranges or values. |
Examples
| Formula | What it does | Result |
|---|---|---|
=COUNT(C2:C9) | How many quantities are real numbers ("n/a" and the blank are skipped). | 6 |
=COUNT(D2:D9) | How many orders have an amount. | 6 |
=COUNT(A2:D9) | Count every number in the whole table. | 12 |
=COUNTA(C2:C9)-COUNT(C2:C9) | How many quantity cells contain something other than a number. | 1 |
Common mistakes
Expecting text to be countedCOUNT ignores text. To count names or codes, use COUNTA or COUNTIF.
Numbers stored as textImported numbers are sometimes text, so COUNT skips them.
Related functions
Learn more
Download the example workbook (.xlsx)
The workbook has the same sample data and formulas, plus a practice sheet.