How to sum and count cells by color in Excel

In this article, you will learn new effective approaches to summing and counting cells in Excel by color. These solutions work for cells colored manually and with conditional formatting in all versions of Excel 2010 through Excel 365.

Even though Microsoft Excel has a variety of functions for different purposes, none can calculate cells based on their color. Aside from third-party tools, there is only one efficient solution - create your own functions. If you know very little about user-defined functions or have never heard of this term before, don't panic. The functions are already written and tested by us. All you need to do is to insert them in your workbook :)

How to count cells by color in Excel

Below, you can see the codes of two custom functions (technically, these are called user-defined functions or UDF). The first one is purposed for counting cells with a specific fill color and the other - font color. Both are written by Alex, one of our best Excel gurus.

Custom functions to count by color in Excel
Function CountCellsByColor(data_range As Range, cell_color As Range) As Long Dim indRefColor As Long Dim cellCurrent As Range Dim cntRes As Long Application.Volatile cntRes = 0 indRefColor = cell_color.Cells(1, 1).Interior.Color For Each cellCurrent In data_range If indRefColor = cellCurrent.Interior.Color Then cntRes = cntRes + 1 End If Next cellCurrent CountCellsByColor = cntRes End Function Function CountCellsByFontColor(data_range As Range, font_color As Range) As Long Dim indRefColor As Long Dim cellCurrent As Range Dim cntRes As Long Application.Volatile cntRes = 0 indRefColor = font_color.Cells(1, 1).Font.Color For Each cellCurrent In data_range If indRefColor = cellCurrent.Font.Color Then cntRes = cntRes + 1 End If Next cellCurrent CountCellsByFontColor = cntRes End Function

Once the functions are added to your workbook, they will do all work behind the scenes, and you can use them in the usual way, just like any other native Excel function. From the end-user perspective, the functions have the following look.

Count cells by fill color

To count cells with a particular background color, this is the function to use:

CountCellsByColor(data_range, cell_color)

Where:

  • Data_range is a range in which to count cells.
  • Cell_color is a reference to the cell with the target fill color.

To count cells of a specific color in a given range, carry out these steps:

  1. Insert the code of the CountCellsByColor function in your workbook.
  2. In a cell where you want the result to appear, start typing the formula: =CountCellsByColor(
  3. For the first argument, enter the range in which you want to count colored cells.
  4. For the second argument, supply the cell with the target color.
  5. Press the Enterkey. Done!

For example, to find out how many cells in range B3:F24 have the same color as H3, the formula is:

=CountCellsByColor(B3:F24, H3)

In our sample dataset, the cells with values less than 150 are colored in yellow, and the cells with values higher than 350 in green. The function gets both counts with ease:
Counting cells by color in Excel

Count cells by font color

In case your cell values have different font colors, you can count them using this function:

CountCellsByFontColor(data_range, font_color)

Where:

  • Data_range is a range in which to count cells.
  • Font_color is a reference to the cell with the sample font color.

For example, to get the number of cells in B3:F24 whose values have the same font color as H3, the formula is:

=CountCellsByFontColor(B3:F24, H3)
Custom function to count cells by font color in Excel

Tip. If you'd like to name the functions differently, feel free to change the names directly in the code.

How to sum by color in Excel

To sum colored values, add the following two functions to your workbook. As with the previous example, the first one handles fill color and the other - font color.

Custom functions to sum by color in Excel
Function SumCellsByColor(data_range As Range, cell_color As Range) Dim indRefColor As Long Dim cellCurrent As Range Dim sumRes Application.Volatile sumRes = 0 indRefColor = cell_color.Cells(1, 1).Interior.Color For Each cellCurrent In data_range If indRefColor = cellCurrent.Interior.Color Then sumRes = WorksheetFunction.Sum(cellCurrent, sumRes) End If Next cellCurrent SumCellsByColor = sumRes End Function Function SumCellsByFontColor(data_range As Range, font_color As Range) Dim indRefColor As Long Dim cellCurrent As Range Dim sumRes Application.Volatile sumRes = 0 indRefColor = font_color.Cells(1, 1).Font.Color For Each cellCurrent In data_range If indRefColor = cellCurrent.Font.Color Then sumRes = WorksheetFunction.Sum(cellCurrent, sumRes) End If Next cellCurrent SumCellsByFontColor = sumRes End Function

Sum values by cell color

To sum by fill color in Excel, this is function to use:

SumCellsByColor(data_range, cell_color)

Where:

  • Data_range is a range in which to sum values.
  • Cell_color is a reference to the cell with the fill color of interest.

For example, to add up the values of all cells in B3:F24 that are shaded with the same color as H3, the formula is:

=SumCellsByColor(B3:F24, H3)
Sum values by fill color in Excel.

Sum values by font color

To sum numeric values with a specific font color, use this function:

SumCellsByFontColor(data_range, font_color)

Where:

  • Data_range is a range in which to sum cells.
  • Font_color is a reference to the cell with the target font color.

For instance, to add up all the values in cells B3:F24 with the same font color as the value in H3, the formula is:

=SumCellsByFontColor(B3:F24, H3)
Sum values by font color in Excel.

Count and sum by color across entire workbook

To count and sum cells of a certain color in all sheets of a given workbook, we created two separate functions, which are named WbkCountByColor and WbkSumByColor, respectively. Here comes the code:

Custom functions to count and sum by color across workbook
Function WbkCountByColor(cell_color As Range) Dim vWbkRes Dim wshCurrent As Worksheet Application.ScreenUpdating = False Application.Calculation = xlCalculationManual vWbkRes = 0 For Each wshCurrent In Worksheets wshCurrent.Activate vWbkRes = vWbkRes + CountCellsByColor(wshCurrent.UsedRange, cell_color) Next Application.ScreenUpdating = True Application.Calculation = xlCalculationAutomatic WbkCountByColor = vWbkRes End Function Function WbkSumByColor(cell_color As Range) Dim vWbkRes Dim wshCurrent As Worksheet Application.ScreenUpdating = False Application.Calculation = xlCalculationManual vWbkRes = 0 For Each wshCurrent In Worksheets wshCurrent.Activate vWbkRes = vWbkRes + SumCellsByColor(wshCurrent.UsedRange, cell_color) Next Application.ScreenUpdating = True Application.Calculation = xlCalculationAutomatic WbkSumByColor = vWbkRes End Function

Note. To make the functions' code more compact, we refer to the two previously discussed functions that count and sum within a specified range. So, for the "workbook functions" to work, be sure to add the code of the CountCellsByColor and SumCellsByColor functions to your Excel too.

How to count colored cells in entire workbook

To find out how many cells of a particular color there are in all sheets of a given workbook, use this function:

WbkCountByColor(cell_color)

The function takes just one argument - a reference to any cell filled with the color of interest. So, a real-life formula may look something like this:

=WbkCountByColor(A1)

Where A1 is the cell with the sample fill color.

How to sum colored cells in whole workbook

To get a total of values in all cells of the current workbook highlighted with a particular color, use this function:

WbkSumByColor(cell_color)

Assuming the target color is in cell B1, the formula takes this form:

=WbkSumByColor(B1)

Count and sum conditionally formatted cells

The custom functions for adding up and counting color-coded cells are really nice, aren't they? The problem is that they do not work for cells colored with conditional formatting, alas :(

To handle conditional formatting, we have written a different code (kudos to Alex again!). It works well with both preset formats and custom formula-based rules. Contrasting with the previous examples, this code is a macro, not a function. The macro counts and sums conditionally formatted cells by fill color. Please insert it in your VBA Editor, and then follow the below instructions.

VBA macro to count and sum conditionally formatted cells.
Sub SumCountByConditionalFormat() Dim indRefColor As Long Dim cellsColorSample As Range Dim cntRes As Long Dim sumRes Dim cntCells As Long Dim indCurCell As Long On Error Resume Next cntRes = 0 sumRes = 0 cntCells = Selection.CountLarge Set cellsColorSample = Application.InputBox( _ "Select sample color:", "Select a cell with sample color", _ Application.Selection.Address, Type:=8) If Not (cellsColorSample Is Nothing) Then indRefColor = cellsColorSample.Cells(1, 1).DisplayFormat.Interior.Color For indCurCell = 1 To (cntCells) If indRefColor = Selection(indCurCell).DisplayFormat.Interior.Color Then cntRes = cntRes + 1 sumRes = WorksheetFunction.Sum(Selection(indCurCell), sumRes) End If Next MsgBox "Count=" & cntRes & vbCrLf & "Sum= " & sumRes & vbCrLf & vbCrLf & _ "Color=" & Left("000000", 6 - Len(Hex(indRefColor))) & _ Hex(indRefColor) & vbCrLf, , "Count & Sum by Conditional Format color" End If End Sub

How to count and sum conditionally formatted cells using VBA macro

With the macro's code inserted in your Excel, this is what you need to do:

  1. Select one or more ranges where you want to count and sum colored cells. Make sure the selected range(s) contains numerical data.
  2. Press Alt + F8, select the SumCountByConditionalFormat macro in the list, and click Run.
  3. A small dialog box will pop asking you to select a cell with the sample color. Do this and click OK.

VBA macro to count and sum conditionally formatted cells

For this example, we used the inbuilt Highlight Cell Rules and got the following results:

  • Count (12) the number of cells in range B2:E22 with the same color as G3.
  • Sum (1512) is the sum of values in cells formatted with Light Red Fill.
  • Color is a hexadecimal color code of the sample cell.

A count and sum of conditional formats

Tip. The sample workbook with the SumCountByConditionalFormat macro is available for download at the end of this post.

How to get cell color in Excel

If you need (or are curious) to know the color of a specific cell (fill or font color), add the following user-defined functions to your Excel. It returns ColorIndex as a decimal number.

Custom functions to get the cell color
Function GetCellColor(cell_ref As Range) Dim indRow, indColumn As Long Dim arResults() Application.Volatile If cell_ref Is Nothing Then Set cell_ref = Application.ThisCell End If If cell_ref.Count > 1 Then ReDim arResults(1 To cell_ref.Rows.Count, 1 To cell_ref.Columns.Count) For indRow = 1 To cell_ref.Rows.Count For indColumn = 1 To cell_ref.Columns.Count arResults(indRow, indColumn) = cell_ref(indRow, indColumn).Interior.Color Next Next GetCellColor = arResults Else GetCellColor = cell_ref.Interior.Color End If End Function Function GetFontColor(cell_ref As Range) Dim indRow, indColumn As Long Dim arResults() Application.Volatile If cell_ref Is Nothing Then Set cell_ref = Application.ThisCell End If If cell_ref.Count > 1 Then ReDim arResults(1 To cell_ref.Rows.Count, 1 To cell_ref.Columns.Count) For indRow = 1 To cell_ref.Rows.Count For indColumn = 1 To cell_ref.Columns.Count arResults(indRow, indColumn) = cell_ref(indRow, indColumn).Font.Color Next Next GetFontColor = arResults Else GetFontColor = cell_ref.Font.Color End If End Function

Note. The functions only work for colors applied manually, and not with conditional formatting.

Get fill color of a cell

To return a decimal code of the color a given cell is highlighted with, make use of this function:

GetCellColor(cell_ref)

For example, to get the color of cell A2, the formula is:

=GetCellColor(A2)

Get font color of a cell

To get a font color of a cell, use an analogous function:

GetFontColor(cell_ref)

For instance, to find the font color of cell E2, the formula is:

=GetFontColor(E2)

Get hexadecimal color code of a cell

To convert a decimal color index returned by our custom functions into a hexadecimal color code, make use of Excel's native DEC2HEX function.

For example:

="#"&DEC2HEX(GetCellColor(A2))

="#"&DEC2HEX(GetFontColor(E2))
Custom functions to get a cell's color in Excel

How to insert VBA code in your workbook

To add the function's or macro's code to your Excel, move on with these 4 steps:

  1. In your workbook, press Alt + F11 to open Visual Basic Editor.
  2. In the left pane, right-click on the workbook name, and then choose Insert > Module from the context menu.
  3. In the Code window, insert the code of the desired function(s):
  4. Save your file as Macro-Enabled Workbook (.xlsm).

If you are not very comfortable with VBA, you can find the detailed step-by-step instructions and a handful of useful tips in this tutorial: How to insert and run VBA code in Excel.

How to get custom functions to update

When summing and counting color-coded cells in Excel, please keep in mind that your formulas won't recalculate automatically after coloring a few more cells or changing existing colors. Please don't be angry with us, this is not a bug in our code :)

The point is that changing cell color in Excel does not trigger worksheet recalculation. To get the formulas to update, press either F9 to recalculate all open workbooks or Shift + F9 to recalculate only the active sheet. Or just place the cursor into any cell and press F2, and then hit Enter. For more information, please see How to force recalculation in Excel.

Fastest way to calculate colored cells in Excel

If you do not want to waste time tinkering with VBA codes, I'm happy to introduce you to our very simple but powerful Count & Sum by Color tool. Together with 70+ other time-saving add-ins, it is included with Ultimate Suite for Excel.

Once installed, you will find it on the Ablebits Tools tab of your Excel ribbon:
Ablebits Count & Sum by Color tool for Excel

And here is a short summary of what the Count & Sum by Color add-in can do:

  • Count and sum cells by color in all versions of Excel 2016 - Excel 365.
  • Find average, maximum and minimum values in the colored cells.
  • Handle cells colored manually and with conditional formatting.
  • Paste the results anywhere in a worksheet as values or formulas.

Sum and count cells by one color

Selecting the Sum & Count by One Color option will open the following pane in the left part of your worksheet. You specify the source range and sample cell, then then click Calculate.

The result will appear on the pane straight away! No macros, no formulas, no pain :)

Apart from count and sum, the add-in also shows Average, Max and Min for colored numbers. To insert a particular value in the sheet, click the Paste button next to it. Or click Paste All to have all the results inserted at once:
Calculate cells in Excel by selected color.

Count and sum all colored cells at once

To handle all colored cells at a time, choose the Sum & Count by All Color option. Basically, it works in the same way, except that instead of color, you choose the function to calculate.
Calculate all colored cells at once.

Tip. To have the results inserted in the worksheet as formulas (custom functions), check the corresponding box at the bottom of the pane.

Well, calculating colored cells in Excel is pretty easy, isn't it? Of course, if you have that little gem that makes the magic happen :) Curious to see how our add-in will cope with your colored cells? The download link is right below.

Available downloads

Sum and count by color in Excel - examples (.xlsm file)
Ultimate Suite 14-day fully-functional version (.exe file)

Table of contents

820 comments

  1. Hi, great extention and very helpful, thanks. But if I need to pick just several cells instead of a certain range I can't understand how to.
    for example instead of
    =SumCellsByColor(D18:F21;O20)
    I need to summm only four cells, like
    =SumCellsByColor(E18+F19+E20+D19;O20)
    but it doesn't work. What am I doing wrong?

    • Hi! Use either a single cell or a range of cells in the SumCellsByColor function. For example,

      SumCellsByColor(E18)+SumCellsByColor(F19)

  2. This is great stuff! Thank you. Got a question, though. Two columns side-by-side. Each column has cells that are colored either red or green. Trying to count the cells where it's red in column 1 and green in column 2, or green in column 1 and red in column 2. Also need to count the ones that are red in both columns and green in both columns. Is there a way to do this?

    • Hi!
      This formula can count how many cells in the both columns have a value equal to cell A2 and are colored red.

      =MIN(SUM((GetCellColor($A$2:$A$20)=255)*($A$2:$A$20=A2)), SUM((GetCellColor($B$2:$B$20)=255)*($B$2:$B$20=A2)))

      I'm not exactly imagining your data, so try the formula below as well. It compares the cells in each row in pairs.

      =SUM((GetCellColor($A$2:$A$20)=255) * (A2:A20=B2:B20) * (GetCellColor($B$2:$B$20)=255))

      Use the custom functions from the article above.

  3. The Count and sum by color across entire workbook was well explained and simple to embed into my Workbook.
    Thankyou so much!!

  4. Hello , I am using MICROSOFT OFFICE LTSC PROFESSIONAL PLUS 2021 and I follow the same formula and it still not work #NAME,
    Then I download the excel sample and copied the entire data with the formula and the result is the same #NAME

    Any help?

    • Hello!
      Have you saved the file where you added the code as a Macro-Enabled Workbook (.xlsm)? If the issue remains unresolved, please try downloading our sample workbook provided at the end of this article, unblocking the macro (Microsoft automatically blocks macros in any files downloaded from the internet), and see if the function works in that particular workbook.

    • Hi Fernando,

      From the sample workbook, you need to copy not only the data/formulas but also the function's VBA code. Have you done that?

  5. I have the following problem with respect to "Count on conditionally formatted cells"
    1. For my data I need to filter it first on 1st column lets say with INDEX or FILTER functions
    2. Range received as output of Step 1 needs to be used as Input of "Count on conditionally formatted cells"

    How to do this ?

    Example : lets take the same sample table as you showed but add another column before the 1st one as category
    Say choose 2 categories as "Fruit1" and "Fruit2" and place these category against each of 2nd column data

    Now I need separate "Count on conditionally formatted cells" for "Fruit1" category and separate for "Fruit2" category ...

    Pls help on how to achieve this ...

      • hmm... I am not familiar with VBA.. Is someone could help with this ?

  6. how to add the countecellby color in excel and not run the VBA.
    thanks !

  7. Hello! First of all, I really appreciate all the tips and tools; they are extremely helpful. So here is my problem. I added the Macro for CountCellsByColor and saved. Wrote for formula in the associated cell reference and it calculated, but the number it calculates is not correct. for example, I am approved for 10 staff, I have 9 currently and one potential new hire. So, instead of it count 9, it is calculating 14, what I am doing wrong?

  8. Using CountCellsByColor and SumByColor and they work GREAT! Thank you!!
    How would I then get the MAX from the SumByColor?
    I have tried a few things and none work, so far. Unfortunately, I do not code very well...

    • Looking for a MaxByColor routine.
    Any help would be most appreciated!

  9. Hey all! Thanks so much for posting this code. Is it possible to output conditionally formatted color count to a cell so that I can sum cells? I was able to use the macro to do it perfectly, but I need to be able to separate counts and then sum for a total. Is there any way to do this?

    • Nevermind, I found the answer below from Alexander and have used this successfully. Thank you Ablebits team for this help!!!

  10. I can't get this to work to save my life. I'm trying to get it to count cells by color, used your formula and it if throws #NAME? in the place of "CountCellsByColor".

      • Same problem. What is need to be followed in the 1st paragraph?

          • done this but still getting the #name? error

              • Having the same issue. Copied and pasted the CountCellsByColor VBA code. Saved workbook as .xlsm. Still getting the "#NAME?" error when trying to use the function.

    • Hi Steven,

      Did you save the file where you've added the code as a Macro-Enabled Workbook (.xlsm)?

      If the error persists, please try to download our sample workbook at the end of this article, unblock the macro (by default Microsoft blocks macros in all files downloaded from the internet), and see if the function works in that workbook.

  11. Much appreciated. I'm finding the coding her very helpful.

  12. Hello All,

    it was worked if count by number but not if it count by date. could you please help me on this.

    appreciated for your support.

  13. Hello. Thanks a lot for the codes. I am wondering whether it could be possible to use the function for conditionally formatted cells in a cell as a general function to be inserted in whatever cell (not as a macro in a dialog box). I.e. I am looking for adjusting the function for summing colored cells which would work for conditionally formatted cells as well. Any ideas about adjusting the code?
    Thanks.
    Stanley S

      • Hi Alexander! Below, in January Svetlana Cheusheva wrote a reply that there is only a macro available for both sum&count. But directly under this comment I am writing now I already asked you about some possible way of adjusting your code for function from "count" to "sum". Is it possible?
        Thanks!
        Have a nice day,
        Stanley

        • Hello!
          Try this code:

          Public Function SumByColorCells(CellRange As Range, TargetCell As Range)

          Dim TargetColor As Long, SumCells As Long, C As Range

          TargetColor = Evaluate("cfcolour(" & TargetCell.Address & ")")
          For Each C In CellRange
          If Evaluate("Cfcolour(" & C.Address & ")") = TargetColor Then SumCells = C + SumCells
          Next C
          SumByColorCells = SumCells
          End Function

  14. SIR,

    I AM NOT GET COUNT OF COLORS WHERE CONDITIONAL FORMATTING APPLIED BY ABOVE MENTIONED SOLUTIONS/

    KIDNLY HELP

    • Hello!
      This custom function counts all cells shaded by a certain color. Including with conditional formatting.

      Public Function CountByColorCells(CellRange As Range, TargetCell As Range)
      Dim TargetColor As Long, Count As Long, C As Range
      TargetColor = Evaluate("cfcolour(" & TargetCell.Address & ")")
      For Each C In CellRange
      If Evaluate("Cfcolour(" & C.Address & ")") = TargetColor Then Count = Count + 1
      Next C
      CountByColorCells = Count
      End Function

      Function CFColour(Cl As Range) As Double
      CFColour = Cl.DisplayFormat.Interior.Color
      End Function

      • Hi Alexander!
        Thank you for solving the case. Do you have any ideas on summing the range of cells including conditional formatted cells? Replacing "count" with "sum" in your code simply does not help but I do not know why...
        Thank you!
        Stanley S.

  15. I am using CountCellsByColor. Can I count cells that also contains a certain text? It counts the cell colors fine, but other users are highlighting other things in the same colors which are now giving wrong calculations. eg cells that are yellow, but also contain 'test' for example.

  16. This was really useful, I was trying to do an analysis and the way the analysis was done was by color. But I wanted to count some colors and wanted to do the "if" statement, is there a way I can do that?

    • Hi!
      Have you tried the ways described in this blog post? If they don’t work for you, then please describe your task in detail, I’ll try to suggest a solution.

  17. Nice code.

    Appears to be a small typo

    VBA macro to count and some conditionally formatted cells.
    Sub SumCountByConditionalFormat()

    ... and SUM conditionally ...

    • Hi Ron,

      Oops, a silly typo indeed. Fixed, thank you for pointing that out!

  18. Your code for "How to sum by color in Excel" is excellent with only one issue, it doesn't automatically recalculate if you color the cells after setting the the calcuation cell. Forcing the recalculate works well and my sheet is set to automatic recalculation but it will not. I assume closing and re-opening will also cause the recalc.

    Any help appreciated.

  19. Hello,

    I was able to use SumCountByConditionalFormat just fine as a sub however i was wondering if there is a way to make it a function? so instead of preselecting and answering a msgbox i could place the information in the formula bar?

    Thank you,

    Halle

  20. I really like the function. I am wondering If there is a way to make it refresh on color change. in other words, I use it to track tasks. So when I complete the task change the color of the cell. If I use the paintbrush it works but if I just apply the new color it does not update until I click into the cell and click out.

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