by Microsoft Excel provides several functions purposed for counting different kinds of cells, such as blanks or non-blanks, with number, date or text values, containing specific words or character, etc.
In this article, we will focus on the Excel COUNTIF function that is purposed for counting cells with the condition you specify. First, we will briefly cover the syntax and general usage, and then I provide a number of examples and warn about possible quirks when using this function with multiple criteria and specific types of cells.
In essence, COUNTIF formulas are identical in all Excel versions, so you can use the examples from this tutorial in Excel 365, 2021, 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010 and 2007.
COUNTIF function in Excel - syntax and usage
Excel COUNTIF function is used for counting cells within a specified range that meet a certain criterion, or condition.
For example, you can write a COUNTIF formula to find out how many cells in your worksheet contain a number greater than or less than the number you specify. Another typical use of COUNTIF in Excel is for counting cells with a specific word or starting with a particular letter(s).
The syntax of the COUNTIF function is very simple:
As you see, there are only 2 arguments, both of which are required:
- range - defines one or several cells to count. You put the range in a formula like you usually do in Excel, e.g. A1:A20.
- criteria - defines the condition that tells the function which cells to count. It can be a number, text string, cell reference or expression. For instance, you can use the criteria like these: "10", A2, ">=10", "some text".
And here is the simplest example of Excel COUNTIF function. What you see in the image below is the list of the best tennis players for the last 14 years. The formula =COUNTIF(C2:C15,"Roger Federer") counts how many times Roger Federer's name is on the list:
Note. A criterion is case insensitive, meaning that if you type "roger federer" as the criteria in the above formula, this will produce the same result.
Excel COUNTIF function examples
As you have just seen, the syntax of the COUNTIF function is very simple. However, it allows for many possible variations of the criteria, including wildcard characters, the values of other cells, and even other Excel functions. This diversity makes the COUNTIF function really powerful and fit for many tasks, as you will see in the examples that follow.
COUNTIF formula for text and numbers (exact match)
In fact, we discussed the COUNTIF function that counts text values matching a specified criterion exactly a moment ago. Let me remind you that formula for cells containing an exact string of text: =COUNTIF(C2:C15,"Roger Federer"). So, you enter:
- A range as the first parameter;
- A comma as the delimiter;
- A word or several words enclosed in quotes as the criteria.
Instead of typing text, you can use a reference to any cell containing that word or words and get absolutely the same results, e.g. =COUNTIF(C1:C9,C7).
Similarly, COUNTIF formulas work for numbers. As shown in the screenshot below, the below formula perfectly counts cells with quantity 5 in Column D:
=COUNTIF(D2:D9, 5)
In this article, you will find a few more formulas to count cells that contain any text, specific characters or only filtered cells.
COUNTIF formulas with wildcard characters (partial match)
In case your Excel data include several variations of the keyword(s) you want to count, then you can use a wildcard character to count all the cells containing a certain word, phrase or letters as part of the cell's contents.
Suppose, you have a list of tasks assigned to different persons, and you want to know the number of tasks assigned to Danny Brown. Because Danny's name is written in several different ways, we enter "*Brown*" as the search criteria =COUNTIF(D2:D10, "*Brown*").
An asterisk (*) is used to find cells with any sequence of leading and trailing characters, as illustrated in the above example. If you need to match any single character, enter a question mark (?) instead, as demonstrated below.
Tip. It is also possible to use wildcards with cell references with the help of the concatenation operator (&). For example, instead of supplying "*Brown*" directly in the formula, you can type it in some cell, say F1, and use the following formula to count cells containing "Brown": =COUNTIF(D2:D10, "*"&F1&"*")
Count cells beginning or ending with certain characters
You can use either wildcard character, asterisk (*) or question mark (?), with the criterion depending on which exactly result you want to achieve.
If you want to know the number of cells that start or end with certain text no matter how many other characters a cell contains, use these formulas:
=COUNTIF(C2:C10,"Mr*") - count cells that begin with "Mr".
=COUNTIF(C2:C10,"*ed") - count cells that end with the letters "ed".
The image below demonstrates the second formula in action:
If you are looking for a count of cells that start or end with certain letters and contain the exact number of characters, you use the Excel COUNTIF function with the question mark character (?) in the criteria:
=COUNTIF(D2:D9,"??own") - counts the number of cells ending with the letters "own" and having exactly 5 characters in cells D2 through D9, including spaces.
=COUNTIF(D2:D9,"Mr??????") - counts the number of cells starting with the letters "Mr" and having exactly 8 characters in cells D2 through D9, including spaces.
Tip. To find the number of cells containing an actual question mark or asterisk, type a tilde (~) before the ? or * character in the formula. For example, =COUNTIF(D2:D9,"*~?*") will count all cells containing the question mark in the range D2:D9.
Excel COUNTIF for blank and non-blank cells
These formula examples demonstrate how you can use the COUNTIF function in Excel to count the number of empty or non-empty cells in a specified range.
COUNTIF not blank
In some Excel COUNTIF tutorials and other online resources, you may come across formulas for counting non-blank cells in Excel similar to this one:
=COUNTIF(A1:A10,"*")
But the fact is, the above formula counts only cells containing any text values including empty strings, meaning that cells with dates and numbers will be treated as blank cells and not included in the count!
If you need a universal COUNTIF formula for counting all non-blank cells in a specified range, here you go:
Or
This formula works correctly with all value types - text, dates and numbers - as you can see in the screenshot below.
COUNTIF blank
If you want the opposite, i.e. count blank cells in a certain range, you should adhere to the same approach - use a formula with a wildcard character for text values and with the "" criteria to count all empty cells.
Formula to count cells not containing any text:
Since an asterisk (*) matches any sequence of text characters, the formula counts cells not equal to *, i.e. not containing any text in the specified range.
Universal COUNTIF formula for blanks (all value types):
The above formula correctly handles numbers, dates and text values. For example, here's how you can get the number of empty cells in the range C2:C11:
=COUNTIF(C2:C11,"")
Please be aware that Microsoft Excel has another function for counting blank cells, COUNTBLANK. For instance, the following formulas will produce exactly the same results as the COUNTIF formulas you see in the screenshot above:
Count blanks:
=COUNTBLANK(C2:C11)
Count non-blanks:
=ROWS(C2:C11)*COLUMNS(C2:C11)-COUNTBLANK(C2:C11)
Also, please keep in mind that both COUNTIF and COUNTBLANK count cells with empty strings that only look blank. If you do not want to treat such cells as blanks, use "=" for criteria. For example:
=COUNTIF(C2:C11,"=")
For more information about counting blanks and not blanks in Excel, please see:
COUNTIF greater than, less than or equal to
To count cells with values greater than, less than or equal to the number you specify, you simply add a corresponding operator to the criteria, as shown in the table below.
Please pay attention that in COUNTIF formulas, an operator with a number are always enclosed in quotes.
| Criteria | Formula Example | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Count if greater than | =COUNTIF(A2:A10,">5") | Count cells where value is greater than 5. |
| Count if less than | =COUNTIF(A2:A10,"<5") | Count cells with values less than 5. |
| Count if equal to | =COUNTIF(A2:A10,"=5") | Count cells where value is equal to 5. |
| Count if not equal to | =COUNTIF(A2:A10,"<>5") | Count cells where value is not equal to 5. |
| Count if greater than or equal to | =COUNTIF(C2:C8,">=5") | Count cells where value is greater than or equal to 5. |
| Count if less than or equal to | =COUNTIF(C2:C8,"<=5") | Count cells where value is less than or equal to 5. |
You can also use all of the above formulas to count cells based on another cell value, you will just need to replace the number in the criteria with a cell reference.
Note. In case of a cell reference, you have to enclose the operator in quotes and add an ampersand (&) before the cell reference. For example, to count cells in the range D2:D9 with values greater than a value in cell D3, you use this formula =COUNTIF(D2:D9,">"&D3):
If you want to count cells that contain an actual operator as part of the cell's contents, i.e. the characters ">", "<" or "=", then use a wildcard character with the operator in the criteria. Such criteria will be treated as a text string rather than a numeric expression. For example, the formula =COUNTIF(D2:D9,"*>5*") will count all cells in the range D2:D9 with contents like this "Delivery >5 days" or ">5 available".
Using Excel COUNTIF function with dates
If you want to count cells with dates that are greater than, less than or equal to the date you specify or date in another cell, you proceed in the already familiar way using formulas similar to the ones we discussed a moment ago. All of the above formulas work for dates as well as for numbers. Let me give you just a few examples:
| Criteria | Formula Example | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Count dates equal to the specified date. | =COUNTIF(B2:B10,"6/1/2014") | Counts the number of cells in the range B2:B10 with the date 1-Jun-2014. |
| Count dates greater than or equal to another date. | =COUNTIF(B2:B10,">=6/1/2014") | Count the number of cells in the range B2:B10 with a date greater than or equal to 6/1/2014. |
| Count dates greater than or equal to a date in another cell, minus x days. | =COUNTIF(B2:B10,">="&B2-"7") | Count the number of cells in the range B2:B10 with a date greater than or equal to the date in B2 minus 7 days. |
Apart from these common usages, you can utilize the COUNTIF function in conjunction with specific Excel Date and Time functions such as TODAY() to count cells based on the current date.
| Criteria | Formula Example |
|---|---|
| Count dates equal to the current date. | =COUNTIF(A2:A10,TODAY()) |
| Count dates prior to the current date, i.e. less than today. | =COUNTIF(A2:A10,"<"&TODAY()) |
| Count dates after the current date, i.e. greater than today. | =COUNTIF(A2:A10,">"&TODAY()) |
| Count dates that are due in a week. | =COUNTIF(A2:A10,"="&TODAY()+7) |
| Count dates in a specific date range. | =COUNTIF(B2:B10, ">=6/1/2014")-COUNTIF(B2:B10, ">6/7/2014") |
Here is an example of using such formulas on real data (at the moment of writing today was 25-Jun-2014):
Excel COUNTIF with multiple criteria
In fact, Excel COUNTIF function is not exactly designed to count cells with multiple criteria. In most cases, you'd use its plural counterpart, the COUNTIFS function to count cells that match two or more criteria (AND logic). However, some tasks can be solved by combining two or more COUNTIF functions in one formula.
Count values between two numbers
One of the most common applications of Excel COUNTIF function with 2 criteria is counting numbers within a specific range, i.e. less than X but greater than Y. For example, you can use the following formula to count cells in the range B2:B9 where a value is greater than 5 and less than 15.
=COUNTIF(B2:B9,">5")-COUNTIF(B2:B9,">=15")
How this formula works:
Here, we use two separate COUNTIF functions - the first one finds out how many values are greater than 5 and the other one gets a count of values greater than or equal to 15. Then, you subtract the latter from the former and get the desired result.
Count cells with multiple OR criteria
In situations when you want to get several different items in a range, add 2 or more COUNTIF functions together. Supposing, you have a shopping list and you want to find out how many soft drinks are included. To have it done, use a formula similar to this:
=COUNTIF(B2:B13,"Lemonade")+COUNTIF(B2:B13,"*juice")
Please pay attention that we've included the wildcard character (*) in the second criterion, it is used to count all kinds of juice on the list.
In the same manner, you can write a COUNTIF formula with several conditions. Here is an example of the COUNTIF formula with multiple OR conditions that counts lemonade, juice and ice cream:
=COUNTIF(B2:B13,"Lemonade") + COUNTIF(B2:B13,"*juice") + COUNTIF(B2:B13,"Ice cream")
For other ways to count cells with OR logic, please see this tutorial: Excel COUNTIF and COUNTIFS with OR conditions.
Using COUNTIF function to find duplicates and unique values
Another possible usage of the COUNTIF function in Excel is for finding duplicates in one column, between two columns, or in a row.
Example 1. Find and count duplicates in 1 column
For example, this simple formula =COUNTIF(B2:B10,B2)>1 will spot all duplicate entries in the range B2:B10 while another function =COUNTIF(B2:B10,TRUE) will tell you how many dupes are there:
Example 2. Count duplicates between two columns
If you have two separate lists, say lists of names in columns B and C, and you want to know how many names appear in both columns, you can use Excel COUNTIF in combination with the SUMPRODUCT function to count duplicates:
=SUMPRODUCT((COUNTIF(B2:B1000,C2:C1000)>0)*(C2:C1000<>""))
We can even take a step further and count how many unique names there are in Column C, i.e. names that do NOT appear in Column B:
=SUMPRODUCT((COUNTIF(B2:B1000,C2:C1000)=0)*(C2:C1000<>""))
Tip. If you want to highlight duplicate cells or entire rows containing duplicate entries, you can create conditional formatting rules based on the COUNTIF formulas, as demonstrated in this tutorial - Excel conditional formatting formulas to highlight duplicates.
Example 3. Count duplicates and unique values in a row
If you want to count duplicates or unique values in a certain row rather than a column, use one of the below formulas. These formulas might be helpful, say, to analyze the lottery draw history.
Count duplicates in a row:
=SUMPRODUCT((COUNTIF(A2:I2,A2:I2)>1)*(A2:I2<>""))
Count unique values in a row:
=SUMPRODUCT((COUNTIF(A2:I2,A2:I2)=1)*(A2:I2<>""))
Excel COUNTIF - frequently asked questions and issues
I hope these examples have helped you to get a feel for the Excel COUNTIF function. If you've tried any of the above formulas on your data and were not able to get them to work or are having a problem with the formula you created, please look through the following 5 most common issues. There is a good chance that you will find the answer or a helpful tip there.
1. COUNTIF on a non-contiguous range of cells
Question: How can I use COUNTIF in Excel on a non-contiguous range or a selection of cells?
Answer: Excel COUNTIF does not work on non-adjacent ranges, nor does its syntax allow specifying several individual cells as the first parameter. Instead, you can use a combination of several COUNTIF functions:
Wrong: =COUNTIF(A2,B3,C4,">0")
Right: =COUNTIF(A2,">0") + COUNTIF(B3,">0") + COUNTIF(C4,">0")
An alternative way is using the INDIRECT function to create an array of ranges. For example, both of the below formulas produce the same result you see in the screenshot:
=SUM(COUNTIF(INDIRECT({"B2:B8","D2:C8"}),"=0"))
=COUNTIF($B2:$B8,0) + COUNTIF($C2:$C8,0)
2. Ampersand and quotes in COUNTIF formulas
Question: When do I need to use an ampersand in a COUNTIF formula?
Answer: It is probably the trickiest part of the COUNTIF function, which I personally find very confusing. Though if you give it some thought, you'll see the reasoning behind it - an ampersand and quotes are needed to construct a text string for the argument. So, you can adhere to these rules:
If you use a number or a cell reference in the exact match criteria, you need neither ampersand nor quotes. For example:
=COUNTIF(A1:A10,10)
or
=COUNTIF(A1:A10,C1)
If your criteria includes text, wildcard character or logical operator with a number, enclose it in quotes. For example:
=COUNTIF(A2:A10,"lemons")
or
=COUNTIF(A2:A10,"*") or =COUNTIF(A2:A10,">5")
In case your criteria is an expression with a cell reference or another Excel function, you have to use the quotes ("") to start a text string and ampersand (&) to concatenate and finish the string off. For example:
=COUNTIF(A2:A10,">"&D2)
or
=COUNTIF(A2:A10,"<="&TODAY())
If you are in doubt whether an ampersand is needed or not, try out both ways. In most cases an ampersand works just fine, e.g. both of the below formulas work equally well.
=COUNTIF(C2:C8,"<=5")
and
=COUNTIF(C2:C8,"<="&5)
3. COUNTIF for formatted (color coded) cells
Question: How do I count cells by fill or font color rather than by values?
Answer: Regrettably, the syntax of the Excel COUNTIF function does not allow using formats as the condition. The only possible way to count or sum cells based on their color is using a macro, or more precisely an Excel User-Defined function. You can find the code working for cells colored manually as well as for conditionally formatted cells in this article - How to count and sum Excel cells by fill and font color.
4. #NAME? error in the COUNTIF formula
Issue: My COUNTIF formula throws a #NAME? error. How can I get it fixed?
Answer: Most likely, you have supplied an incorrect range to the formula. Please check out point 1 above.
5. Excel COUNTIF formula not working
Issue: My COUNTIF formula is not working! What have I done wrong?
Answer: If you have written a formula which is seemingly correct but it does not work or produces a wrong result, start by checking the most obvious things such as a range, conditions, cell references, use of ampersand and quotes.
Be very careful with using spaces in a COUNTIF formula. When creating one of the formulas for this article I was on the verge of pulling my hair out because the correct formula (I knew with certainty it was right!) wouldn't work. As it turned out, the problem was in a measly space somewhere in between, argh... For instance, look at this formula:
=COUNTIF(B2:B13," Lemonade").
At first sight, there is nothing wrong about it, except for an extra space after the opening quotation mark. Microsoft Excel will swallow the formula just fine without an error message, warning or any other indication, assuming you really want to count cells containing the word 'Lemonade' and a leading space.
If you use the COUNTIF function with multiple criteria, split the formula into several pieces and verify each function individually.
And this is all for today. In the next article, we will explore several ways to count cells in Excel with multiple conditions. Hope to see you next week and thanks for reading!
1067 comments
hi Svetlana Cheusheva..
I think you are a MVP.
I had gone through the your website and found that you have helped alot of people in solving excel problems. .
I really appreciate your efforts.
I want to be excel expert like you tell me what should I do for that...
God bless you..
Hello Bharat,
Thank you very much for your kind words. No, I am not an MVP, but I am lucky to work with very talented and knowledgeable people and I've learned a lot from them. Reading also helps : )
Hi, I have a workbook with about 6 worksheets.
Each worksheet has to be filled with various values name age ....
the last worksheet is a 'report worksheet' that has to pick up input data per month from the other worksheets, undergo some formulas and then display the result.
This is all fine.
My problem is the other worksheets are filled in on a daily basis on the same sheet over many months BUT the report has to dis-aggregate the data by months to be input into the report. n.b. There is a month column.
Now if i have a formula such as =COUNTIF('SHEET1'!AF9:AF608,"FEMALE")
how can i manipulate the formula into picking up the no. of 'females' in 'sheet1' in march only
n.b. there is a seperate 'report worksheet' for each month.
I have the exact same problem as Donna (Q95). Essentially, I'm trying to get a single total of the number of projects where the actual completion date (column B, for example) exceeds the proposed completion date (column A). I’ve tried various formulas, including the one Donna noted, with no success. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Randy,
I believe you will need an array formula like I suggested to Donna. You can find a few more examples in my recent article: Excel array formula examples for beginners and power users. Hope this helps.
Hi there
I am trying to find out a way to count the dates in multiple cell range : in My excel sheet
30-Sep-14
30-Dec-14
30-Jul-14
30-Jul-14
30-Jul-14
30-Jul-14
30-Sep-14
30-Aug-14
30-Aug-14
30-Dec-14
30-Dec-14
30-Dec-14
7-Oct-1
30-Sep-14
30-Dec-14
30-Dec-14
30-Jul-14
30-Dec-14
7-Oct-14
there are dates in column range O3:O46,L3:L47,R3:R51,U3:U51,X3:X50
i am trying to get the count of date which fall in within particular months i.e. April 14, May 14,June 14.July 14.August 14,September 14.....
i am using this formula but not getting any result, thanks in advance for any help.
=COUNTIFS(O3:O46,L3:L47,R3:R51,U3:U51,X3:X50,">=1/1/2013", O3:O46,L3:L47,R3:R51,U3:U51,X3:X50,"<=31/1/2013")
Hi I am trying to count the number of clients within ranges.
example:
all clients who are >= 10 but =10")and=COUNTIF(H3:H1659,"20")
Hi Twister,
I am not sure I exactly understand your criteria. Anyway, you can use the COUNTIFS function to count cells based on several criteria. You can find the detailed exhalation of its syntax and formula examples on this page:
https://www.ablebits.com/office-addins-blog/excel-countifs-multiple-criteria/
Hi Svetlana,
Thank you for your informative post and support! I dates in 2 columns: one column (M) for "original planned date of project completion", and another column (N) with "latest planned date of project completion". I want to count the projects that have a latest date later than the original planned date, i.e. "count if the date in column M is greater than the date in column N" specifically trying this formula COUNTIF(M3:M22,">L3:L22"). It is not calculating correctly - any ideas?
Thanks again!!!
Hi Donna,
The COUNTIF formula cannot help in this case because you need to compare 2 ranges. Try the following array formula (remember to press Ctrl+Shift+Enter) to enter it correctly:
=SUM((M3:M22>L3:L22)*1)
Hello!
Im trying to count blank cells in a column in my spreadsheet, but it wants to count the whole sheet and not just the ones included in my table. How can i do it so it only counts blanks that are part of my table (they have other information in their rows). Any suggestions on how to do this?
Thank you!
Hailey
Hi - hoping you can help.
I need to count column B (which are various ID numbers), remove the duplicates but only count them if Column A says "BIP" and Column F says "Active"
Is it posible to do this in one formula??
Thanks heaps
Hi
I want to be able to do a COUNTIF across 2 spread sheets but for 1 cell in both sheets, so D2 in one spread sheet will be the same as D2 in the other. However, I want to use the count if option to do this. So if D2 was blank in one sheet, it would be blank in the second sheet, but if D2=2 in the first sheet then it would be 2 in the second.
Currently the first sheet will be blank but the second sheet will be 0 as it is linked to the first sheet. But we need this to be blank.
Hope this makes sense, thank you.
Need some help here I have analyzed 10 Columns of 190 numbers and have counted 321 matches I want to take the 321 numbers scattered throughout the various columns and put them in another column in order of how they appeared. Any idea how I could lookup, find and get the data into a new column? The thing is as new data goes in the numbers of matches can vary between 1 and 1900
Thanks
I'm trying to count non duplicate using
=SUMPRODUCT((COUNTIF(L13:L567,L13:L567)=1)*(L13:L567""))
but when I filter other column to unique name, the total remaining the same. How it will be possible by using same formula? Thanks.
Unfortunately, COUNTIF processes hidden (filtered) cells as well.
Please have a look at the following article how to process only visible cells:
http://www.exceluser.com/formulas/visible-column-in-excel-tables.htm
On a yearly spreadsheet, I have numerous entries with dates throughout the year. If I want a count of how many entries there are for a given month, January, February, etc., how would I do that? Also, the entries are on one worksheet and the count will be on a different worksheet (in the same workbook), how would that formula be written?
For example:
1/10/15
1/18/15
2/17/15
3/4/15
Count=2 (for January)
Hi, i want to use countifs function , to assign rank to the people
FOr exp.
Column A: List Emp Name
Colum B: contains Numeric figures achieved by them
Column C: in this i want Rank( high to low), means the employee got the highest number in the list, should be ranked as "1", as he is the topper.
Can i use it for this ?
Hello,
I want formula like this:
for ex : if row 4 have value in anywhere will find and then take text or value from upper row's - example formula found f4 value then will take f3 text or value...
Thanks
Hi i need to count the sum of the failed but the problem in it i that one column there are two different data i mean on the same day
thanks
I'm trying to count the output of an IF function. It seems that the COUNTIF function can't read the output of the IF function as data, but only the function behind the output. Is this true? Can I use COUNTIF to count output form an IF formula?
Thanks,
Lissa
Hi Svetlana,
Very happy new year to you!!
Please can you help me on below query.
I have a table to calculate balance leaves each time number of leaves taken are entered it would deduct from the available no of leaves for the period. Now i am trying to apply the formula =SUM($K$8-G12) to the whole column M. Now i want to add a condition that if the Col G is blank, then M should also have blank value otherwise it would count as per formula =SUM($K$8-G12) which is Total no of leaves - leaves taken = balance leaves.
Thanks,
Rachana
Very useful for analyzing the marks scored by the students. I want a formula (countif function) for finding the marks scored by the students from 1 to 4 (like that 5 to 17; 18 to 24; 25 to29; 30 to34; 35 to 44;45 to 49). Range is marks scored by students for 50 marks. I kindly request you to please intimate the criteria for which I will be ever grateful.
Regards,
Sujatha Victor
I want to know how to use the COUNTIF Formula if we want to count number of customers whose second letter of their names is as "A"
Hi Hoda,
Try =COUNTIF(A2:A100,"?A*") where A2:A100 is the names column.
i have got many sheets in my workbook.but the problem is that i have to create pivot tables of only those sheets which end with Total??? Please help please ---Thanks in advance