by The tutorial explains how to use COUNTIFS and COUNTIF formulas with multiple criteria in Excel based on AND as well as OR logic. You will find a number of examples for different data types - numbers, dates, text, wildcard characters, non-blank cells and more.
Of all Excel functions, COUNTIFS and COUNTIF are probably most often mixed up because they look very much alike and both are purposed for counting cells based on the specified criteria.
The difference is that COUNTIF is designed for counting cells with a single condition in one range, whereas COUNTIFS can evaluate different criteria in the same or in different ranges. The aim of this tutorial is to demonstrate different approaches and help you choose the most efficient formula for each particular task.
Excel COUNTIFS function - syntax and usage
The Excel COUNTIFS function counts cells across multiple ranges based on one or several conditions. The function is available in Excel 365, 2021, 2019, 2016, 2013, Excel 2010, and Excel 2007, so you can use the below examples in any Excel version.
COUNTIFS syntax
The syntax of the COUNTIFS function is as follows:
- criteria_range1 (required) - defines the first range to which the first condition (criteria1) shall be applied.
- criteria1 (required) - sets the condition in the form of a number, cell reference, text string, expression or another Excel function. The criteria defines which cells shall be counted and can be expressed as 10, "<=32", A6, "sweets".
- [criteria_range2, criteria2]… (optional) - these are additional ranges and their associated criteria. You can specify up to 127 range/criteria pairs in your formulas.
In fact, you don't have to remember the syntax of the COUNTIF function by heart. Microsoft Excel will display the function's arguments as soon as you start typing; the argument you are entering at the moment is highlighted in bold.
Excel COUNTIFS - things to remember!
- You can use the COUNTIFS function in Excel to count cells in a single range with a single condition as well as in multiple ranges with multiple conditions. If the latter, only those cells that meet all of the specified conditions are counted.
- Each additional range must have the same number of rows and columns as the first range (criteria_range1 argument).
- Both contiguous and non-contiguous ranges are allowed.
- If the criteria is a reference to an empty cell, the COUNTIFS function treats it as a zero value (0).
- You can use the wildcard characters in criteria - asterisk (*) and question mark (?). See this example for full details.
How to use COUNTIFS and COUNTIF with multiple criteria in Excel
Below you will find a number of formula examples that demonstrate how to use the COUNTIFS and COUNTIF functions in Excel to evaluate multiple conditions.
How to count cells with multiple criteria (AND logic)
This scenario is the easiest one, since the COUNTIFS function in Excel is designed to count only those cells for which all of the specified conditions are TRUE. We call it the AND logic, because Excel's AND function works this way.
Formula 1. COUNTIFS formula with multiple criteria
Suppose you have a product list like shown in the screenshot below. You want to get a count of items that are in stock (value in column B is greater than 0) but have not been sold yet (value is column C is equal to 0).
The task can be accomplished by using this formula:
=COUNTIFS(B2:B7,">0", C2:C7,"=0")
And the count is 2 ("Cherries" and "Lemons"):
Formula 2. COUNTIFS formula with two criteria
When you want to count items with identical criteria, you still need to supply each criteria_range / criteria pair individually.
For example, here's the right formula to count items that have 0 both in column B and column C:
=COUNTIFS($B$2:$B$7,"=0", $C$2:$C$7,"=0")
This COUNTIFS formula returns 1 because only "Grapes" have "0" value in both columns.
Using a simpler formula with a single criteria_range like COUNTIFS(B2:C7,"=0") would yield a different result - the total count of cells in the range B2:C7 containing a zero (which is 4 in this example).
How to count cells with multiple criteria (OR logic)
As you have seen in the above examples, counting cells that meet all of the specified criteria is easy because the COUNTIFS function is designed to work this way.
But what if you want to count cells for which at least one of the specified conditions is TRUE, i.e. based on the OR logic? Overall, there are two ways to do this - by adding up several COUNTIF formulas or using a SUM COUNTIFS formula with an array constant.
Formula 1. Add up two or more COUNTIF or COUNITFS formulas
In the table below, supposing you want to count orders with the "Cancelled" and "Pending" status. To have it doen, you can simply write 2 regular Countif formulas and add up the results:
=COUNTIF($C$2:$C$11,"Cancelled") + COUNTIF($C$2:$C$11,"Pending")
In case each of the functions is supposed to evaluate more than one condition, use COUNTIFS instead of COUNTIF. For example, to get the count of "Cancelled" and "Pending" orders for "Apples" use this formula:
=COUNTIFS($A$2:$A$11, "Apples", $C$2:$C$11,"Cancelled") + COUNTIFS($A$2:$A$11, "Apples", $C$2:$C$11,"Pending")
Formula 2. SUM COUNTIFS with an array constant
In situations when you have to evaluate a lot of criteria, the above approach is not the best way to go because your formula would grow too big in size. To perform the same calculations in a more compact formula, list all of your criteria in an array constant, and supply that array to the criteria argument of the COUNTIFS function. To get the total count, embed COUNTIFS inside the SUM function, like this:
In our sample table, to count orders with the status "Cancelled" or "Pending" or "In transit", the formula would go as follows:
=SUM(COUNTIFS($C$2:$C$11, {"cancelled", "pending", "in transit"}))
In a similar manner, you can count cells based on two or more criteria_range / criteria pairs. For instance, to get the number of "Apples" orders that are "Cancelled" or "Pending" or "In transit", use this formula:
=SUM(COUNTIFS($A$2:$A$11,"apples",$C$2:$C$11,{"cancelled","pending","in transit"}))
You can find a few more ways to count cells with OR logic in this tutorial: Excel COUNTIF and COUNTIFS with OR conditions.
How to count numbers between 2 specified numbers
By and large, COUNTIFS formulas for numbers fall into 2 categories - based on several conditions (explained in the above examples) and between the two values you specify. The latter can be accomplished in two ways - by using the COUNTIFS function or by subtracting one COUNTIF from another.
Formula 1. COUNTIFS to count cells between two numbers
To find out how many numbers between 5 and 10 (not including 5 and 10) are contained in cells C2 through C10, use this formula:
=COUNTIFS(C2:C10,">5", C2:C10,"<10")
To include 5 and 10 in the count, use the "greater than or equal to" and "less than or equal to" operators:
=COUNTIFS(B2:B10,">=5", B2:B10,"<=10")
Formula 2. COUNTIF formulas to count numbers between X and Y
The same result can be achieved by subtracting one Countif formula from another. The first one counts how many numbers are greater than the lower bound value (5 in this example). The second formula returns the count of numbers that are greater than the upper bound value (10 in this case). The difference between the first and second number is the result you are looking for.
- =COUNTIF(C2:C10,">5")-COUNTIF(C2:C10,">=10") - counts how many numbers greater than 5 and less than 10 are in the range C2:C10. This formula will return the same count as shown in the screenshot above.
- =COUNTIF(C2:C10, ">=5")-COUNTIF(C2:C10, ">10") - the formula counts how many numbers between 5 and 10 are in the range C2:C10, including 5 and 10.
How to use cell references in COUNTIFS formulas
When using logical operators such as ">", "<", "<=" or ">=" together with cell references in your Excel COUNTIFS formulas, remember to enclose the operator in "double quotes" and
add an ampersand (&) before a cell reference to construct a text string.
In a sample dataset below, let's count "Apples" orders with amount greater than $200. With criteria_range1 in cells A2:A11 and criteria_range2 in B2:B11, you can use this formula:
=COUNTIFS($A$2:$A$11, "Apples", $B$2:$B$11, ">200")
Or, you can input your criteria values in certain cells, say F1 and F2, and reference those cells in your formula:
=COUNTIFS($A$2:$A$11, $F$1, $B$2:$B$11, ">"&$F$2)
Please notice the use of absolute cell references both in the criteria and criteria_range arguments, which prevents the formula from being broken when copied to other cells.
For more information about the use of an ampersand in COUNTIF and COUNTIFS formulas, please see Excel COUNTIF - frequently asked questions.
How to use COUNTIFS with wildcard characters
In Excel COUNTIFS formulas, you can use the following wildcard characters:
- Question mark (?) - matches any single character, use it to count cells starting and/or ending with certain characters.
- Asterisk (*) - matches any sequence of characters, you use it to count cells containing a specified word or a character(s) as part of the cell's contents.
Tip. If you want to count cells with an actual question mark or asterisk, type a tilde (~) before an asterisk or question mark.
Now let's see how you can use a wildcard char in real-life COUNTIFS formulas in Excel. Suppose, you have a list of projects in column A. You wish to know how many projects are already assigned to someone, i.e. have any name in column B. And because we are learning how to use the COUNTIFS function with multiple criteria, let's add a second condition - the End Date in column D should also be set.
Here is the formula that works a treat:
=COUNTIFS(B2:B10,"*",D2:D10,"<>"&""))
Please note, you cannot use a wildcard character in the 2nd criteria because you have dates rather that text values in column D. That is why, you use the criteria that finds non-blank cells: "<>"&""
COUNTIFS and COUNTIF with multiple criteria for dates
The COUNTIFS and COUNTIF formulas you use for dates are very much similar to the above formulas for numbers.
Example 1. Count dates in a specific date range
To count the dates that fall in a certain date range, you can also use either a COUNTIFS formula with two criteria or a combination of two COUNTIF functions.
For example, the following formulas count the number of dates in cells C2 through C10 that fall between 1-Jun-2014 and 7-Jun-2014, inclusive:
=COUNTIFS(C2:C9, ">=6/1/2014", C2:C9, "<=6/7/2014")
=COUNTIF(C2:C9, ">=6/1/2014") - COUNTIF(C2:C9, ">6/7/2014")
Example 2. Count dates with multiple conditions
In the same manner, you can use a COUNTIFS formula to count the number of dates in different columns that meet 2 or more conditions. For instance, the below formula will find out how many products were purchased after the 20th of May and delivered after the 1st of June:
=COUNTIFS(C2:C9, ">5/1/2014", D2:D9, ">6/7/2014")
Example 3. Count dates with multiple conditions based on the current date
You can use Excel's TODAY() function in combination with COUNTIF to count dates based on the current date.
For example, the following COUNTIF formula with two ranges and two criteria will tell you how many products have already been purchased but not delivered yet.
=COUNTIFS(C2:C9, "<"&TODAY(), D2:D9, ">"&TODAY())
This formula allows for many possible variations. For instance, you can tweak it to count how many products were purchased more than a week ago and are not delivered yet:
=COUNTIFS(C2:C9, "<="&TODAY()-7, D2:D9, ">"&TODAY())
This is how you count cells with multiple criteria in Excel. I hope you will find these examples helpful. Anyway, I thank you for reading and hope to see you on our blog next week!
2039 comments
please share how to use formula on this condition =COUNTIF(AND
COUNTIFS does not work as you have presented here.
I have two sets of variables. I want to count (for instance) how many of them have the string "njem." in A:A and the number 1800 in D:D.
The solution suggested here is wrong. It gives me an error message.
COUNTIFS seem to need semicolons separating ranges and criteria, not commas. And even with semicolons it doesn't work. It gives me a "#NAME?" message.
Are we talking about the same programme here?
Hi - I have looked at all the info above but I am still having problems. I need to work out the number of times something occurs
I have one column that has dates that range from 01/08/2017 to 31/07/2020
I have a second column that has numbers 1, 2 or 3
I want to work out how many times the number 3 occurs between the date range 01/08/2018 and 31/07/2019
Can you help ..... thank you
Hi,
I have an excel sheet with Column A = Due Date and column B = Delivery Date. I want to count how many times the Delivery date is before Due Date. Is this formula correct?
=COUNTIFS(B2:B20,"<="&A2:A20)
Doesn't seem to work.
Thanks.
Hi,
I have excel sheet containing following columns:
1. Bill Date 2. Bill Amount 3. Clients Name 4. Sales Team
Now question is that we want a total bill amount of client name and sales team name wise.
can you help us.
Using the data, I would first create a table. Then using this table, I would create a pivot table. Using a table as the data source for your pivot table has definite advantages. For example, each time you add data to the table and then refresh the pivot table, the results using the new data is shown in your pivot table. As your data changes you can dynamically view your data. If pivot tables are new to you, search the web for "Use a table for your pivot table".
I need a formula to add total points score for individual sales people:
sales points
CC 1
AB 3
AB 3
AB 1
AW 1
AW 1
JL 3
AB 1
AB 1
AB 3
AB 1
AB 1
AW 1
AW 1
AW 1
AW 1
AB 1
AW 1
AW 1
AW 1
AW 1
JL 1
JL 3
How can I do this I have tried a countif formula, but doesn't seem to like it.
Thanks
My Formula2 {=SUM(COUNTIFS(C5:L5;$O$5:$O$8))} worked within minutes. Exactly what I needed. 06 april 2018, Hoogeveen,NL
Hello,
I would like that Excel counts the number of times it finds a combination of several criteria of the same column.
Let me explain:
For example, I want Excel to search in column A to find the words "apple","orange" and "banana" if in column B, the cells for apple, orange and banana contain the word "ripe". So basically, I want to say "Excel please go to column A and look for the word "apple" if the corresponding column B has the word "ripe". Then, go back to Column A and if you also see the words "orange" and " banana" with the word " ripe" in Column B, count that as "1". Therefore, apple = ripe, orange = ripe and banana = ripe would be counted as 1. If it has just orange = ripe and banana = ripe, it would be counted as zero (0).
When I use the function:=SUM(COUNTIFS($C$2:$C$11, {"cancelled", "pending", "in transit"})) as in the example above, it counts each entry ("cancelled", "pending", "in transit") as a single unit instead of as one unit containing the three criteria.
I hope you understand what I am asking.
Thanks in advance.
Budget vs achievement the incentive will be, if 111% is 7000
please somebody can help me to writ the formula
Hi,
I am counting from a random list but when the formula reaches a specific amount I want it to stop. Say I have 6 items but I want the cell to only count 3. How to resolve?
=if(COUNTIFS('SF1 Accident Log'!C12:C1000,ʺAvatarEvilʺ,'SF1 Accident Log'!D12:D1000,ʺReprimandʺ) >=4,COUNTIFS('SF1 Accident Log'!C12:C1000,ʺAvatarEvilʺ,'SF1 Accident Log'!D12:D1000,ʺReprimandʺ) -3 , ʺʺ)
Hi
I want to count cells based on two or more criteria_range / criteria pairs. As shown in your example to get the number of "Apples" orders that are "Cancelled" or "Pending" or "In transit".
I copied the data and formula (with correct capitalisation). I get the answer "1" and not "3". The countifs is looking at the first field in the {}. I found this out by altering the order of the data in the {}. This is a problem I was having with my own data and why I am googling the problem. Can you confirm that you still get 3 with the latest version of google sheets.
Apologies this is for excel and not google sheets. Ignore.
how can I count number people with blank columns, e.g. person x in column c has blank cells in column E. I want to count that person has blank cells.
Thanks
I need a formula where it will count the number of dates associated to a company but will only count a date once. For example if a company has 4/8/16,9/8/16,4/8/16,12/16/16, it return 3 for the count and not 4 since 4/8/16 appears twice.
Thank you
I love this site. I always find what I need here. Thank you!
I'm looking for a formula to count all of the information in two separate columns. I've tried everything, but it's not working. My last attempt is: =COUNTIFS(B59:B81, ">=a") + (F59:F81, ">=a")
Hello
I'm trying to figure out a formula that will compare pricing contained in 3 different columns and over 1000 rows, against pricing from 1 column and the same number of rows but then show per cell whether it's value is greater than or less than its respected compared price. Example: in column "B", "C" and "D" there are prices occupying hundreds of rows for those columns. They are to be compared to the prices listed in column "A" for that same row, but to return the values in a "green" or "red" value to signify if it is greater than or less than column "A"s price.
Any ideas?
bb1 = countif($A$1:$B$1,"=2",$A$1:$B$1,"=3") bb2= countif($A$1:$B$1,"=2",$A$1:$B$1,"=4") please tell me how to make this for 20 times . Thank you.
Good afternoon all:
What I would like to do is compare to sets of dates. Column C has the date of when a file was turned in say "1/1/18". Column A has the date of when a file was move into say "12/15/17". I want to see if the difference between the two is more than 16 and how many times that happens. Not sure if this is possible just thought I'd as. Tried the CountIf function but can't figure out the correct criteria.
I have been working on a sales report, that I am needing to get totals by date and name. I have been working on the formula and just can't figure it out. Sample below
5/6/2015 Jason 200.00
5/22/2016 Adam 400.00
1/15/2018 Jason 800.00
4/28/2016 Adam 500.00
4/22/2018 Steve
I have been working on a sales report, that I am needing to get totals by date and name. I have been working on the formula and just can't figure it out. Sample below
Row/Col A B C
1 5/6/2015 Jason 200.00
2 5/22/2016 Adam 400.00
3 1/15/2018 Jason 800.00
4 4/28/2016 Adam 500.00
5 4/22/2018 Steve 200.00
I only want to see the total on sales from 2018 for Jason. How would I write the formula?
This is how I tried, but it is not working
=Countifs(a1:a5,">12/31/2017,b1:b5,"=Jason",Total,"c1:c5")
hello
i am trying to count full day and half day leave for team members
B2 martin
c2 Paid leave d2 1
c3 paid leave d3 0.5
i need a count of martin total leaves taken
eg. Martin 1.5