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!
2035 comments
=COUNTIFS('Sheet1'!$C$2:$C$29586,">="&'Safety Event'!C$1,'Sheet1'!$E$2:$E$29586,"=Near Miss*",'Sheet1'!$BP$2:$BP$29586,"SSS 05:00*",'Sheet1'!$C$2:$C$29586,"<="&'Safety Event'!C$2)
Can you add more on top of "SSS 05:00*"? I have to add more 6 items to count. or can we just slot a table range instead?
To count lets say from July 2, 2023 (C1) to July 8, 2023 (C2) to count ---- if Column E2:E9586 is showing a text Near Miss* miss and column BP is showing the text SSS 05:00* ( I want to add more shift aside from SSS 05:00)
Not really a comment although I loved the info and was able to use it in a spreadsheet I keep active with a group of 9 golfers and therein lies my question...
I have been trying for over a month now to auto copy data in a column of cells to another column, next to it. The data in the first column changes frequently, sometimes 4-5 times a week. What I need to do is copy the data in the first column into the second column before the first column is overwritten by the data entered on any given day. It's a small table that tracks a golfers drives (distance on each hole). I am trying to keep track of their last 5 rounds but can't figure out how to shift everything over 1 column before the new data overwrites in the first column. HELP!!!!
Hi, Needed help using the COUNTIFS formula with conditions, essentially I want to be able to count the number of times any initials from the data below features in the data set below, based on the region, month and if it is H&S/Commercial. I.e I want to be able to count the number of times text appears in May for H&S, for the North Planned region and similarly the number of times text appears in May-23 for Commercial. The list of names that will appear is roughly 11-12 (I can use a wildcard for the total times text appears for that particular month but can't get it to work when trying to get it for just H&S/Commercial:
May-23
Week Commencing 01-May-23 08-May-23 15-May-23 22-May-23 29-May-23
H&S Commercial H&S Commercial H&S Commercial H&S Commercial H&S Commercial
Region Contract
North Planned Guinness - PM LH
Wrexham - Voids SR
Wakefield - External Works PCSA Stage
Sheffield City Council - Sheffield Adaptations
Leeds CC - Back to Backs
St Leger - Towers
Oldham - PFI
St Leger - New Capital Framework
Kirklees Lot 1
Sheffield High Rise
FCHO
Guinness SHDF
Incommunities
Guinness SHDF Wave 2
Places for People
Together Housing
SCC Acquisitions
Hi! Unfortunately, based on your description, I can't understand what you want to count. To calculate values for multiple criteria, you can use the COUNTIFS function as described in the article above. You can also use the SUMPRODUCT function and these instructions: Conditionally count / sum / average cells with multiple criteria.
Or explain the problem in more detail.
Last attempt at this.
Sorry for the spam, but this message system is posting stuff I'm not typing and not posting stuff I am.
I have a datasheet and then a stats sheet, I'm trying to populate the Stats sheet automatically from data entered into the data sheets based on a monthly period.
Jan, Feb, Mar etc.
My formula is a COUNTIFs which first checks outcome column for the word "Positive NR" then it checks the Date Column for dates ">=" and "="&Data!A1,'[SS Stats 2023.xlsx]2023'!$A:$A,"<="&Data!A2)
Yeah its done it again. Cannot send you my formula, but believe me the ones which are working and the ones which doesn't are identical other than the "Positive" and "Positive NR", so cannot work it out.
Hi! Study carefully the last paragraph in the article above. Here is an example of the formula:
=COUNTIFS($I:$I,"Positive",$A:$A,">="&A1) - COUNTIFS($I:$I,"Positive", $A:$A,">="&A2)
Hi,
I'm trying to create a spreadsheet for work which will calculate the statistics for each month throughout the year based on another spreadsheet we use to hold all the data.
So we have a column with received date, a column with District and another column with an outcome.
What I'm trying to do with limited success is Check "Date Received" column for any dates within each month, then check another column with those dates which matches 1 of 5 words added to that column.
Example 1:
Column A - Check for all Cells with Dates between and including 01/01/2023 to 31/01/2023.
Column C - Check for all Cells with Text containing exactly "POSITIVE".
Below my Formula (I have a separate datasheet hidden on the workbook which contains all my month dates).
=COUNTIFS('[SS Stats 2023.xlsx]2023'!$I:$I,"Positive",'[SS Stats 2023.xlsx]2023'!$A:$A,">="&Data!A1,'[SS Stats 2023.xlsx]2023'!$A:$A,"="&Data!A1,'[SS Stats 2023.xlsx]2023'!$A:$A,"="&Data!A23,'[SS Stats 2023.xlsx]2023'!$A:$A,"="&Data!A1,'[SS Stats 2023.xlsx]2023'!$A:$A,"<="&Data!A2)
Any assistance on this would be great, as its driving me up the wall right now, it should work and I cant see why it doesn't :(
Welp same issue again.
=COUNTIFS('[SS Stats 2023.xlsx]2023'!$I:$I,"Positive",'[SS Stats 2023.xlsx]2023'!$A:$A,">="&Data!A1,'[SS Stats 2023.xlsx]2023'!$A:$A,"="&Data!A1,'[SS Stats 2023.xlsx]2023'!$A:$A,"="&Data!A23,'[SS Stats 2023.xlsx]2023'!$A:$A,"="&Data!A1,'[SS Stats 2023.xlsx]2023'!$A:$A,"<="&Data!A2)
Ok I give up, it wont let me post my message or any variation of it, and all it does is make it look like my formula is massively wrong when the above formula has some "=" statements inbetween the ">=" and "<=" statements. I dont know how to fix it.
Hi! Pay attention to the last paragraph of the article above: Count dates with multiple criteria. Count the values where the dates are greater than the start date, subtract the values where the dates are greater than the end date.
I'm trying to do =COUNTIF(B:B, C:C-9) and it's not working.
How do i get around this?
Hi! I don't really understand what you want to calculate. But the arguments to the COUNTIF and COUNTIFS functions cannot be formulas. They can only be values or cell references. Read the article above carefully.
Hi
I am trying to write a count if formula to count between two dollar figures...which appear
C4-DB4 is a run of varying $ amounts
DE4 is the max value (FORMULA)
DD4 is 10% less than max value (FORMULA)
=COUNTIFS(C4:DB4,">=DE4", C4:DB4,"<=DD4")
The above forumla wont count the number of $ values between max and 10% discount. Please help!
Hi! If I understand your task correctly, try the following formula:
=SUMPRODUCT((C4:DB4>=DE4*0.9)*(C4:DB4<=DE4))
For more information, read Excel SUMPRODUCT function with multiple criteria.
Hello,
I'm trying to write a formula that uses data from different cells based on where today's date falls within a date range. This is what I have:
=IF((AND(TODAY()>=DATE(2023,6,1),TODAY()0,CPEP!A9),"")
Obviously, this isn't working. Any ideas?
=IF((AND(TODAY()>=DATE(2023,6,1),TODAY()0,CPEP!A9),"")
I don't think it is showing the full formula.
Hi! Your formula is not written down completely. You may find this article helpful: Excel IF between two dates.
If this is not what you need, explain the problem in more detail.
Thanks for the information it helped me a lot, I Tried to combine cells as a cross criteria search.
=COUNTIFS(D$1:D$94,D101,J$1:J$94,"X")
The " X " Mark means was punched on a different Day (Monday,Tuesday, etc) for Example if Cell J1 has mark and Value D101 is in the range criteria, it will count, but only if both met the criteria ( values and X mark).
Hi,
Is it possible to tag a progress with each cell containing different data?
The information will be tagged as "complete" if either "email", "mobile no.", or "address" is provided. It does not necessarily need to have all the information (at least one of the 3 should be fine)
Thank you!
Steve
Hello! To find a partial match of text in a cell, use these instructions: How to find substring in Excel
If a single match is sufficient, use the logical OR function. For example:
=IF(OR(ISNUMBER(SEARCH("address", A2)), ISNUMBER(SEARCH("email", A2))),"complete","")
Hi Alex... Im suffering here...
I need to count how many F there are in multiple colums
If I count the "F" in one column, works great:
=COUNTIFS(A:A,"JUNE",B:B,"F")
but what i really need is to count the "F" in multiple columns:
=COUNTIFS(A:A;"JUNE",B:K,"F")
and it doesnt work, what am I doing wrong? is there a way I can do this?
any help, will be appreciated.
thank you! claudia
Hello! All the ranges you use in the COUNTIFS function must be the same size. That's why your formula doesn't work. I recommend reading this article: Excel COUNTIF and COUNTIFS with OR logic.
Here's an example of the formula:
=COUNTIFS(A:A,"JUNE",B:B,"F") + COUNTIFS(A:A,"JUNE",C:C,"F") + COUNTIFS(A:A,"JUNE",D:D,"F")
oh... got it..that is what i was afraid of... i didnt want to make the formula too long...
thank you so much, let me check that part of the article again!
thank you, Alex!!
I have list of trainings in rows and completion status in columns against the resource. How can I use COUNTIF formula to see number of resources who have completed / in progress for each training? Kindly help
If the formulas and examples in the article above don't work for you, give an example of the source data and the desired result.
is something like this possible?
IF(COUNTIFS(R2,"value1*",S2,"status1"),"aaa","bbb"),IF(COUNTIF(R6,"value2*"),"aaa","bbb")
or
IF(COUNTIFS(R2,"value1*" OR "value2",S2,"status1" OR "status2" or "status3"),"aaa","bbb")
Thanks
Your formulas cannot work. Please study the examples in the article above, and also these manuals: COUNTIF function in Excel - count if not blank, greater than, duplicate or unique and Excel COUNTIF and COUNTIFS with OR logic.
Why do I get an error message with th3 following excel formula?
=IF( COUNT(B90:C90)=2,MOD(C90-B90,1)*24,0)
The error message only shows up after the date is added in Column A. Start time is column B and end time is column C.
Thank you!
Hi! I can't check your formula because I don't have your data. An error is possible if the cells contain text but not time. Also, I can't guess which error message you see. Note that there is no reference to column A in the formula.
Hello Dear Team,
I have an question that is possible to count three or four things with a single formula against every value as shown in the data:-
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 P H A L s/l
P P P P P H P P P P P P H P L L P P P H P a a P P P H S/L S/L P P 21 4 2 2 2
Hi! Unfortunately, this information is not enough to understand what you need.
i want to count total no. of P,H,A,L and s/l with a single formula from the given data.
Hi! If I understand the question correctly, the formula might look something like this:
=SUM(COUNTIF(A1:T1,{"P","H"}))
Thanks a lot Sir,
Actually I want to count all P in column "P"
Count of all H in column H at the end and all L,S/l in their respective column simultaneously with a single formula
e,g: total P=24
Total H=5
Total L-3
Total S/l=2
Hi! If I understand your task correctly, use a separate COUNTIF function for each column. For example,
=COUNTIF(H1:H100,"H")+COUNTIF(P1:P100,"P")
Thank you so much, I coundn't remember how to use more then one formula on the same cell and somehow this was the only post that used the + to help me count more then one different word into the same cell.
Hi alexander,
I have two column of products and I need to find out if a certain brand of a retailer is offered at the other retailer in the other column. Offered by 'retailer ' 'yes' = 1, if not offered then = 0
is it possible to find out if a brand is offered in the other column without using a specific wildcard? otherwise the wildcard will have to be changed per product and this would not be possible.
Hi! We have several instructions on how to identify duplicates in two columns: VLOOKUP to compare two columns in Excel for common values and How to compare two columns in Excel for matches and differences. I hope this will help, otherwise don't hesitate to ask.
Hi, I got small problem.
I cannot find a way to formulate a suitable formula. I hope you can help me.
I have to count how many of the people who worked on the DON project were between the 16 and 24 years, male, from China. I need to include all of this as of 12/31/2015. Most important is fact that some of people quit work before that date so I need to exclude them.
Start of contract is between C3 to C100, end of contract D3 to D100, Birth date E3 to E100, country of residence is F3 to F100, project name is G3 to G100, gender I3 to I100.
I made it as per the formula below, but I don't know how to count the age bracket correctly (between 16 and 24 years) and eliminate people who finished work before this date (12/31/2015).
=COUNTIFS(C3:C100, "<=12/31/2015", F3:F100, "China", G3:G100, "DON", I3:I100, "M", )
TIA John
Hello!
The COUNTIFS function cannot use other functions or formulas as arguments. Therefore, I recommend using the SUMPRODUCT function.
=SUMPRODUCT(--(C3:C100<=DATE(2015,12,31)), --(F3:F100="China"), --(G3:G100="DON"),--(I3:I100="M"), --(DATEDIF(E3:E100,TODAY(),"y")>=16), --(DATEDIF(E3:E100,TODAY(),"y")<=24))
You can also find useful information in this article: How to calculate age in Excel.
Hi Alexander,
Im a new user, how do I express eg that the Yes must relate to the occurrences of LS rather than any Yes that appears in the column.
=COUNTIF('Action Log'!G23:G83,"LS")-COUNTIFS('Action Log'!I23:I83,"Yes")
TIA Karen
Hi! If both of your conditions must be met simultaneously, use the COUNTIFS function to calculate the quantity of values. Read this article above.
Try this formula:
=COUNTIFS('Action Log'!G23:G83,"LS",'Action Log'!I23:I83,"Yes")
I am trying to incorporate wildcards into a COUNTIFS with three criteria because the data is coming from a sharepoint and sometimes includes date and time and sometimes only date and I need to look only at dates. So far this is what I have.
=COUNTIFS('WT Outflow Import'!B:B,$B$4,'WT Outflow Import'!A:A,C18,'WT Outflow Import'!C:C,$B$6)
B6 is the cell containing the date.
The above formula returns what I need if there is no time present with the date in the cell. Otherwise it returns nothing as expected. I need the value matches regardless of whether there is date/time or just date. This is a sharepoint connection, so I don't have the luxury of just changing the data.
I tried using a wildcard and it also returns nothing.
=COUNTIFS('WT Outflow Import'!B:B,$B$4,'WT Outflow Import'!A:A,C18,'WT Outflow Import'!C:C,$B$6&"*")
Any idea where I am going wrong here?
Is it because the column where I am parsing using the wildcard is a date (number)?
Hi! To use only the date and ignore the time, round up the date and time to a integer number. For example, using the INT function: as INT($B$6)