
Counting cells in Google Sheets can be a straightforward process, but it's easy to get confused if you're new to it.
To count cells in Google Sheets, you can use the COUNTA and COUNT functions, which count the number of cells that contain numbers or values.
The COUNTA function counts all cells that contain any value, including text, numbers, and dates.
For example, if you have a range of cells A1:A10 and all of them contain values, the COUNTA function will return 10.
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Counting Cells in Google Sheets
To count cells in Google Sheets, you can use the COUNTIF function. This function allows you to count cells that meet a specific condition, such as containing specific text.
You can count cells that contain specific text by using the COUNTIF function in an empty cell, selecting the column with the product information as the range, and using the product name as the criterion.
To count non-blank cells, use the COUNTIF function with the "<>" operator, which signifies "not equal to blank." This will count only those cells in the specified range that are not empty.
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You can also count the number of non-blank cells containing only text values by using the COUNTIF function with the "*". This will count all cells in the specified range that contain any text.
For example, to count the number of blank cells in column A, use the formula =COUNTIF(A3:A18,””).
Using Formulas and Functions
Using formulas and functions in Google Sheets can be a game-changer for counting cells. You can use Coefficient's free Formula Builder to automatically create basic formulas or advanced COUNTIF formulas. This can save you a lot of time and effort.
For dynamic solutions, combining ARRAYFORMULA with COUNTIF or COUNTA can be beneficial. This approach will automatically expand the COUNTIF operation across the specified range, making it easier to handle larger datasets.
To count non-blank cells across multiple rows dynamically, you can use the formula =COUNTA(A1:A10). This formula will automatically expand the COUNTA operation across the specified range. Alternatively, you can use ARRAYFORMULA with COUNTIF or COUNTA for a more dynamic solution.
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You can also use SUMPRODUCT and ISTEXT for higher accuracy when counting text-only cells. This formula =SUMPRODUCT(--ISTEXT(A1:A4)) will give you an accurate count of text cells.
Here's a table summarizing some of the formulas and functions mentioned:
These formulas and functions can help you count cells in Google Sheets with ease.
Arrayformula
ARRAYFORMULA is a powerful tool for dynamically referencing ranges in your formulas.
Combining ARRAYFORMULA with COUNTIF or COUNTA can be beneficial in scenarios where you're dealing with multiple ranges or need a dynamic solution that can be copied across rows or columns.
This approach will automatically expand the COUNTIF operation across the specified range, making it easier to handle larger datasets without manually entering formulas for each row or column.
ARRAYFORMULA is ideal for creating summary tables or sales dashboards where counts need to be updated automatically as new data is entered.
It's also useful for dealing with forms where data is continuously added, such as forms with multiple rows or columns that need to be dynamically referenced.
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Between Two Numbers

To count cells with values within a specified range, you can use COUNTIFS in Google Sheets.
Select the column with the sales amounts as the first range, as shown in the example where sales amounts are counted.
The first criterion is that the value has to be greater than $600, which is applied to the same range as the sales amounts.
For the second range, select the column with the sales amounts, just like in the example where sales are counted between $600 and $1000.
The second criterion is that the value has to be less than $1000, which completes the range of $600 to $1000.
There were 103 sales between $600 and $1000, as shown in the example.
Advanced Techniques
Google Sheets is an incredibly powerful tool for counting cells, but sometimes you need to get a bit more advanced to get the results you want.
You can use COUNTIFS to count cells that meet multiple conditions, such as a specific text string or numerical value.
COUNTIFS can also be used to count non-blank cells, which is super useful when you need to exclude blank cells from your count.
Some cell counting tasks in Google Sheets may require advanced techniques, especially when dealing with multiple conditions, partial matches, or case-sensitive text.
The COUNTIFS formula can be used to count cells that contain a certain text string or numerical value, and it's especially useful in data analysis tasks where multiple conditions must be met.
To get the most out of COUNTIFS, you can use it to count cells that are not blank and contain a value greater than 10, for example.
Checking Cell Contents
To count cells in Google Sheets, you can use the COUNTIF formula to count cells containing certain text. This formula is particularly useful when you need to find the total number of items sold via a website.
You can use a COUNTIF formula to count the number of cells in a column containing a specific text or numeric value. For instance, to count the number of cells in column C containing "Website", you'll use the formula =COUNTIF(C3:C18",Website").
To count cells containing "TRUE" or "FALSE" values, you can use the COUNTIF formula without quotation marks, like this: =COUNTIF(Sheet1!A1:D20,TRUE). This is because TRUE and FALSE are binary values.
You can also use wildcards in COUNTIF to count cells containing partial text. For example, if you need to count cells containing a word like "Green Apple" or "Apple Juice", you can use the formula with wildcards. This can be useful for analyzing customer reviews where a keyword appears in different contexts.
Date-Based Check
To count cells based on a specific date, use the COUNTIF function in Google Sheets. You can set criteria involving dates and other numeric values.
The COUNTIF function is particularly useful for counting Subscription Types that started on a particular date. For example, to count the number of Subscription Types that started on May 2, 2022, use the formula =COUNTIF(D3:D18,”May 2, 2022″).
Cell Contains
You can use the COUNTIF function in Google Sheets to count cells that contain specific text.
The COUNTIF function is case insensitive, so you'll get the same result whether you use upper or lower cases in your formula. This means you can count cells containing "Website" or "website" and get the same result.
To count cells that contain specific text, use a COUNTIF formula like this: =COUNTIF(C3:C18,”Website”). In this example, the formula counts the number of cells in column C containing the text "Website".
You can also use wildcards in the COUNTIF function to count cells containing partial text. For instance, to count cells containing the word "Apple", you can use the formula =COUNTIF(C3:C18,”*Apple*”).
Here are some key considerations when using the COUNTIF function to count cells that contain specific text:
- Numeric criterion. Numeric values with exact matches don’t require quotes.
- Conditional tests. Use logical operators to make conditional tests and enclose them in double quotes in your formula.
- Case insensitive. The COUNTIF function is case insensitive, so you’ll get the same result whether you use upper or lower cases in your formula.
- Counting blank and non-blank cells. Use empty double quotes (“”) to count blank cells within a range. Use the not-equal (“<>”) logical operator to count non-blank cells in a range.
- Reference another cell. You can contain the criterion for the COUNTIF function in a separate cell, which the formula can reference.
- Using wildcards. The Google Sheets COUNTIF function supports three wildcards: the star, question mark, and tilde.
Filtering and Criteria
You can use COUNTIF to count specific values based on conditions, but if you need to filter on multiple criteria, COUNTIFS is a better option. COUNTIFS allows you to count rows with specific values in multiple columns.
To use COUNTIFS, you can swap it into a formula, like this: =COUNTIFS(C3:C18,”Website”,B3:B18,”Professional”). This will count the rows with “Website” in column C and “Professional” in column B.
Examples and Best Practices
When working with Google Sheets, it's essential to understand how the COUNT and COUNTA functions work. One key thing to note is that COUNT ignores cells with text values and empty cells, whereas COUNTA includes both text and numeric values.
COUNT can be particularly useful when dealing with merged cells. For example, if you merge cells B6:C6 and B9:C9 and count column B, the formula will only count the cells within the range, excluding the left parts of the merged cells.
Here are some examples of how COUNT and COUNTA work with different data:
These examples demonstrate how COUNT and COUNTA handle different scenarios, including merged cells and text values. By understanding how these functions work, you can use them effectively in your Google Sheets to get the results you need.
Examples of the
Let's take a look at some examples of using the COUNT and COUNTA functions in Google Sheets. One example is counting the number of students' grades in a list. The COUNT function ignores columns with non-numeric data, such as surnames, and treats text values as well as numeric ones.

For instance, if you have a list of students' grades in column B, but cells B2, B6, and B9 contain pure text, the COUNT function will still count them. However, it will ignore the completely empty cell B10.
You can also use the COUNTA function, which counts all non-empty cells, including text values. This means that if you have a cell with a number formatted as text, it will be counted by COUNTA.
Another example is using COUNT to find the average sum spent on products. This function ignores cells that don't contain any data, such as completely empty cells or cells with text values.
Here are a few more examples:
- =COUNTA(B2:B) counts 65, 55, 70, 55, 81, 88, 61, "Failed", 92, ignoring the empty cell B10.
- =COUNTA(C2:C) works with 80, 75, 69, 60, 50, 90, ignoring the empty cells C7 and C8.
It's also worth noting that the COUNT and COUNTA functions follow a rule to avoid double counting when the range for counting contains merged cells. They will only count the upper-left cell if it falls within the counted range.
Here's a quick reference guide to help you remember the difference between COUNT and COUNTA:
Recommended

The recommended approach for counting cells is using the COUNTIF function. This function is particularly useful when you need to exclude numeric values from the count.
The COUNTIF function uses the "*" wildcard to ensure only text-based entries are counted, excluding numbers and blanks. This makes it a great solution for specific counting tasks.
Here's a key benefit of using COUNTIF: it counts only the cells that meet the specified criterion. This precision is what makes it a recommended choice for many users.
By using the COUNTIF function, you can achieve the best results when excluding numeric values from the count.
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