COUNTA
Counts the number of cells that are not empty. Includes cells with numbers, text, logical values, and errors.
COUNTA(value1, [value2], ...)Arguments
value1The first cell or range to countvalue2Additional cells or ranges to count(optional)
=COUNTA(A1:A10)Counts all non-empty cells in A1:A10
=COUNTA(A1:C10)Counts non-empty cells in a larger range
=COUNTA(A:A)Counts all non-empty cells in column A
- •COUNTA counts cells with formulas that return empty strings
- •Use COUNT if you only want to count numbers
- •Useful for determining how many entries exist in a list
- •Using COUNTA to count numeric entries only and getting a bigger number than expected, because it also counts text and dates
- •Not realizing a cell containing a formula that returns an empty string still counts as non-empty for COUNTA
- •Counting a range with a stray space character left over from cleanup, which COUNTA still treats as non-empty
COUNTCounts only numeric cells, ignoring textCOUNTBLANKCounts the empty cells COUNTA leaves outCOUNTIFCounts cells that match a specific condition rather than just non-empty onesWhy does COUNTA count more cells than I expect?
It counts anything that isn't truly empty - including a single space, a formula returning an empty string, or a stray zero-length text value.
Does COUNTA count a cell that looks blank after content was deleted?
If the cell is truly empty after deletion, no. If leftover formatting or a space remains, it still counts as non-empty.
How do I count only text entries, not numbers?
Subtract COUNT from COUNTA: =COUNTA(range)-COUNT(range) gives you the count of non-numeric, non-empty entries.
Need to translate a formula using COUNTA?
Use our translator to convert your complete formula