COUNT Function in Excel: Count Cells That Contain Numbers

⏱ 1 min readUpdated 28 September 2026

StatisticalLevel: BeginnerAvailable in: Excel 2007+

In this article
  1. Syntax
  2. Examples
  3. Example 1
  4. Example 2
  5. Common errors and fixes
  6. Related functions

COUNT counts cells containing numbers (including dates, which are numbers in Excel). Text and blanks are not counted.

Syntax

=COUNT(value1, [value2], ...)
Argument What it means
value1 Range or values to check.

Examples

Example 1

=COUNT(D2:D500)

How many rows have an amount.

Example 2

=COUNT(A2:A500)

How many valid dates in column A — text “dates” are not counted, a quick way to find import problems.

Common errors and fixes

You see Why, and the fix
Count lower than expected Numbers stored as text are not counted. Use COUNTA to count anything non-blank.

COUNTA · COUNTIF · COUNTIFS · COUNTBLANK

📚 Part of the free Excel course: Beginner → Expert · Try it in the Formula Lab or ask the AI Helper.

Keep reading

Excel Functions A–ZLAMBDA Function in Excel: Create Your Own Excel FunctionsExcel Functions A–ZMAX Function in Excel: Largest Value in a RangeExcel Functions A–ZMIN Function in Excel: Smallest Value in a Range
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