How to use COUNTA in Excel
Counts cells that are not empty.
Syntax
value1A range to count[value2] optionalExample
Here’s COUNTA on a small table of orders. The highlighted cells are the ones the formula reads.
=COUNTA(C2:C9)Edit this formula live Change the ranges and watch the answer update. Free, no sign-up.
Common mistakes with COUNTA
Formulas returning "" still count
A cell with a formula that shows nothing (="") isn’t empty, so COUNTA counts it.
Spaces count too
A cell containing a single space looks blank but is counted. TRIM or Find & Replace cleans these up.
What the error messages mean
Type these slips into Gridwise and this is the feedback you get:
Leaving off the closing bracket
=COUNTA(C2:C9
Parentheses don’t match. You have 1 opening and 0 closing parentheses. Every ( needs a ).
Questions
What does the COUNTA function do in Excel?
Counts cells that are not empty. The syntax is COUNTA(value1, [value2], …).
Why is my COUNTA formula giving the wrong answer?
Formulas returning "" still count: A cell with a formula that shows nothing (="") isn’t empty, so COUNTA counts it. Spaces count too: A cell containing a single space looks blank but is counted. TRIM or Find & Replace cleans these up.
Does COUNTA work in Google Sheets?
Most Excel functions, including the core ones on this page, work the same way in Google Sheets. A few newer functions arrived in Sheets later or behave slightly differently, so test it on your own data.