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Conditional function

How to use COUNTBLANK in Excel

Counts empty cells.

Syntax

COUNTBLANK(range)
rangeThe range to check

Example

Here’s COUNTBLANK on a small table of orders. The highlighted cells are the ones the formula reads.

G2
fx
=COUNTBLANK(G2:G9)
A
B
C
D
E
F
1
Order
Region
Rep
Units
Price
Revenue
2
1001
East
Maya
4
12
48
3
1002
West
Omar
2
30
60
4
1003
East
Lena
7
12
84
5
1004
North
Maya
1
45
45
6
1005
West
Lena
5
30
150
7
1006
East
Omar
3
18
54
8
1007
North
Lena
6
12
72
9
1008
West
Maya
8
18
144
8Result of =COUNTBLANK(G2:G9)

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Common mistakes with COUNTBLANK

"" counts as blank

Cells with a formula returning "" are counted as blank by COUNTBLANK, even though COUNTA counts them as filled.

Spaces aren’t blank

A cell with a space isn’t counted. Clean data with TRIM first.

What the error messages mean

Type these slips into Gridwise and this is the feedback you get:

Leaving off the closing bracket

=COUNTBLANK(G2:G9

Parentheses don’t match. You have 1 opening and 0 closing parentheses. Every ( needs a ).

Questions

What does the COUNTBLANK function do in Excel?

Counts empty cells. The syntax is COUNTBLANK(range).

Why is my COUNTBLANK formula giving the wrong answer?

"" counts as blank: Cells with a formula returning "" are counted as blank by COUNTBLANK, even though COUNTA counts them as filled. Spaces aren’t blank: A cell with a space isn’t counted. Clean data with TRIM first.

Does COUNTBLANK 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.

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