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Conditional function

How to use COUNTIF in Excel

Counts cells that match a condition.

Syntax

COUNTIF(range, criteria)
rangeWhere to look
criteriaWhat to match, in quotes: "East" or ">4"

Example

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

G2
fx
=COUNTIF(B2:B9,"East")
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
3Result of =COUNTIF(B2:B9,"East")

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Common mistakes with COUNTIF

Conditions go in quotes

Write ">4", not >4. To use a cell, join it: ">"&H1.

Ranges must be the same shape for COUNTIFS

Not an issue with one condition, but when you upgrade to COUNTIFS every range must have the same number of rows.

What the error messages mean

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

Leaving off the closing bracket

=COUNTIF(B2:B9,"East"

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

Text without quotes

=COUNTIF(B2:B9,East)

Text needs quotes. East isn’t a function or a cell, so Excel can’t read it. If you mean the word, write "East" with quotes.

Questions

What does the COUNTIF function do in Excel?

Counts cells that match a condition. The syntax is COUNTIF(range, criteria).

Why is my COUNTIF formula giving the wrong answer?

Conditions go in quotes: Write ">4", not >4. To use a cell, join it: ">"&H1. Ranges must be the same shape for COUNTIFS: Not an issue with one condition, but when you upgrade to COUNTIFS every range must have the same number of rows.

Does COUNTIF 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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