Lesson 5 · Basics
COUNT, COUNTA & COUNTBLANK
Learn the difference between COUNT, COUNTA and COUNTBLANK in Google Sheets with hands-on practice problems.
Some days are marked "Sick" or "PTO" instead of hours. Count how many days have actual hours logged (numbers) in D2.
Tip: while typing a formula, click a cell or drag across cells to insert references. Press Enter to check, and Tab to accept a function suggestion.
Three ways to count cells
| Function | Counts… |
|---|
COUNT | cells containing numbers only |
COUNTA | cells that are not empty (numbers, text, anything) |
COUNTBLANK | cells that are empty |
=COUNT(B2:B10)
=COUNTA(B2:B11)
=COUNTBLANK(B2:B11)
The classic mix-up is using COUNT on a column of names and getting 0. Names are text, so you need COUNTA.
Want to count only cells that match a condition (like "Yes")? That's COUNTIF.