COUNTIF function in Excel

Syntax

=COUNTIF(range, criteria)

Example

=COUNTIF(A2:A10,"*on*") counts products that contain "on" anywhere. =SUMIF(A2:A10,"T*",C2:C10) adds sales for products that start with T.

From the lesson Wildcard Characters.

Common mistakes

• Using * on numbers: wildcards only match text.
• Forgetting the quotes around a criteria like "T*".
• Expecting ? to match zero characters: it always needs exactly one.

Related statistical functions

• COUNTCounts cells that contain numbers.
• COUNTACounts cells that are not empty.
• COUNTBLANKCounts empty cells in a range.
• COUNTIFSCounts cells that meet several conditions.
• AVERAGEReturns the arithmetic mean.
• AVERAGEIFAverages cells that meet a condition.
• MINReturns the smallest value.
• MAXReturns the largest value.