Counta

The Counta function counts how many of the cells given are non-empty.

Syntax

=COUNTA(Value, ...)

Argument Argument description
1Value Either a value or a range/array of multiple values.
2…Any number of more values or ranges/arrays of multiple values. Up to 255 can be given.

Example

Spreadsheet editor
Easy as that! You successfully used the COUNTA function, well done.

Explanation

Use =COUNTA(A1:A5) to count the number of cells that contain a value. The argument, A1:A5, is the range of cells that we count. So cells A1, A2, A3, A4, and A5. Each of these cells contains a value, therefore the result is 5.

Questions

What does Counta stand for?

It stands for Count All.

What happens with a count over empty cells, text or errors?

The count function will not count empty cells.
It will count everything else, including text and errors. It also counts empty text that could, for example, be returned by a formula.

How do I count the empty cells instead of the non-empty ones?

To count only empty cells you can use the CountBlank function.

Note that this function also counts cells that contain empty text returned by a formula. So both Counta and CountBlank count cells with empty text.

What if I want to count specific things?

Use the Count function to count only numbers.
Use the CountBlank function to count only blank cells.
Use the CountIf function to count other specific types of values.