How to Count Cells With Text in Excel
Count cells with any text, exact text, or text containing a word in Excel using COUNTIF and wildcards, without counting blanks or numbers.
By Ayoub Farid · · 1 min read
Counting cells that contain text sounds simple, but "text" can mean any text, one exact word, or a word somewhere inside the cell. Here's the formula for each.
Any text
=COUNTIF(A2:A100,"*")The * wildcard matches any text. Numbers and blanks aren't counted.
Exact text
=COUNTIF(A2:A100,"Paid")Not case-sensitive.
Text that contains a word
=COUNTIF(A2:A100,"*refund*")Matches "Refund", "Partial refund", "refunded".
With the word in a cell:
=COUNTIF(A2:A100,"*"&F1&"*")Starts or ends with
=COUNTIF(A2:A100,"INV*")
=COUNTIF(A2:A100,"*.pdf")Not equal to some text
=COUNTIF(A2:A100,"<>Paid")Careful: this also counts blank cells. To exclude blanks:
=COUNTIFS(A2:A100,"<>Paid",A2:A100,"<>")Any non-empty cell (text or numbers)
=COUNTA(A2:A100)See COUNT vs COUNTA.
Case-sensitive count
=SUMPRODUCT(--EXACT(A2:A100,"PAID"))Common gotcha: invisible spaces
"Paid " with a trailing space won't match "Paid". Clean the column with TRIM or use "Paid*".
More on conditions in COUNTIF.
Frequently asked questions
How do I count cells that contain text in Excel?
=COUNTIF(range,"*").
How do I count cells containing a specific word?
=COUNTIF(range,"*word*").
Does COUNTIF count numbers as text?
No. The "*" wildcard only matches text values.
How do I count non-blank cells?
=COUNTA(range).