Complete Guide to COUNTIF Function: Counting Cells with Specific Text

Learn how to effectively use the COUNTIF function in Excel to count cells with specific or partial text, enhancing your data analysis skills.

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COUNTIF Function: Counting Cells with Specific Text

Basic Definition

The COUNTIF function in Excel is a powerful tool for counting the number of cells that meet specific criteria, especially useful for analyzing the presence of specific text, either as an exact match or a partial match.

  • Counts exact matches with straightforward syntax
  • Efficiently counts partial matches using wildcard characters
  • Dynamic criteria referencing for flexible formulas
  • Case insensitive, simplifying text analysis

Key Advantages

Easily count cells with specific text using COUNTIF

Streamlined data analysis with partial text matching

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Function Syntax

COUNTIF(range, criteria)

range

The range of cells to evaluate

criteria

The condition that must be met for counting cells

Example

Use COUNTIF to count cells containing specific text: Learn More

Exact Matches

Use the exact string in criteria, e.g., =COUNTIF(A1:A10, "Apple")

Partial Matches

Use wildcards, e.g., =COUNTIF(A1:A10, "*Apple*") for partial text matching

Dynamic Criteria

Reference a cell for criteria, e.g., =COUNTIF(A1:A10, "*" & B1 & "*")

Usage Examples

Basic Example

Basic Example

Looking up contact phone number for a specified customer ID in customer data table

=XLOOKUP(A2, B2:B10, C2:C10)

Advanced Example

Advanced Example

Cross-sheet lookup with multiple matching results

=XLOOKUP(A2, Sheet2!B:B, Sheet2!C:E, "Not Found", 0)
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Troubleshooting

#N/A Error

Common error when no match is found, can be handled by setting the if_not_found parameter

Data Type Mismatch

Ensure lookup value and range data types match

Performance Optimization

Use binary search mode to improve efficiency with large datasets

Function Comparison

Feature XLOOKUP VLOOKUP INDEX+MATCH
Lookup Direction Bi-directional Right only Bi-directional
Multiple Column Return Supported Not supported Supported
Error Handling Built-in Additional handling needed Additional handling needed
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