Excel Toolkit / Function guides
COUNT in Excel: explanation and examples
Count numeric observations, ignoring text and empty cells. Start with one direct calculation.
These examples use the Moon Energy teaching case. All businesses and data are fictional. They are learning examples, not financial or tax advice.
Microsoft’s definition
The COUNT function counts the number of cells that contain numbers, and counts numbers within the list of arguments.
Read the COUNT function reference on Microsoft Support
Three ways to understand COUNT
Transactional finance
Moon Energy’s finance team is reviewing opening-period supplier bill amounts and a comparison budget.
Count numeric records only.
| Row | A | B | C | D | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Site code | Site type | Bill net GBP | Budget | |
| 2 | S01 | Hospital | £32,439.68 | £29,195.71 | |
| 3 | S02 | Office | £7,420.00 | £6,678.00 | |
| 4 | S03 | Office | £1,000.00 | ||
| 5 | S04 | Retail | Awaiting reading | £1,000.00 | |
| 6 | S05 | Retail | £3,771.49 | £3,394.34 |
Formula: =COUNT(C2:C6)
Result for this sample: 3
Business operations
Moon Energy’s operations team is reviewing site electricity readings and a comparison consumption budget.
Count numeric records only.
| Row | A | B | C | D | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Site code | Site type | Electricity kWh | Budget | |
| 2 | S01 | Hospital | 143695 | 129325.5 | |
| 3 | S02 | Office | 32000 | 28800 | |
| 4 | S03 | Office | 1000 | ||
| 5 | S04 | Retail | Awaiting reading | 1000 | |
| 6 | S05 | Retail | 15712 | 14140.8 |
Formula: =COUNT(C2:C6)
Result for this sample: 3
Abstract
Moon Energy’s orbital stations hold photon-cell reserves. Their controller compares current reserves with planned reserves.
Count numeric records only.
| Row | A | B | C | D | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Station code | Station class | Photon cells | Budget | |
| 2 | S01 | Hospital | 14500 | 13050 | |
| 3 | S02 | Office | 3200 | 2880 | |
| 4 | S03 | Office | 1000 | ||
| 5 | S04 | Retail | Awaiting reading | 1000 | |
| 6 | S05 | Retail | 1600 | 1440 |
Formula: =COUNT(C2:C6)
Result for this sample: 3
Experiment in Formula Lab
Open COUNT in the interactive Formula Lab →
The practice engine supports a focused subset of Excel behavior. Lookups are exact-match only; it does not support all Excel functions, dates, arrays or workbook imports. Read the limits shown in Formula Lab before interpreting a result.