Excel Toolkit / Function guides
COUNTIF in Excel: explanation and examples
Count the observations that meet one condition. 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
to count the number of cells that meet a criterion.
Read the COUNTIF function reference on Microsoft Support
Three ways to understand COUNTIF
Transactional finance
Moon Energy’s finance team is reviewing opening-period supplier bill amounts and a comparison budget.
Count observations above 10,000.
| 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 | £6,128.42 | £5,515.58 | |
| 5 | S04 | Retail | £3,216.42 | £2,894.78 | |
| 6 | S05 | Retail | £3,771.49 | £3,394.34 |
Formula: =COUNTIF(C2:C6,">10000")
Result for this sample: 1
Business operations
Moon Energy’s operations team is reviewing site electricity readings and a comparison consumption budget.
Count observations above 10,000.
| 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 | 26234 | 23610.6 | |
| 5 | S04 | Retail | 13234 | 11910.6 | |
| 6 | S05 | Retail | 15712 | 14140.8 |
Formula: =COUNTIF(C2:C6,">10000")
Result for this sample: 5
Abstract
Moon Energy’s orbital stations hold photon-cell reserves. Their controller compares current reserves with planned reserves.
Count observations above 10,000.
| 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 | 2600 | 2340 | |
| 5 | S04 | Retail | 1300 | 1170 | |
| 6 | S05 | Retail | 1600 | 1440 |
Formula: =COUNTIF(C2:C6,">10000")
Result for this sample: 1
Experiment in Formula Lab
Open COUNTIF in the interactive Formula Lab →
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