How to Count Numbers in a Cell in Excel?

In this article, we will demonstrate 5 easy ways to determine how many digits a number in a cell has.

Why Count Numbers in a Cell in Excel?

Counting numbers in a cell in Excel can be useful for a variety of reasons:

• Data Analysis: You can figure out how often certain values or categories appear within a group of cells by looking at their frequency or occurrence.
• Data Validation: For instance, you might want to make sure that a certain amount of entries or values are present in a group of cells. By counting the numbers, you can confirm if the right number of entries is there.
• Reporting and Summarizing: You can tally the number of times certain values or criteria appear to make charts, graphs, or tables.
• Conditional Logic: You can use functions like COUNTIF or COUNTIFS to tally numbers based on specific conditions. This helps to sort and study data based on different situations.
• Data Cleanup: You can count how many cells are empty or contain errors to find problems with the data’s quality or missing values.
• Data Entry and Verification: You can keep track of the number of things you’ve recorded or check if you’ve entered all the necessary information.

How to Count Numbers in a Cell in Excel

In the following dataset, we have Employee Name and Yearly Salary columns. We will count the numbers in the cells of the Yearly Salary column.

We used Excel 365 here, but you can use any available Excel version.

Method 1  Using the LEN Function in a Cell

The LEN function counts the number of characters in a cell value. It counts every character it finds in a cell. If the cells contain only numbers, this is the simplest method for counting numbers in them.

STEPS:

• Enter the following formula in cell D5:

• Press ENTER.

The result is shown in cell D5.

• Drag down the formula with the Fill Handle to fill the cells below.

We now have the complete Numbers in Cells column.

Method 2 – Count Only Numbers in a Cell with SUM, LEN, and SUBSTITUTE Functions

To count only the numbers in a cell, we can use the combination of SUM, LEN, and SUBSTITUTE functions.

STEPS:

• Enter the following formula in cell D5:

• Press ENTER.

The result is displayed in cell D5.

• Drag down the formula with the Fill Handle.

The complete Numbers in Cells column is displayed.

Method 3 – Using VBA Codes to Count Numbers in a Cell in Excel

STEPS:

• To open the VBA Editor window, go to the Developer tab and select Visual Basic.
• Alternatively, use the keyboard shortcut ALT+F11 to bring up the VBA Editor window.

A VBA Editor window will appear.

• From the Insert tab, select Module.

• Enter the following code in the Module:

Function count_numbers_in_cell(pInput As String) As String
Dim x_range As Object
Dim x_mc As Object
Dim x_m As Object
Dim x_output As String
Set x_range = CreateObject("vbscript.regexp")
x_range.Global = True
x_range.Ignorecase = True
x_range.Pattern = "[^\w]"
count_numbers_in_cell = ""
If Not x_range.test(pInput) Then
x_range.Pattern = "(\d+)"
Set x_mc = x_range.Execute(pInput)
For Each x_m In x_mc
x_output = x_output & (x_m.Length & IIf(IsNumeric(x_m), "N", "L"))
Next
count_numbers_in_cell = x_output
End If
End Function

• Save the code and go back to our worksheet.
• Enter the following formula in cell D5:

• Press ENTER.

The result is displayed in cell D5.

• Drag down the formula with the Fill Handle tool.

The complete Numbers in Cells column is displayed.

Method 4 – Using the LEN, FORMULATEXT, and SUBSTITUTE Functions

To see how many numbers have been summed together in a cell, we can use the LEN, FORMULATEXT, and SUBSTITUTE functions.

In the dataset below, we have Employees and their Salaries over several months.

STEPS:

• To find the Total, enter the following formula in cell G5:

• Press ENTER.

The result is displayed in cell G5.

• Drag down the formula with the Fill Handle tool.

The complete Total column is displayed.

Now we can find the text form of the formula which we have entered in the Total column.

• Enter the following formula in cell H5:

• Press ENTER.

The result appears in cell H5.

• Drag down the formula with the Fill Handle tool.

The complete Formula Text column is filled.

The formula =C5+D5+E5+F5 contains 4 numbers in it.

Now we can use a formula containing the LEN, FORMULATEXT, and SUBSTITUTE functions to count the numbers that were summed up in the cells of the Total column.

• Enter the following formula in cell I5:

• Press ENTER.

The result in cell I5 is 4, proving that the formula in cell G5 adds 4 numbers.

• Drag down the formula with the Fill Handle tool.

The complete Numbers column is filled.

Method 5. Using VBA Code to Count Numbers in a Formula

We can use VBA code to count numbers that were summed up in a formula.

STEPS:

• Complete the Total column by manually entering the formula.
• Following the steps of Method 4, fill the Formula Text column.
• Following the steps of Method 3, open the VBA Editor window and insert a Module.
• Enter the following code in the Module:

Function count_numbers_in_formula(Rng As Range)
x_cell = Split(Rng.Formula, "+")
count_numbers_in_formula = UBound(x_cell) + 1
End Function

• Save the code and go back to our worksheet.
• Enter the following formula in cell I5:

• Press ENTER.

The result appears in cell I5.

• Drag down the formula with the Fill Handle.

The complete Numbers column is filled.

Read More: How to Find 5 Most Frequent Numbers in Excel

How to Count All Characters in a Column in Excel

We can count all characters (Numeric Values, Non-Numeric Values, and Special Characters) in a column in Excel by using the LEN and SUBSTITUTE functions.

Here, we will count all characters in the cells of the Pass Code column.

STEPS:

• Enter the following formula in cell D5:

• Press ENTER.

The result appears in cell D5.

• Drag down the formula with the Fill Handle.

The complete Characters in a Cell column is filled.

How to Count Non-Numeric Numbers in a Cell in Excel

We can count the non-numeric numbers in a cell in Excel via two different methods: using a formula, and using VBA code.

Case 1 – Using a Formula

We can use the LEN and SUBSTITUTE functions to count non-numeric numbers in a cell in Excel.

STEPS:

• Enter the following formula in cell D5:

• Press ENTER.

The result appears in cell D5.

• Drag down the formula with the Fill Handle tool.

The complete Non-Numeric Characters in a Cell column is filled.

Case 2 – Using VBA

STEPS:

• Following the steps of Method 3, open the VBA Editor window and insert a Module.
• Enter the following code in the Module:

Function count_Non_Numeric_Characters(pInput As String) As String
Dim x_range As Object
Dim x_mc As Object
Dim x_m As Object
Dim x_output As String
Set x_range = CreateObject("vbscript.regexp")
x_range.Global = True
x_range.Ignorecase = True
x_range.Pattern = "[^\w]"
count_Non_Numeric_Characters = ""
If Not x_range.test(pInput) Then
x_range.Pattern = "([a-z]+)"
Set x_mc = x_range.Execute(pInput)
For Each x_m In x_mc
x_output = x_output & (x_m.Length & IIf(IsNumeric(x_m), "N", "L"))
Next
count_Non_Numeric_Characters = x_output
End If
End Function

• Save the code and go back to our worksheet.
• Enter the following formula in cell D5:

• Press ENTER.

The result appears in cell D5.

• Drag down the formula with the Fill Handle tool.

The complete Non-Numeric Characters in a Cell column is filled.

How to Count Number of Cells That Have Numbers Using the COUNT Function

In the dataset below, some cells contain numbers and others contain non-numeric values.

Using the COUNT function, we can count the number of cells that have numbers in them.

STEPS:

• Enter the following formula in cell C16.

• Press ENTER.

The result is returned in cell C16.

How to Count Cells in a Data Range: 4 Ways

We can also count non-empty cells, only empty cells, cells based on a single criterion, and cells based on multiple criteria in a range in Excel.

We will use COUNTA, COUNTBLANK, COUNTIF, and COUNTIFS functions to do the task.

 Case 1 – Counting Non-Empty Cells

STEPS:

• Enter the following formula in cell E16:

The COUNTA function calculates the number of non-empty cells in a data range.

• Then, press ENTER.

The number of non-empty cells is returned in cell E16.

Case 2 – Counting Empty Cells in a Dataset

We can use the COUNTBLANK function to count all the empty cells in a dataset.

STEPS:

• Enter the following formula in cell E17:

• press ENTER.

The number of empty cells is returned in cell E17.

Case 3 – Counting Cells Based on Single Criterion

We can use the COUNTIF function to count cells based on a single criterion. Here, we set the criterion as Engineer. Thus, we will count the cells that have an Engineer in them.

STEPS:

• Enter the following formula in cell E18:

• Press ENTER.

The number of cells containing the criterion Engineer is returned in cell E18.

Case 4 – Count Cells Based on Multiple Criteria

We can use the COUNTIFS function to count cells based on multiple criteria. Here, we will count the cells that have an Engineer in them, and the cells that contain a value equal to $10,000.

STEPS:

• Enter the following formula in cell E19:

• Press ENTER.

The result is displayed in cell E19.

How to Count Total Characters in a Data Range in Excel

We can use the SUMPRODUCT and LEN functions for this task.

STEPS:

• Enter the following formula in cell C16:

• Press ENTER.

The total number of characters in the range is returned in cell C16.

Character Restrictions for Excel Cells

Microsoft Excel has limitations on how much text you can put in a cell:

• The most characters a cell can hold is 32,767.
• In a cell itself, you can only see up to 1,024 characters. However, the Formula bar can show all 32,767 characters.
• The longest formula you can have in Excel 2007 and later versions is 8,192 characters (1,014 in Excel 2003).

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