Basics·Lesson 12 of 62Free
How to use COUNTA in Google Sheets
Count the rows
How COUNTA works
COUNTA counts cells that aren't empty, text or numbers. COUNT only counts numbers.
COUNTA(range)
Example on this data
=COUNTA(B2:B5)→4
Counts the reps listed in rows 2 to 5.
What you’ll do
You’ll count how many orders are in the table. Counting rows tells you how much data you’re working with, and it keeps working when rows are added.
Try it
Type =COUNTA(B2:B5) into K2 and press Enter. Watch what the sheet does.
The result will appear in K2.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Order | Rep | Region | Product | Units | Price | Order date | Ship date | |||
| 2 | 1001 | Ana | West | Desk | 3 | 240 | 1/5/2026 | 1/9/2026 | |||
| 3 | 1002 | Bo | East | Chair | 8 | 85 | 1/12/2026 | 1/20/2026 | |||
| 4 | 1003 | Cy | West | Lamp | 12 | 30 | 1/19/2026 | 1/22/2026 | |||
| 5 | 1004 | Di | North | Desk | 2 | 240 | 2/2/2026 | 2/13/2026 | |||
| 6 | 1005 | Ana | West | Chair | 5 | 85 | 2/9/2026 | 2/12/2026 | |||
| 7 | 1006 | Eve | South | Shelf | 4 | 120 | 2/16/2026 | 2/27/2026 | |||
| 8 | 1007 | Bo | East | Lamp | 20 | 30 | 3/2/2026 | 3/4/2026 | |||
| 9 | 1008 | Cy | West | Shelf | 1 | 120 | 3/9/2026 | 3/18/2026 | |||
| 10 | 1009 | Di | North | Chair | 6 | 85 | 3/16/2026 | 3/19/2026 | |||
| 11 | 1010 | Eve | South | Desk | 7 | 240 | 3/23/2026 | 4/1/2026 |
Ctrl+/ shows the shortcuts
Your turn
In K2, count how many orders there are.
Type in K2 and press Enter. While you type, click cells to add them.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Order | Rep | Region | Product | Units | Price | Order date | Ship date | |||
| 2 | 1001 | Ana | West | Desk | 3 | 240 | 1/5/2026 | 1/9/2026 | |||
| 3 | 1002 | Bo | East | Chair | 8 | 85 | 1/12/2026 | 1/20/2026 | |||
| 4 | 1003 | Cy | West | Lamp | 12 | 30 | 1/19/2026 | 1/22/2026 | |||
| 5 | 1004 | Di | North | Desk | 2 | 240 | 2/2/2026 | 2/13/2026 | |||
| 6 | 1005 | Ana | West | Chair | 5 | 85 | 2/9/2026 | 2/12/2026 | |||
| 7 | 1006 | Eve | South | Shelf | 4 | 120 | 2/16/2026 | 2/27/2026 | |||
| 8 | 1007 | Bo | East | Lamp | 20 | 30 | 3/2/2026 | 3/4/2026 | |||
| 9 | 1008 | Cy | West | Shelf | 1 | 120 | 3/9/2026 | 3/18/2026 | |||
| 10 | 1009 | Di | North | Chair | 6 | 85 | 3/16/2026 | 3/19/2026 | |||
| 11 | 1010 | Eve | South | Desk | 7 | 240 | 3/23/2026 | 4/1/2026 |
Ctrl+/ shows the shortcuts
Your formula also runs on a hidden, shuffled copy of the data, so only real formulas pass.
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