Count the rows that match.
Use COUNTIF to answer one small question about a list.
Count a condition, not every row.
A list of tasks can tell you what needs doing, but sometimes you want one quick number: how many are marked Done? COUNTIF checks a range against a condition and counts the matching cells.
Put Done, Waiting, Done, and Started in A2 through A5. In another cell, enter =COUNTIF(A2:A5,"Done"). The range tells the function where to look; the quoted word says what to match. This example uses comma separators, as in a US-locale sheet.
Count a match
Done · Waiting · Done · Started
2 matching cells
Keep the labels consistent.
If you invent a slightly different label each time, a count becomes harder to interpret. “Waiting” and “Awaiting reply” may mean the same thing to you, but they are different criteria. Agree on a small set of labels before counting them.
Change one Waiting cell to Done and watch the count change. You are not editing the answer; you are changing the evidence the answer uses. If your sheet expects semicolons between formula arguments, use a semicolon instead of the comma.
=COUNTIF(A2:A5,"Done")
Make it yours.
- Enter the four sample labels in A2:A5.
- Enter the formula in C2.
- Change Waiting to Done and check C2 again.
What changed when you tried it?
A little nudge
Put quotation marks around the text criterion.
What to look for
The count starts at 2 and becomes 3 after the change.
Take it one small step further
Count Waiting in a second cell so both questions stay visible.
A consistent label makes a useful count.
Read more: Google Sheets · COUNTIF ↗
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