COUNTA
Supported, behaves as documentedCategory: Statistical · Last tested 2026-09-01
Real compatibility results for the COUNTA function: executed in Excel for the web, Google Sheets and LibreOffice Calc, with desktop Excel behavior from Microsoft’s official documentation (we do not run desktop Excel — Excel for the web is a different application and is executed separately). Syntax and links to that documentation are below.
Support matrix
| Engine | Documented | Live-tested | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Excel (desktop) | Yes | No — documented only | n/a |
| Excel for the web | — | Yes (recalc, 2026-09-01) | Supported, behaves as documented |
| Google Sheets | Yes | Yes (Drive import, 2026-08-29) | Supported, behaves as documented |
| LibreOffice Calc | Yes | Yes (25.8.7.3, 2026-07-29) | Supported, behaves as documented |
LibreOffice version history
We executed the same test cases under each LibreOffice release to show exactly when COUNTA’s support changed — not documentation claims, real results.
| LibreOffice version | Verdict | Tested |
|---|---|---|
| 24.2.0.3 | Supported, behaves as documented | 2026-08-29 |
| 24.8.7.2 | Supported, behaves as documented | 2026-08-29 |
| 25.2.0.3 | Supported, behaves as documented | 2026-08-29 |
| 25.8.7.3 | Supported, behaves as documented | 2026-07-29 |
Executed test cases
Excel for the web (executed 2026-09-01 via OneDrive recalculation)
These values come from Excel for the web, not from desktop Excel. They are two different implementations of the calculation engine, and this run measured only the web one: the corpus was uploaded to OneDrive as .xlsx, recalculated by Excel for the web on open, and downloaded again for readback. Excel for the web is a rolling service with no pinnable version, so the run is identified by its date. Where a value here disagrees with the Expected column — which is Microsoft’s documentation of the desktop product — we cannot tell you whether the web engine diverges from the desktop one or the documentation is wrong about both, because we do not run desktop Excel.
| Formula | Description | Result | Expected | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| =COUNTA(A1:A6) | COUNTA counts every non-blank cell regardless of type: numbers, text, and booleans all count, unlike COUNT which only counts numbers (same setup as COUNT_mixed_types_range) | 4 | 4ProvenanceA1, A2, A4, A5 are all non-blank (A3, A6 are genuinely blank and excluded) |
Matched |
| =COUNTA(A1:A2) | A cell holding a formula that returns "" is still counted by COUNTA, because it contains content (a formula), even though it displays as empty. Confirmed via Microsoft's COUNTA docs (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/counta-function-7dc98875-d5c1-46f1-9a82-53f3219e2509): "if the range contains a formula that returns an empty string, the COUNTA function counts that value." | 2 | 2ProvenanceBoth A1 (formula returning "") and A2 (5) are counted; this same A1 cell is ALSO counted as blank by COUNTBLANK - see COUNTBLANK_empty_string_formula_counted_as_blank |
Matched |
| =COUNTA(A1:A5) | A range with no content at all counts as 0 | 0 | 0 | Matched |
Google Sheets (executed 2026-08-29 via Drive import)
Google Sheets is a rolling service with no pinnable version, so this run is identified by its date. The corpus was imported to Drive as .xlsx, recalculated by Sheets, and exported back for readback.
| Formula | Description | Result | Expected | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| =COUNTA(A1:A6) | COUNTA counts every non-blank cell regardless of type: numbers, text, and booleans all count, unlike COUNT which only counts numbers (same setup as COUNT_mixed_types_range) | 4 | 4ProvenanceA1, A2, A4, A5 are all non-blank (A3, A6 are genuinely blank and excluded) |
Matched |
| =COUNTA(A1:A2) | A cell holding a formula that returns "" is still counted by COUNTA, because it contains content (a formula), even though it displays as empty. Confirmed via Microsoft's COUNTA docs (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/counta-function-7dc98875-d5c1-46f1-9a82-53f3219e2509): "if the range contains a formula that returns an empty string, the COUNTA function counts that value." | 2 | 2ProvenanceBoth A1 (formula returning "") and A2 (5) are counted; this same A1 cell is ALSO counted as blank by COUNTBLANK - see COUNTBLANK_empty_string_formula_counted_as_blank |
Matched |
| =COUNTA(A1:A5) | A range with no content at all counts as 0 | 0 | 0 | Matched |
LibreOffice Calc 25.8.7.3 (tested 2026-07-29)
| Formula | Description | Result | Expected | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| =COUNTA(A1:A6) | COUNTA counts every non-blank cell regardless of type: numbers, text, and booleans all count, unlike COUNT which only counts numbers (same setup as COUNT_mixed_types_range) | 4 | 4ProvenanceA1, A2, A4, A5 are all non-blank (A3, A6 are genuinely blank and excluded) |
Matched |
| =COUNTA(A1:A2) | A cell holding a formula that returns "" is still counted by COUNTA, because it contains content (a formula), even though it displays as empty. Confirmed via Microsoft's COUNTA docs (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/counta-function-7dc98875-d5c1-46f1-9a82-53f3219e2509): "if the range contains a formula that returns an empty string, the COUNTA function counts that value." | 2 | 2ProvenanceBoth A1 (formula returning "") and A2 (5) are counted; this same A1 cell is ALSO counted as blank by COUNTBLANK - see COUNTBLANK_empty_string_formula_counted_as_blank |
Matched |
| =COUNTA(A1:A5) | A range with no content at all counts as 0 | 0 | 0 | Matched |
Docs & syntax
- Excel (desktop): official documentation
- Google Sheets: official documentation
- LibreOffice Calc: official documentation
Related how-to recipes
- How to auto-number rows with a formula
- How to count non-blank (non-empty) cells
- How to count the number of unique values in a range
- How to pick a random item from a list