How to count cells that contain specific text
✓ Verified in LibreOffice 25.8.7.3 ✓ Verified in Google Sheets (2026-08-30)Count cells that include a word anywhere in them, not just cells that equal it exactly.
The formula
| App | Formula | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Excel (desktop) | =COUNTIF(A2:A6,"*apple*") | The * wildcards match any characters before and after 'apple'. |
| Google Sheets | =COUNTIF(A2:A6,"*apple*") | Identical. |
| LibreOffice Calc | =COUNTIF(A2:A6,"*apple*") | Identical (wildcards enabled by default). |
How it works
Wrapping the search term in asterisks ("*apple*") makes COUNTIF match any cell that contains 'apple' anywhere. 'green apple', 'apple pie' and 'pineapple' all match, so the count is 3. Use "apple*" to match only cells that start with apple.
Verified, not just documented
We ran =COUNTIF(A2:A6,"*apple*") in LibreOffice 25.8.7.3 (headless, with forced recalculation) and it returned 3 — exactly the expected result. We then ran the same formulas in Google Sheets, executed 2026-08-30: a formula-only workbook goes into Google Drive, which converts it to a Sheet and recalculates every formula with Google’s own engine, and comes back out as .xlsx carrying the values Google computed. It returned 3 for the worked example, the same value LibreOffice produced. Both engines’ numbers on this page are executed results. The Excel formula follows Microsoft’s official documented syntax — we do not run desktop Excel.
Functions used
COUNTIF — see full Excel, Google Sheets & LibreOffice compatibility for each.
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