{
  "category": "Our 10 featured functions",
  "display_name": "COUNT",
  "entry_kind": "built_in_function",
  "eval_api": {
    "method": "POST",
    "url": "https://handbook.dnacalc.com/api/eval"
  },
  "function_id": "FUNC.COUNT",
  "implementation_state": {
    "answer_bank": {
      "excel_builds": [
        "20430"
      ],
      "larger_numeric": 0,
      "last_bit": 0,
      "matched": 1212,
      "other_mismatch": 0,
      "refused": 0,
      "rows": 1212,
      "unread": 0,
      "worst_ulp": 0
    },
    "detail": "Recorded: 1,212 in the answer bank and 25 workbook cells.",
    "dnacalc_commit": "9e1884369a678158dd82d3d74188daf986995e87",
    "in_catalogue": true,
    "state": "matches",
    "state_label": "Matches every recorded Excel answer",
    "summary": "Matches all 1,237 recorded answers",
    "workbook_corpus": {
      "cells": 26,
      "matched": 25,
      "pending": 1
    }
  },
  "implementations": [
    {
      "commit": "9e1884369a678158dd82d3d74188daf986995e87",
      "flavour": "excel-compatibility-candidate",
      "language": "Rust",
      "name": "CalcFunc",
      "own_code": [
        "https://github.com/DnaCalc/DnaCalc/blob/9e1884369a678158dd82d3d74188daf986995e87/crates/calc-func/src/catalogue/aggregate.rs#L100-L100",
        "https://github.com/DnaCalc/DnaCalc/blob/9e1884369a678158dd82d3d74188daf986995e87/crates/calc-func/src/catalogue/aggregate.rs#L336-L359",
        "https://github.com/DnaCalc/DnaCalc/blob/9e1884369a678158dd82d3d74188daf986995e87/crates/calc-func/src/catalogue/aggregate.rs#L361-L393"
      ],
      "repository": "https://github.com/DnaCalc/DnaCalc",
      "shared_code": [
        "catalogue/aggregate::aggregate",
        "catalogue/aggregate::finite",
        "catalogue/aggregate::holds_held_arrays",
        "catalogue/aggregate::read_through_held_arrays",
        "catalogue/aggregate::flatten",
        "catalogue/aggregate::read_held_references",
        "catalogue/aggregate::each_value",
        "catalogue/aggregate::read_values",
        "catalogue/aggregate::reader",
        "catalogue/aggregate::read_reference"
      ],
      "source": "https://github.com/DnaCalc/DnaCalc/blob/9e1884369a678158dd82d3d74188daf986995e87/crates/calc-func/src/catalogue/aggregate.rs#L100-L100",
      "state": "matches",
      "suite": null,
      "summary": "Matches all 1,237 recorded answers"
    }
  ],
  "json_url": "https://handbook.dnacalc.com/api/functions/FUNC.COUNT.json",
  "name": "COUNT",
  "notes": [],
  "schema": "efh.function-reference/v1",
  "section_order": [
    "what-it-does",
    "try-it",
    "quirks",
    "how-to-implement",
    "version-differences",
    "alternatives"
  ],
  "sections": {
    "alternatives": "\n[COUNTA](FUNC.COUNTA.md) counts nonempty values; [COUNTBLANK](FUNC.COUNTBLANK.md) counts blanks; [COUNTIF](FUNC.COUNTIF.md) and [COUNTIFS](FUNC.COUNTIFS.md) count matches.\n\n\n",
    "how-to-implement": "\nVisit every argument while preserving its direct/reference origin. For a referenced or array element increment only for numeric values. For a direct scalar also admit the documented logical and numeric-text cases. Do not increment for an error or unconvertible text. Use an integer accumulator and return the count as a worksheet number. The direct example admits three values even though only one is a numeric literal.\n\n\n",
    "quirks": "\nReferences and arrays count numbers only; their text, logical values, blanks and errors do not count. Direct numeric text and logical constants can count. Consequently COUNT is not a nonempty-cell count, and a formula returning an empty string is text.\n\n\n",
    "sources": "\n- [Microsoft: COUNT function](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/excel/functions/count-function), opened 6 November 2026; syntax, documented argument rules and errors.\n\n",
    "try-it": "\n`=COUNT(8,\"12\",TRUE)` returns `3` under the documented direct-argument rules. With A1:A4 containing `8`, the text `12`, `TRUE`, and an empty cell, `=COUNT(A1:A4)` returns `1`.\n\n\n",
    "version-differences": "The recorded environments below distinguish a reading from a same-input comparison. Counts describe captured inputs in each environment; overlapping captures and comparisons are not totals of unique worksheet calls.\n\n| Excel 16.0 build | Platform and CPU | Captured inputs |\n|---|---|---:|\n| 20430 | Windows, 64-bit, CPU not recorded | 1,212 |\n\nThe record contains no same-input comparison between these environments. Reading different inputs on different builds does not establish either a version change or cross-build agreement.\n\n[Recorded environments and comparison details](https://github.com/DnaCalc/ExcelFunctionsHandbook/blob/5dc75391aa5125ccc5abdb095da85950980d6fd8/content/evidence/environments/FUNC.COUNT.json).",
    "what-it-does": "\n`COUNT(value1, [value2], ...)` counts numeric entries. It measures how many numbers are present, rather than adding their values. Dates stored as Excel serial numbers count as numbers.\n\n\n"
  },
  "signature": {
    "display": "COUNT(value1, [value2], ...)",
    "parameters": [
      {
        "description": null,
        "name": "value1",
        "optional": false,
        "repeats": false
      },
      {
        "description": null,
        "name": "value2",
        "optional": true,
        "repeats": true
      }
    ],
    "trailing_repeats": true
  },
  "sources": {
    "metadata": {
      "admission": {
        "label": "implemented",
        "reason": null
      },
      "arity": {
        "max": 255,
        "min": 1
      },
      "category": "Our 10 featured functions",
      "classification": {
        "arg_preparation_profile": "ValuesOnlyPreAdapter",
        "coercion_lift_profile": "AggregateDirectAndRangeDualPolicy",
        "determinism_class": "Deterministic",
        "error_collapse_profile": "ReductionFold",
        "fec_dependency_profile": "None",
        "host_interaction_class": "None",
        "kernel_signature_class": "NumsToNum",
        "rich_value_usage": "RichBlind",
        "surface_fec_dependency_profile": "RefOnly",
        "thread_safety_class": "SafePure",
        "volatility_class": "NonVolatile"
      },
      "descriptions": {
        "long": null,
        "short": "How many of the values are numbers",
        "short_source": "dna-calc-own"
      },
      "docs": {
        "english_description": "Use this function to count how many numbers are in the list of arguments. You can use COUNTA to count how many values are in the list of arguments.",
        "microsoft_url": "https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/count-function-a59cd7fc-b623-4d93-87a4-d23bf411294c"
      },
      "entry_kind": "built_in_function",
      "localized_family_names": null,
      "localized_names": [
        {
          "locale": "ar-SA",
          "name": "COUNT"
        },
        {
          "locale": "bg-BG",
          "name": "COUNT"
        },
        {
          "locale": "cs-CZ",
          "name": "COUNT"
        },
        {
          "locale": "da-DK",
          "name": "TÆL"
        },
        {
          "locale": "de-DE",
          "name": "ANZAHL"
        },
        {
          "locale": "el-GR",
          "name": "COUNT"
        },
        {
          "locale": "en-AU",
          "name": "COUNT"
        },
        {
          "locale": "en-GB",
          "name": "COUNT"
        },
        {
          "locale": "en-US",
          "name": "COUNT"
        },
        {
          "locale": "es-ES",
          "name": "CONTAR"
        },
        {
          "locale": "et-EE",
          "name": "COUNT"
        },
        {
          "locale": "fi-FI",
          "name": "LASKE"
        },
        {
          "locale": "fr-FR",
          "name": "NB"
        },
        {
          "locale": "he-IL",
          "name": "COUNT"
        },
        {
          "locale": "hr-HR",
          "name": "COUNT"
        },
        {
          "locale": "hu-HU",
          "name": "DARAB"
        },
        {
          "locale": "id-ID",
          "name": "COUNT"
        },
        {
          "locale": "it-IT",
          "name": "CONTA.NUMERI"
        },
        {
          "locale": "ja-JP",
          "name": "COUNT"
        },
        {
          "locale": "ko-KR",
          "name": "COUNT"
        },
        {
          "locale": "lt-LT",
          "name": "COUNT"
        },
        {
          "locale": "lv-LV",
          "name": "COUNT"
        },
        {
          "locale": "nb-NO",
          "name": "ANTALL"
        },
        {
          "locale": "nl-NL",
          "name": "AANTAL"
        },
        {
          "locale": "pl-PL",
          "name": "ILE.LICZB"
        },
        {
          "locale": "pt-BR",
          "name": "CONT.NÚM"
        },
        {
          "locale": "pt-PT",
          "name": "COUNT"
        },
        {
          "locale": "ro-RO",
          "name": "COUNT"
        },
        {
          "locale": "ru-RU",
          "name": "СЧЁТ"
        },
        {
          "locale": "sk-SK",
          "name": "COUNT"
        },
        {
          "locale": "sl-SI",
          "name": "COUNT"
        },
        {
          "locale": "sr-Latn-RS",
          "name": "COUNT"
        },
        {
          "locale": "sv-SE",
          "name": "ANTAL"
        },
        {
          "locale": "th-TH",
          "name": "COUNT"
        },
        {
          "locale": "tr-TR",
          "name": "BAĞ_DEĞ_SAY"
        },
        {
          "locale": "uk-UA",
          "name": "COUNT"
        },
        {
          "locale": "vi-VN",
          "name": "COUNT"
        },
        {
          "locale": "zh-CN",
          "name": "COUNT"
        },
        {
          "locale": "zh-HK",
          "name": "COUNT"
        },
        {
          "locale": "zh-TW",
          "name": "COUNT"
        }
      ],
      "signature": {
        "display": "COUNT(value1, [value2], ...)",
        "parameters": [
          {
            "description": null,
            "name": "value1",
            "optional": false,
            "repeats": false
          },
          {
            "description": null,
            "name": "value2",
            "optional": true,
            "repeats": true
          }
        ],
        "trailing_repeats": true
      },
      "surface_name": "COUNT",
      "version_marker": null,
      "xlcall": {
        "code": "0",
        "symbol": "xlfCount"
      }
    },
    "microsoft": "https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/count-function-a59cd7fc-b623-4d93-87a4-d23bf411294c"
  },
  "try_it": {
    "formula": "=COUNT(8,\"12\",TRUE)"
  },
  "url": "https://handbook.dnacalc.com/functions/COUNT.html",
  "variants": [],
  "versions": [
    {
      "behaviour": "1,212 captured inputs are indexed for this environment. Capture dates: 2026-09-29 to 2026-09-29. This is a reading count, not a comparison with another build.",
      "excel_build": "16.0 build 20430",
      "platform": "Windows, 64-bit, CPU not recorded",
      "sources": [
        "https://github.com/DnaCalc/ExcelFunctionsHandbook/blob/5dc75391aa5125ccc5abdb095da85950980d6fd8/content/evidence/environments/FUNC.COUNT.json"
      ]
    }
  ]
}