Excel Formulas to count specific characters in a cell ~ Quick Method!!
Tags: excelformula, excelformulas
Published: 2021-06-18 02:35:14

---
title: Excel Formulas to count specific characters in a cell ~ Quick Method!!
published: true
date: 2021-06-05 06:18:33 UTC
tags: ExcelFormula,Excelformulas
canonical_url: https://geekexcel.com/excel-formulas-to-count-specific-characters-in-a-cell/
---

Sometimes, you may need to count how many times a specific character appearing in a cell. In this tutorial, we are going to look at how to **count specific characters in a cell in Excel**. Let’s get into this article!! Get an official version of ** MS Excel**  from the following link: [https://www.microsoft.com/en-in/microsoft-365/excel](https://www.microsoft.com/en-in/microsoft-365/excel)

[![Count specific characters in a cell](https://geekexcel.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Count-specific-characters-in-a-cell.png)](https://geekexcel.com/excel-formulas-to-count-specific-characters-in-a-cell/count-specific-characters-in-a-cell/#main)<figcaption id="caption-attachment-46095">Count specific characters in a cell</figcaption>

## Generic Formula:

- If you want to count how many times a specific character appears in a cell, you can use the below formula.

**=[LEN](https://geekexcel.com/how-to-use-len-function-in-microsoft-excel-365/)(A1)-LEN([SUBSTITUTE](https://geekexcel.com/how-to-use-substitute-function-in-microsoft-excel-2013/)(A1,”a”,””))**

## Syntax Explanations:

- **LEN** – In Excel, the **[LEN function](https://geekexcel.com/how-to-use-len-function-in-microsoft-excel-365/)** is used to find the length of the text string.
- **SUBSTITUTE** – This function helps to replace existing text with new text in a text string when you want to replace text based on its content, not position. Read more on the [**SUBSTITUTE function**](https://geekexcel.com/how-to-use-substitute-function-in-microsoft-excel-2013/).
- **A1** – It represents the input value.
- **Comma symbol (,)** – It is a separator that helps to separate a list of values.
- **Parenthesis ()** – The main purpose of this symbol is to group the elements.
- **Minus Operator (-)** – This symbol will help to subtract any two values.

## Practical Example:

Let’s consider the below example image.

- Here we will enter the input values in **Column B**.
- Now we need to count the number of certain characters in a cell.

![Input Ranges](https://geekexcel.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Input-Ranges-11.png)<figcaption id="caption-attachment-46097">Input Ranges</figcaption>

- Select any cell and type the above-given formula.

![Enter the formula](https://geekexcel.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Enter-the-formula-16.png)<figcaption id="caption-attachment-46096">Enter the formula</figcaption>

- Finally, press the **ENTER**  key to get the result out, if you need, drag the fill handle over range to apply the formula.

![Result](https://geekexcel.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Result-15.png)<figcaption id="caption-attachment-46094">Result</figcaption>

## Verdict:

Here, we have described the simple formulas to **count specific characters in a cell in Excel**. If you have any **questions** , feel free to **comment**.

Thank you so much for visiting  **[Geek Excel](https://geekexcel.com/)!! **If you want to learn more helpful formulas, check out [**Excel Formulas**](https://geekexcel.com/excel-formula/) **!! **

### Read Also:

- **[Excel Formulas to Convert the String into Array ~ Quick Tricks!!](https://geekexcel.com/excel-formulas-to-convert-the-string-into-array/)**
- **[How to Find the Last Column of Data in Excel Office 365?](https://geekexcel.com/how-to-find-the-last-column-of-data-in-excel-office-365/)**
- **[Excel Formulas to Count the Specific Keywords in the Cell ~ Easily!!](https://geekexcel.com/excel-formulas-to-count-the-specific-keywords-in-the-cell/)**
- **[Excel Formulas to Count Line Breaks in A Cell ~ A Complete Guide!!](https://geekexcel.com/excel-formulas-to-count-line-breaks-in-a-cell/)**