COLUMNS

COLUMNS returns the number of columns in a given range or array. It is the horizontal counterpart to ROWS and is useful when building dynamic formulas that must account for the width of a dataset, such as in combination with INDEX, OFFSET, or array operations.

Excel

=COLUMNS(A1:D1)

Google Sheets

=COLUMNS(A1:D1)

✓

Verified example

Computed by a real spreadsheet engine on the sample data below.

Name	Age	City	Score
Alice	30	NY	88
Bob	25	LA	92

=COLUMNS(A1:D1)→4

Try it with your data

Edit the grid or formula, then run it through a real spreadsheet engine — no signup.

Sample data — click any cell to edit

Cell row 1 column 1	Cell row 1 column 2	Cell row 1 column 3	Cell row 1 column 4
Cell row 2 column 1	Cell row 2 column 2	Cell row 2 column 3	Cell row 2 column 4
Cell row 3 column 1	Cell row 3 column 2	Cell row 3 column 3	Cell row 3 column 4

Formula

Runs server-side · free · no signup

How it works

1A1:D1 is the range whose column count you want.
2COLUMNS spans from column A (1) to column D (4), so the result is 4.
3Works on multi-row ranges too — it always returns the width, not the total cell count.

Need a version for your data?

Try: “Count how many columns are in my table header row”

VLOOKUP XLOOKUP INDEX / MATCH

Written and reviewed by FormulaCraft Team. Each formula on this page is run through our verification engine before publishing.

Last reviewed: May 28, 2026

COLUMNS

Verified example

Try it with your data

How it works

Related