ISBLANK

ISBLANK checks whether the referenced cell contains no value, no formula, and no space characters, returning TRUE if it is truly empty. Use it to flag missing entries, trigger conditional formatting, or guard formulas that break on empty input.

Excel

=ISBLANK(A2)

Google Sheets

=ISBLANK(A2)

✓

Verified example

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

Name	IsBlank?
Alice	FALSE
	TRUE
Bob	FALSE

=ISBLANK(A2)→FALSE

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

Formula

Runs server-side · free · no signup

How it works

1Reference the cell you want to check (e.g., A2).
2ISBLANK returns TRUE when the cell is completely empty and FALSE when it contains any value, including spaces or empty strings.
3Combine with IF to show a message or alternative value when the cell is blank: =IF(ISBLANK(A2),"Missing",A2).

Need a version for your data?

Try: “Check which cells in my list are empty and flag them”

ISTEXT ISERROR ISERR

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

Last reviewed: May 28, 2026

ISBLANK

Verified example

Try it with your data

How it works

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