Written and reviewed by FormulaCraft Team. Each formula on this page is run through our verification engine before publishing.
Last reviewed:
How to count words in a cell in Excel and Google Sheets
Excel & Google Sheets
=LEN(TRIM(A2))-LEN(SUBSTITUTE(A2," ",""))+1✓
Verified example
Computed by a real spreadsheet engine on the sample data below.
| Phrase |
| the quick brown fox |
=LEN(TRIM(A2))-LEN(SUBSTITUTE(A2," ",""))+1→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
Runs server-side · free · no signup
Step by step
- 1LEN(TRIM(A2)) is the length with extra spaces removed.
- 2LEN(SUBSTITUTE(A2," ","")) is the length with all spaces stripped.
- 3The difference is the number of spaces; add 1 for the word count.
Tips
- TRIM first so leading/trailing spaces don't inflate the count.
- For an empty cell this returns 1; guard with IF(A2="",0,…) if needed.
Working on a sheet you inherited? Run the Auditor on the whole file first — it flags every #REF!, #N/A, broken column pattern, and inconsistent formula in seconds, free, no signup.
Frequently asked
Does this work for multiple spaces between words?
Yes — TRIM collapses repeated spaces to single spaces before counting.