ISNUMBER Function

The ISNUMBER function returns TRUE when a cell contains a number, and FALSE if not. You can use ISNUMBER to check that a cell contains a numeric value, or that the result of another function is a number.

The ISNUMBER function takes one argument, value, which can be a cell reference, a formula, or a hardcoded value. Typically, value is entered as a cell reference like A1. When value is a number, the ISNUMBER function will return TRUE. Otherwise, ISNUMBER will return FALSE.

Examples

The ISNUMBER function returns TRUE if value is numeric:

=ISNUMBER("apple") // returns FALSE
=ISNUMBER(100) // returns TRUE

If cell A1 contains the number 100, ISNUMBER returns TRUE:

=ISNUMBER(A1) // returns TRUE

If a cell contains a formula, ISNUMBER checks the result of the formula:

=ISNUMBER(2+2) // returns TRUE
=ISNUMBER(2^3) // returns TRUE
=ISNUMBER(10 &" apples") // returns FALSE

Note: the ampersand (&) is the concatenation operator in Excel. When values are concatenated, the result is text.

Count numeric values

To count cells in a range that contain numbers, you can use the SUMPRODUCT function like this:

=SUMPRODUCT(--ISNUMBER(range))

The double negative coerces the TRUE and FALSE results from ISNUMBER into 1s and 0s and SUMPRODUCT sums the result.

Notes

• ISNUMBER will return TRUE for Excel dates and times since they are numeric.
• ISNUMBER will return FALSE for empty cells and errors.