Spreadsheet Practice

How to check if a cell contains only numbers in Excel

Excel formula

=REGEXTEST(A2,"^\d+$")

In Excel 365 use =REGEXTEST(A2,"^\d+$"); in Google Sheets =REGEXMATCH(A2,"^\d+$"). Both are TRUE only when every character is a digit.

Result on the example
one result per row in B2, filled down to B7
Works in
Microsoft 365 only
Google Sheets
Different formula, see below

See it work

The formula is already in B2, filled down to B7. Change any input and the result updates, or edit the formula to experiment.

How it works

In the pattern, ^ is the start of the text, \d+ one or more digits and $ the end, so the whole value has to be digits. "5540I" ends in a capital I, " 58102" starts with a space, and "55102-1234" has a dash, so they fail.

=REGEXTEST(A2,"^\d+$")

ResultTRUE

  1. A2"55401"

    The value in A2.

  2. REGEXTEST(A2,"^\d+$")TRUE

    REGEXTEST: TRUE if the text contains a match for a regular expression.

    • textA2"55401"
    • pattern"^\d+$"

In Google Sheets

Google Sheets needs a different formula: =REGEXMATCH(A2,"^\d+$"). On the same data it gives the same result. Here it is running in Google Sheets mode.

Other ways to do it

Each one was run on the same example sheet.

FormulaResultWhen to use it
=AND(ISNUMBER(--MID(A2,SEQUENCE(LEN(A2)),1)))TRUE, FALSE, FALSE…Excel 365 before REGEXTEST: split into characters and check that each one converts to a number.

Common mistakes

  • ISNUMBER(--A2) is not the same test: it accepts "1,250", "1E3", "-4" and even dates like "3/14".
  • Without ^ and $, the pattern only needs one digit somewhere, so "5540I" would pass.

Try it yourself

Same data, empty answer cell. Your formula is graded instantly, then re-checked on changed data, so a typed-in number won't pass.

Check if a cell contains only numbers

In B2, return TRUE when the cell contains nothing but digits and FALSE otherwise. Fill down to B7.

Questions

How do I allow decimals?

Add an optional decimal part: "^\d+(\.\d+)?$".

How do I check for exactly 5 digits?

Use a count: =REGEXTEST(A2,"^\d{5}$").

Checked by running on 2026-10-30: every formula and result on this page was calculated by the Spreadsheet Practice formula engine, in both Excel and Google Sheets modes.