Spreadsheet Practice

How to count checkboxes in Google Sheets

Google Sheets formula

=COUNTIF(C2:C9,TRUE)

A ticked checkbox is TRUE, so count TRUE: =COUNTIF(C2:C9,TRUE).

Result on the example
5 in E2
Excel
See below

See it work

The formula is already in E2. Change any input and the result updates, or edit the formula to experiment.

How it works

A checkbox cell holds TRUE when ticked and FALSE when not. COUNTIF with TRUE as the criterion counts the ticked ones. Use the value TRUE, not the text "TRUE" in quotes.

=COUNTIF(C2:C9,TRUE)

Result5

  1. C2:C98 rows × 1 col: TRUE, FALSE, TRUE, TRUE, …

    A range: 8 cells in one column.

  2. COUNTIF(C2:C9,TRUE)5

    COUNTIF: Counts cells that meet one condition.

    • rangeC2:C98 rows × 1 col: TRUE, FALSE, TRUE, TRUE, …
    • criteriaTRUE

In Excel

Excel checkboxes (Insert > Checkbox in Microsoft 365) also store TRUE and FALSE, so the same COUNTIF works.

Other ways to do it

Each one was run on the same example sheet.

FormulaResultWhen to use it
=COUNTIF(C2:C9,FALSE)3Different resultCount the unticked boxes instead. Counts the 3 open tasks.
=COUNTIF(C2:C9,TRUE)/COUNTA(A2:A9)0.625Different resultDivide by the number of tasks for the share completed; format it as a percentage. 0.625, or 62.5% as a percentage.

Common mistakes

  • Checkboxes can be set to custom values (Data validation > Use custom cell values). Then count those values, such as "Yes", instead of TRUE.
  • An empty cell isn't FALSE: counting FALSE misses rows where no checkbox was inserted.

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.

Count checkboxes

In E2, count how many tasks are ticked as done in C2:C9.

Questions

How do I count checked boxes for one person?

Use COUNTIFS: =COUNTIFS(C2:C9,TRUE,B2:B9,"Ana").

How do I show a progress bar?

Use SPARKLINE with the share done: =SPARKLINE(COUNTIF(C2:C9,TRUE)/COUNTA(A2:A9),{"charttype","bar";"max",1}).

Checked by running on 2026-10-30: every formula and result on this page was calculated by the Spreadsheet Practice formula engine.