How to count table columns in Excel

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This tutorial shows how to count columns in an Excel table. To achieve this, you can use the COLUMNS function. See example below:

Formula

COLUMNS(table)

Explanation

In the example shown, the formula in I4 is:

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=COLUMNS(Table1)

How this formula works

This formula uses structured referencing, a syntax that allows table parts to be referred to by name. When a table is referred to by the name only, Excel returns a reference to the data region of the table only. In this case, the entire table range is B4:F104 so Table1 returns the range B5:F105 to the COLUMNS function.

=COLUMNS(Table1)
=COLUMNS(B5:F105)

COLUMNS then returns a final result of 5, since there are 5 columns in the table.

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