Find Blank Cells in a Column

Excel & Google Sheets

How it works

The formula tests whether A2 equals an empty string. Truly empty cells pass the test, and so do cells containing a formula that returns "" — which is exactly what you usually want, because both look blank on screen. Copy it down, then filter or sort the helper column to isolate every gap. This is more forgiving than ISBLANK: ISBLANK(A2) returns TRUE only for a genuinely empty cell, so a cell holding =IFERROR(VLOOKUP(...),"") counts as filled to ISBLANK even though it displays nothing. Use ISBLANK only when you specifically need to distinguish truly empty cells from formula-produced blanks.

A2=""

TRUE when the cell is empty or contains a formula that returns empty text.

"Blank"

What to show for missing entries — easy to filter or count later.

"Filled"

What to show when the cell has content.

When to use it

Use this before importing data anywhere, sending a mail merge, or building a report — any time a gap in the column means a failed email, a skipped payment, or an incomplete record.

Common mistakes

• ✕Using ISBLANK on cells that contain formulas.

  ✓ISBLANK returns FALSE for a cell whose formula returns "" — the cell looks empty but technically holds a formula. Test A2="" instead, which treats both truly empty cells and empty-text results as blank.

• ✕Cells containing only a space slip through as Filled.

  ✓A cell with " " in it isn't empty, but it looks blank. Catch those too with =IF(TRIM(A2)="","Blank","Filled").

• ✕Checking the wrong thing when the cell shows a zero.

  ✓A2="" is FALSE for a cell containing 0 — zero is a value, not a blank. If zeros should also count as missing, use =IF(OR(A2="",A2=0),"Blank","Filled").