What is the difference between COUNT, COUNTA, COUNTIF, and COUNTIFS?

In Excel, COUNT, COUNTA, COUNTIF, and COUNTIFS are functions used to count cells based on different conditions. Here’s how they differ:

Counts only numeric values in a range (ignores text, blanks, and errors).
Syntax:
```
=COUNT(range)
```
Example:
```
=COUNT(A1:A10)
```
- If A1:A10 contains {10, "apple", 20, "", 30, "text", 40}, the result is 3 (only 10, 20, and 30 are counted).

Counts all non-empty cells (includes numbers, text, dates, etc., but ignores blanks).
Syntax:
```
=COUNTA(range)
```
Example:
```
=COUNTA(A1:A10)
```
- If A1:A10 contains {10, "apple", 20, "", 30, "text", 40}, the result is 5 (counts numbers and text, but ignores the blank cell).

Counts cells that meet a specific condition (can be text, numbers, or logical expressions).
Syntax:
```
=COUNTIF(range, criteria)
```
Example:
```
=COUNTIF(A1:A10, ">10")
```
- If A1:A10 contains {5, 15, 20, 10, 30}, the result is 3 (15, 20, and 30 are greater than 10).
Example for text:
```
=COUNTIF(A1:A10, "apple")
```
- Counts how many times "apple" appears in A1:A10.

Syntax:

=COUNTIFS(range1, criteria1, range2, criteria2, ...)

Example:
```
=COUNTIFS(A1:A10, ">10", B1:B10, "Approved")
```
- Counts how many numbers in A1:A10 are greater than 10 AND have "Approved" in B1:B10.

Function	Counts What?	Conditions?
COUNT	Numbers only	No conditions
COUNTA	All non-empty cells (numbers & text)	No conditions
COUNTIF	Based on a single condition	Yes
COUNTIFS	Based on multiple conditions	Yes