Check if Cell Contains Specific Number – Excel & Google Sheets

This tutorial demonstrates how to check if a cell contains a specific number using the FIND and ISNUMBER Functions in Excel and Google Sheets.

Check if Cell Contains Specific Number Using ISNUMBER and FIND

A cell that contains a mix of letters, numbers, spaces, and/or symbols is stored as a text cell in Excel. We can check if one of those cells contains a specific number with the ISNUMBER and FIND Functions.

Let’s step through this two-part formula.

The FIND Function

First, the FIND Function checks for a specified character within a text string. It then returns the position of that character in the string, or a #VALUE! error if it is not found.

In this example, the FIND Function returns the position of “9” in each cell. As shown above, for cells without the number 9, it returns a VALUE error.

Note: You can use either the FIND or SEARCH Function to check if a cell contains a specific number. Both functions have the same syntax and, with numeric find texts, produce the same result.

The ISNUMBER Function

Next, the ISNUMBER Function does what its name implies: it checks if a cell is a number and returns TRUE or FALSE.

The ISNUMBER Function checks the result of the FIND Function and returns TRUE for cells with position numbers and FALSE for the cell with a VALUE error.

Combining these functions together gives us our original formula:

Check if Cell Contains Specific Number in Google Sheets

These functions work the same in Google Sheets as in Excel.