Excel LEN formula is used to get number of characters in a cell. The formula counts the number of characters in a cell including spaces and special characters. (Excluding apostrophe ( ‘ ) symbol if occurred as a first character in the cell)

The Microsoft Excel LEN function returns the length of the specified string. The LEN function is a built-in function in Excel that is categorized as a String/Text Function. It can be used as a worksheet function (WS) and a VBA function (VBA) in Excel. As a worksheet function, the LEN function can be entered as part of a formula in a cell of a worksheet. As a VBA function, you can use this function in macro code that is entered through the Microsoft Visual Basic Editor.

Syntax

• Getting length of characters within a cell with cell reference:
• =LEN(Cell Reference)
• Getting length of a long string:
• =LEN(“string”) (value needs to be kept within quotes)

Example

Let's look at some Excel LEN function examples and explore how to use the LEN function as a worksheet function in Microsoft Excel: