VBA to Count Duplicates in Range in Excel (4 Methods)

When we have a large amount of data in our Excel worksheet, it is hard to understand sometimes. If we have a certain knowledge of how many duplicate values are there, then it becomes quite easier to understand the sheet later. Implementing VBA is the most effective, quickest, and safest method to run any operation in Excel. In this article, we will show you how to count duplicates in range with the VBA macro in Excel.


VBA to Count Duplicates in Range in Excel: 4 Methods

In the upcoming sections, we will see how to count duplicates in a range with formula, count duplicates in order and count and return results in message-box in Excel VBA.

1. Embed VBA to Count Duplicate Values in a Range in Excel

Look at the following dataset. Column B consists of some random numbers through range B5:B15. In Cell D5, we have stored a number, 2473. We will search this number among the random numbers in range B5:B15 and store the result in Cell E5.

Let’s learn how to do that with VBA macro.

Steps:

  • In the beginning, press Alt + F11 on your keyboard or go to the tab Developer -> Visual Basic to open Visual Basic Editor.

  • Next, in the pop-up code window, from the menu bar, click Insert -> Module.

  • Now, copy the following code and paste it into the code window.
Sub CountDuplicates()
    Dim iSheet As Worksheet
    Set iSheet = Worksheets("Duplicates")
    iSheet.Range("E5") = iSheet.Application.WorksheetFunction.CountIf(iSheet.Range("B5:B15"), iSheet.Range("D5"))
End Sub

Your code is now ready to run.

Excel VBA count duplicates in range

  • Then, press F5 on your keyboard or from the menu bar select Run -> Run Sub/UserForm. You can also just click on the small Play icon in the sub-menu bar to run the macro.

Look at the following image after the VBA code execution.

result of excel vba count duplicates in range

As we can see in the above image, Cell E5 holds the result of the count (3) of duplicate values of range B5 to B15.

Related Content: How to Ignore Blanks and Count Duplicates in Excel


2. Implement VBA Macro to Count the Repetitive Values with Formula

In the previous section, we find duplicate numbers with hardcoded macro. But this time, we will see how to count duplicate numbers with a formula in a macro code.

The to-do task is the same as before, to search the number stored in Cell D5 among the random numbers in range B5:B15 and store the result in Cell E5. But this time, we will perform Excel’s COUNTIF function to get the count.

Steps:

  • Same way as before, open Visual Basic Editor from the Developer tab and Insert a Module in the code window.
  • Then, in the code window, copy the following code and paste
Sub CountDuplicatesWithFormula()
Dim iSheet As Worksheet
Set iSheet = Worksheets("Formula")
'to count the number of times the value in cell "D5" is stored in range "B5:B9"
iSheet.Range("E5").Formula = "=COUNTIF(B5:B15,D5)"
End Sub

Your code is now ready to run.

excel vba count duplicates in range with formula

  • Next, Run the code as shown in the above section.

result of excel vba count duplicates in range with formula

Lastly, you will get the count (3) of duplicate values of range B5 to B15 in Cell E5.

Read More: How to Use COUNTIF Formula to Find Duplicates


3. Calculate Duplicates in Order with VBA Macro in Excel

This section will describe how to extract the duplicate values in a separate column according to order. We will count the duplicates from range B5 to B15 and organize them according to the order in Column C.

Steps:

  • As shown above, open Visual Basic Editor from the Developer tab and Insert a Module in the code window.
  • Then, in the code window, copy the following code and paste it.
Sub CountDuplicatesInOrder()
    Dim iSheet As Worksheet
    'reference worksheet(change "Order" according to your sheet name)
    Set iSheet = Worksheets("Order")
        'count only positive numbers in specified range
        For i = 5 To 15
        'store the count in column C
        iSheet.Range("C" & i) = Application.WorksheetFunction.CountIf(iSheet.Range(iSheet.Cells(5, 2), iSheet.Cells(i, 2)), iSheet.Cells(i, 2))
        Next i
End Sub

Your code is now ready to run.

excel vba count duplicates in range according to order

  • Now, Run the code and look at the produced result in the picture below.

result of excel vba count duplicates in range in order

Number 2473 is found at Cell B7 for the very first time. So, the next Column C shows 1 in the respective row, Cell C7. Next, the number is found again in Cell B10 for the second time, hence in Cell C10, it is displaying the duplicate count of 2. Later, the number is found in Cell B13 for the third time; as a result, Cell C13 holds the duplicate count of 3.

Related Content: How to Count Duplicate Values Only Once in Excel


4. Apply VBA to Count Duplicates and Show the Result in the MsgBox Dialogue Box in Excel

You can also count the duplicate values of a dataset and throw the result separately in the VBA dialogue box MsgBox. The steps to do that are shown below.

Steps:

  • First, open Visual Basic Editor from the Developer tab and Insert a Module in the code window.
  • Second, copy the following code and paste it into the code window.
Option Explicit
Sub CountDuplicatesMsgbox()
    Dim iHelper As Range
    Dim iNum As Long
        'reference worksheet(change "MsgBox" according to your sheet name)
        With Worksheets("MsgBox")
        'we need to set a "helper" range to store unique identifiers
        Set iHelper = .UsedRange.Resize(, 1).Offset(, .UsedRange.Columns.count)
            'reference from column B row 4 (header) to last not empty cell
            With .Range("B4", .Cells(.Rows.count, 1).End(xlUp))
            'copy unique identifiers to defined "helper" range
            iHelper.Value = .Value
            'remove duplicates from copied identifiers
            iHelper.RemoveDuplicates Columns:=1, Header:=xlYes
            'count duplicates from the difference between original reference numbers and unique ones
            iNum = .SpecialCells(xlCellTypeConstants).count - iHelper.SpecialCells(xlCellTypeConstants).count
            End With
        'clear defined "helper" range
        iHelper.ClearContents
        End With
    MsgBox "There are " & iNum & " duplicate numbers"
End Sub

Your code is now ready to run.

excel vba count duplicates in range in msgbox

  • Next, Run this piece of code.

There will be a pop-up dialogue box showing you the message of the total count of duplicate values of a range in a dataset of Excel.

Read More: How to Count Repeated Words in Excel


Download Workbook

You can download the free practice Excel workbook from here.


Conclusion

In conclusion, this article showed you 4 effective methods on how to count duplicates in range with the VBA macro in Excel. I hope this article has been very beneficial to you. Feel free to ask if you have any questions regarding the topic.


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Sanjida Ahmed
Sanjida Ahmed

Sanjida Ahmed, who graduated from Daffodil International University with a degree in Software Engineering, has worked with SOFTEKO since 2021. She has written over 100 articles on Excel & VBA and, since 2022, has worked as the Project Manager of the Excel Extension Development Project in the Software Development Department. Since starting this software development, she has established an outstanding workflow encompassing a full SDLC. She always tries to create a bridge between her skills and interests in... Read Full Bio

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