Quick Answer

LENB Function

Returns the byte length of text.

Syntax

LENB

(text)

Parameters

Parameter	Description	Required
text	The text or cell reference whose byte count is returned.	Required

Basic Example

Byte length of ASCII text

=LENB("Hello")

Result5

Each ASCII character is one byte, so the byte count equals the character count of 5.

Advanced Examples

Example 1: DBCS text in Excel

Cell A1 contains the two Chinese characters "你好" and Excel runs in a DBCS locale

Each character counts as two bytes

=LENB(A1)

Result: 4

Under a DBCS-enabled Excel, each Chinese character is two bytes, so two characters equal 4 bytes.

Example 2: Detect double-byte content

Compare LEN and LENB on mixed text

When LENB > LEN, the string has multi-byte characters

=LENB(A1)-LEN(A1)

Result: Positive number for DBCS text

The difference reveals how many extra bytes come from multi-byte characters.

How LENB Works

LENB counts the storage bytes of the string. In Excel's DBCS language editions, East Asian characters occupy two bytes while ASCII occupies one; in single-byte editions every character is one byte, making LENB identical to LEN.

1

Select the text

Click the cell with the text to measure.

2

Apply LENB

Type =LENB(cell) and press Enter.

Important Notes & Limitations

In Excel on single-byte systems LENB always equals LEN, so it is only useful in DBCS locales.
Google Sheets counts bytes using UTF-8, where many non-ASCII characters are 2-3 bytes, differing from Excel's DBCS behavior.
Does not count formatting or formula length, only the resulting text value.

Common Errors & Fixes

LENB equals LEN unexpectedlyRunning Excel in a single-byte locale where every character is one byte.

Fix: Use the difference LENB-LEN only on DBCS-enabled Excel, or rely on Google Sheets' UTF-8 counts for web data.

Download Practice File

Practice LENB with Real Data

Download a sample CSV file with pre-populated data and practice exercises for the LENB function. Works in both Excel and Google Sheets.

Works in Google SheetsCompatible with ExcelIncludes exercises

File format: CSV (comma-separated values) - opens in Excel, Google Sheets, and all spreadsheet apps

Frequently Asked Questions

When does LENB differ from LEN?

Only for multi-byte (DBCS) characters in a DBCS edition of Excel; otherwise they are equal.

How does Google Sheets handle LENB?

Sheets uses UTF-8 byte counts, so East Asian characters usually count as 3 bytes each.

Why would I use LENB?

To detect or handle multi-byte character data when processing DBCS text.