Try this:

=SUMPRODUCT(--(ISNUMBER(MATCH(A1:A4,B1:B6,0))))

--
Biff
Microsoft Excel MVP


"SteveC" wrote in message
...
Col A Col B
apples apples
oranges pears
pears bananas
pineapplies coconuts
grapes
raisins


Count the number of times that data in column A matches the data in column
B

the formula in this case would return: 2

thanks