count different instances in a list

[mmatz]

I have a list that has aaa, bbb, cccc, aaa, bbb and want to count the
different instances. So in this example it would be 3 because bbb is
repeated. Is there a formula that does this?

 

[Conan Kelly]

mmatz,

Assuming that your list is in cells A1:A5, if you put this formula in A7, it
should accomplish what you desire:

=countif(A1:A5,"bbb")

HTH,

Conan

 

[Bernard Liengme]

This one is an array formula and need to be committed with Shift+Ctrl+Enter
=SUM(1/COUNTIF(C1:C6,C1:C6))

This is committed with just Enter
=SUMPRODUCT(--(C1:C6<>""),1/COUNTIF(C1:C6,C1:C6&""))

Of course, change C1:C6 to fit your situation
best wishes