Excel ISBLANK vs IsEmpty—interchangeable or completely different? Here’s what you need to know before using them.

Often Excel cells show blank but they actually contain invisible or hidden characters. Such cells, in a large worksheet for data analytics, often interfere with your formulas resulting in false data. Here comes Excel functions that allow you to determine if a cell is truly empty or not.

The most popular two functions for this task are ISBLANK and IsEmpty. But, their working process is completely different and these functions exist in different ways. To understand the differences between ISBLANK and IsEmpty and to learn when to use either of these, read this Microsoft Excel guide until the end. Let’s get started!

What Is the ISBLANK Function in Excel?

The ISBLANK function checks if a cell is empty or not. If yes, it returns TRUE. However, if the cell contains any characters, symbols, or formulas, the function returns FALSE.

This function is useful in scenarios like detecting missing entries in datasets, preventing errors in dependent formulas, and applying conditional formatting based on empty cells. However, ISBLANK has a limitation—it does not recognize cells containing formulas that return an empty string ("") as blank.

ISBLANK Function Syntax

The syntax of the ISBLANK function in Excel is:

ISBLANK(value)

Here’s an explanation of the above formula syntax:

• value: This is the cell reference or expression you want to check for emptiness.
• Result: The function returns TRUE if the cell is completely empty and FALSE if it contains any value, including spaces or other functions.

When to Use ISBLANK

Here are the scenarios where you might want to use the ISBLANK function in Excel:

• Identifying Missing Data: Detect blank cells in a dataset to highlight missing values.
• Conditional Formatting: Apply formatting (e.g., highlighting) to blank cells for better visibility.
• Preventing Calculation Errors: Avoid errors in formulas by checking if a required input cell is empty.
• Creating Dynamic Formulas: Use ISBLANK in logical conditions to adjust calculations based on whether a cell has data.
• Validating Data Entry: Ensure users fill in required fields by triggering alerts or messages when cells are empty.
• Automating Reports: Exclude blank cells from reports or charts to maintain data accuracy.
• Controlling IF Statements: Combine with IF to perform different actions based on whether a cell is empty (e.g., IF(ISBLANK(A1), "Missing", "Present")).

What Is the ISEMPTY Function in Excel?

The IsEmpty function in Excel VBA checks whether a variable or cell contains an uninitialized or empty value. It returns TRUE if the value is empty and FALSE otherwise. This function is important because it helps prevent errors. It ensures that variables or cell values are properly initialized before performing operations.

IsEmpty is commonly used in conditional statements to validate user input. It also helps handle missing data and streamline decision-making processes in macros. The key benefit of IsEmpty is that it enhances code reliability and efficiency. It allows VBA scripts to handle empty values gracefully without causing runtime errors.

ISEMPTY Function Syntax

IsEmpty is an Excel VBA function and isn’t available in the Excel Formulas menu. Here’s how the function is used in a VBA script that checks if a variable is empty:

Sub CheckVariable()
    Dim myVar As Variant
    If IsEmpty(myVar) Then
        MsgBox "The variable is empty."
    Else
        MsgBox "The variable has a value."
    End If
End Sub
 

The variable myVar is declared but not assigned a value. IsEmpty(myVar) returns TRUE, so the message box displays “The variable is empty.“

When to Use IsEmpty

Here are the scenarios when you might want to use this Excel VBA function:

• Checking Uninitialized Variables: Use IsEmpty to verify if a variable has not been assigned a value before using it.
• Validating User Input: Ensure that required input fields or form entries are not left blank before proceeding with calculations or actions.
• Detecting Empty Cells: Check if specific cells in a worksheet are empty before running operations like data entry, formatting, or calculations.
• Avoiding Runtime Errors: Prevent errors by confirming that a value exists before performing operations like mathematical calculations or string manipulations.
• Looping Through Data: Identify and handle empty cells while processing data in a loop, such as marking missing entries or prompting user input.
• Conditional Decision-Making: Use IsEmpty in If statements to control the flow of macros based on whether a value is present or missing.

Excel ISBLANK vs IsEmpty: A Quick Comparison

Find below a comparison of ISBLANK and IsEmpty in a tabulated format:

Similarities of ISBLANK and IsEmpty

Differences Between ISBLANK and IsEmpty

How to Use the ISBLANK Function in Excel

If you’re testing if a few cells are empty or not using this function, select the destination cell where you wish to get the TRUE or FALSE value from the ISBLANK function.

Type in the following formula into the selected cell and hit Enter:

=ISBLANK(C2)

In the above formula, C2 is the cell that I am evaluating. You need to change the cell reference according to your dataset.

Now, select the cell again and drag the fill handle down to copy and paste the same formula to the rest of the cells in the column.

That’s it! You’ve successfully used the ISBLANK function in Excel to detect empty and non-empty cells.

In the screenshot shown above, you’ll see a blank cell classified as not empty by the ISBLANK formula. That’s because, the cell contains an invisible character, like '.

📒 Read More: 5 Ways to Find Blank Cells in Microsoft Excel

How to Use the IsEmpty Function in Excel

The IsEmpty function can only be used in an Excel VBA script. It’s not a general function, like ISBLANK.

If you’re new to Excel VBA script-based macros, you can go through this tutorial to learn the easy way to get started with VBA macros:

📒 Read More: How To Use The VBA Code You Find Online

If you’re ready to create your first VBA macro, use this script that uses the IsEmpty function to find and highlight empty cells. Please note that the script can’t detect hidden symbols and characters, like '.

Sub HighlightBlankCells()
    Dim rng As Range, cell As Range
    Dim userSelection As Variant
    
    ' Prompt the user to select a range
    On Error Resume Next
    Set userSelection = Application.InputBox("Select the range to evaluate:", Type:=8)
    On Error GoTo 0
    
    ' Exit if the user cancels
    If userSelection Is Nothing Then Exit Sub
    
    ' Loop through each cell in the selected range
    For Each cell In userSelection
        ' Check if the cell is truly empty or contains only spaces/hidden characters
        If IsEmpty(cell.Value) Or Trim(cell.Value) = "" Then
            cell.Interior.Color = RGB(255, 191, 0) ' Amber color
        End If
    Next cell
    
    MsgBox "Blank cells have been highlighted in amber.", vbInformation
End Sub

Once the macro is ready, press Alt + F8 to launch the Macros dialog box.

Select the HighlightBlankCells macro and hit Run to execute the script.

Firstly, you’ll get an input dialog box so you can use the mouse to select the cell range for evaluation. You can also manually type the cell range reference into the dialog box, like A2:C6.

Once you click OK, the VBA macro will instantly highlight the empty cells in amber color.

Conclusions

At the end of this Excel ISBLANK vs ISEMPTY discussion you must have understood that these functions have different usages.

Firstly, there’s no IsEmpty function in Excel. It’s only available as an Excel VBA function.

Secondly, though both of these functions can find blank cells, ISBLANK can detect blank cells with hidden characters whereas IsEmpty is unable to do that.

Thirdly, you can easily call the ISBLANK function in an Excel cell by entering an equals sign and typing a few initial letters. Contrarily, to use the IsEmpty function, you must use a VBA script.

Did you find this Excel guide useful? Use the comment box given below to share your thoughts and suggestions for improvements.