In Excel: turn on File ▸ Options ▸ Customize Ribbon ▸ Developer, then Developer ▸ Insert ▸ Check Box (Form Control), and link each box to a cell so its TRUE/FALSE can be counted.
On this page7
On Microsoft 365: select the cells and choose Insert ▸ Checkbox. The cell value is the state — no linking needed.
On other versions: File ▸ Options ▸ Customize Ribbon ▸ tick Developer, then Developer ▸ Insert ▸ Check Box (Form Control).
Right-click the box ▸ Format Control ▸ Cell link, and point it at the cell behind or beside it.
Copy the box down the column, then fix each linked cell — Form Control copies do NOT re-point their links automatically.
Add a progress formula: =COUNTIF(B2:B20, TRUE) & " of " & ROWS(B2:B20).
Add Conditional Formatting on the task text with the rule =$B2=TRUE to strike through what is done.
What this does
A checklist in Excel is a list of tasks plus a column of check boxes, and the part that makes it useful is the LINKED CELL. A check box on its own is a floating graphic that no formula can see; give it a linked cell and that cell holds TRUE or FALSE, which COUNTIF can count and conditional formatting can react to. Excel for Microsoft 365 added a far simpler route — Insert ▸ Checkbox puts a real checkbox INTO the cell, so the cell itself is TRUE or FALSE with nothing to link — and where it is available it is the better choice. The older Form Control route still applies to every other version. The third option, a data-validation drop-down of ✓ and blank, needs no controls at all and survives filtering and sorting, which floating check boxes do not. The same idea underpins a lot of everyday Excel work, so the few minutes spent getting it right here pay back across every sheet you build afterwards. Treat it as a pattern, not a one-off, and it stops being something you look up and starts being something you reach for. The difference between a quick fix and a sheet you can trust is the extra minute you spend validating “make a checklist in excel”. Start on a copy or a tiny sample, keep the affected list visible, and compare the result with the tool above before you touch the real workbook. When a formula is involved, keep the inputs labelled beside it, reference cells instead of typing values, and apply number formatting only after the result checks out. The point is a layout choice that keeps the sheet readable and sortable, but the practical win is that someone else can open the file and understand what happened without asking you.
A worked example
Tasks in A2:A20. With the 365 checkbox: select B2:B20, Insert ▸ Checkbox. The cells now hold TRUE/FALSE directly. In D1: =COUNTIF(B2:B20, TRUE) & " of " & ROWS(B2:B20) & " done" shows "7 of 19 done". Select A2:A20 ▸ Conditional Formatting ▸ New Rule ▸ Use a formula ▸ =$B2=TRUE ▸ Format ▸ Strikethrough, and completed tasks cross themselves out. The tick is the easy half; the linked cell is what turns a decorated list into something that can report its own progress. One habit worth forming early: name the cells that hold your inputs, so the formula reads in plain language instead of a string of cell addresses. A reviewer — or you in three months — can then follow the logic without decoding what B7 and D2 were supposed to mean, which is most of what makes a sheet maintainable.
In Google Sheets
Google Sheets handles this almost identically to Excel. The formula syntax above is the same, and the menu lives under a slightly different label rather than a ribbon tab. Use the platform toggle at the top of the page to switch every keyboard shortcut between Windows and Mac, and expect at most cosmetic differences in naming. The aim was to get you unstuck fast and leave you a little more capable than a copy-paste would. The answer is at the top and the detail above shows why it holds — so the next time a colleague asks, you can answer without reaching for search. Here is the takeaway for “make a checklist in excel”: copy the answer if you are busy, but if you have a spare few minutes, rebuild the example in Excel yourself with the tool above open beside it. That single pass — type it, run it, watch the result move when you change an input — is what turns a formula you found into a technique you trust. Keep your inputs labelled and referenced, never hard-coded, and the same sheet stays correct and auditable as it grows. Done that way, you will not need to look this up again, and you will be the person others ask.
Common mistakes
- Expecting a formula to read a check box that has no linked cell — nothing can see it.
- Copying Form Control boxes down and leaving every one of them linked to the same cell, so they all tick together.
- Sorting or filtering a list with floating check boxes, which stay where they are while the rows move under them.
- Counting the linked column with
COUNTA— every cell holds TRUE or FALSE, so the count is always the full row count. UseCOUNTIF(range, TRUE). - Hiding the linked column and then wondering why the count column shows an error after someone deletes it.
Frequently asked questions
How do I make a checklist in Excel?
Put the tasks in one column and check boxes beside them: Insert ▸ Checkbox on Microsoft 365, or Developer ▸ Insert ▸ Check Box with a linked cell on other versions.
How do I count how many items are ticked?
=COUNTIF(B2:B20, TRUE) over the linked cells. COUNTA counts every cell, ticked or not.
How do I cross out a completed task?
Conditional Formatting ▸ New Rule ▸ Use a formula ▸ =$B2=TRUE ▸ Format ▸ Font ▸ Strikethrough, applied to the task column.
Can I make a checklist without the Developer tab?
Yes — either Insert ▸ Checkbox on Microsoft 365, or a data-validation drop-down offering ✓ and blank, which also survives sorting and filtering.
Other ways people ask this
People reach this page typing “how to create a checklist in excel”, “make a checklist in excel”, “create checklist in excel” and “how to create checklist in excel”, among other phrasings; whichever wording you used, the fix above is the one you want.
Why do people search for this in so many different ways?
Because the same task has many names. “how to create a checklist in excel”, “make a checklist in excel”, “create checklist in excel” all point at the one operation explained on this page, which is why they all lead here.