Yes. In Excel or Google Sheets, you can count how many dates in a row occur before a specified date using the COUNTIF function.

Example

Assume:

Columns A–D contain the dates.

You want to count how many are before June 1, 2026.

Column E will contain the formula.

Put this in E2:

=COUNTIF(A2:D2,"<"&DATE(2026,6,1))

How it works

A2:D2 → the four date cells in that row.

"<"&DATE(2026,6,1) → counts values earlier than June 1, 2026.

The result will be 0–4, depending on how many dates meet the condition.

If the comparison date is in a cell

If the cutoff date is in F1, use:

=COUNTIF(A2:D2,"<"&$F$1)

This lets you change the date once in F1 and have all rows update automatically.

If some cells might be blank

COUNTIF already ignores blanks, so the formula still works correctly.

✅ If you'd like, tell me:

Excel or Google Sheets

whether the cutoff date changes per row or is one fixed date

…and I can give you the best formula for your exact layout.