Hemocytometer Cell Counting — Free Lab Calculators

What this is for: Turns hemocytometer live/dead counts into cells/mL, total cells and viability %.

The formula: cells/mL = mean count per large square × dilution factor × 10,000

How to use:

Enter the dilution factor and the total suspension volume in mL.
Enter the live and dead counts for the 4 squares of chamber 1.
Optionally enter chamber 2 live and dead counts; leave chamber 2 blank and it is ignored.
Read the average per square, live concentration in cells/mL, total live cells, and viability.

Hemocytometer Cell Counting & Viability

Count live and dead (trypan-blue positive) cells in the 4 large corner squares. Chamber 2 is optional — leave it blank and it is ignored. Each large square holds 1e-4 mL. cells/mL = average live count per square × dilution factor × 10^4.

Dilution factor (e.g. 2 if mixed 1:1 with trypan blue)

Total suspension volumemL

Chamber 1 — LIVE (Squares 1–4)

Chamber 1 — DEAD (Squares 1–4)

Chamber 2 (optional) — LIVE (Squares 1–4)

Chamber 2 (optional) — DEAD (Squares 1–4)

Average LIVE cells per square

Average DEAD cells per square

LIVE cell concentration (cells/mL)

Total LIVE cells in suspension

Viability (%)

Prefer to work offline or keep a copy? The download link is right below.
Download the Hemocytometer Cell Counting workbook (.xlsx)

Notes & limits (from the workbook): Count live and dead (trypan-blue positive) cells in the 4 large corner squares. Chamber 2 is optional — leave it blank and it is ignored. Each large square holds 1e-4 mL. cells/mL = average live count per square × dilution factor × 10^4. Viability = live / (live + dead).