Protists are a diverse collection of organisms. While exceptions exist, they are primarily microscopic and unicellular, or made up of a single cell.

Are protists single-celled?

Features unique to protists. Protists vary greatly in organization. Some are single-celled; others are syncytial (coenocytic; essentially a mass of cytoplasm); and still others are multicellular. (While protists may show multicellularity, they are never multitissued.)

How many cells do protists have?

If so, you have some knowledge of protists. Found nearly anywhere there is water, most protists are made up of one single cell. This would explain their microscopic size. What makes protists unique and sets them apart from other unicellular organisms, such as bacteria, is that their cells are eukaryotic.