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Lookupmedium

VLOOKUP()

Vertical lookup. Searches the first column of a range and returns a value from a specified column.

Syntax
fx
=VLOOKUP(search_key, range, index, [is_sorted])
Arguments
ArgumentDescription
search_keyThe value to search for in the first column of the range.
rangeThe range to consider for the search. The first column will be searched.
indexThe column index of the value to be returned, where 1 is the first column.
[is_sorted]Indicates whether the column is sorted. FALSE for exact match (recommended).
Try it
F2
→
14,200
Sample data · sales.csv
ABCD
1CompanyRegionQuarterRevenue
2Acme CoWestQ118,400
3Acme CoWestQ222,100
4Acme CoWestQ331,700
5Acme CoWestQ448,200
6GlobexEastQ114,200
7GlobexEastQ219,800
8GlobexEastQ323,400

Common pitfalls

  • The lookup column must be the first column of range. To search a column to the right of the result, use XLOOKUP or INDEX/MATCH.
  • Pass FALSE (or 0) as the fourth arg unless your data is sorted ascending. Approximate match silently returns the wrong row.
  • If the lookup value isn't found you'll get #N/A. Wrap in IFERROR to substitute a default.
Related formulas
XLOOKUP()
The modern replacement for VLOOKUP. Searches any column, returns from any column.
INDEX()
Returns the content of a cell at a given row and column in a range.
MATCH()
Returns the relative position of a value in a range.
Used by
XLOOKUP()
The modern replacement for VLOOKUP. Searches any column, returns from any column.
INDEX()
Returns the content of a cell at a given row and column in a range.
MATCH()
Returns the relative position of a value in a range.
IFNA()
Returns the first argument unless it is the #N/A error, in which case returns the second.
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