- Excel Functions - Home
- Compatibility Functions
- Compatibility Functions
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- NORMDIST Function
- NORMINV Function
- NORMSDIST Function
- NORMSINV Function
- PERCENTILE Function
- PERCENTRANK Function
- POISSON Function
- QUARTILE Function
- RANK Function
- STDEV Function
- STDEVP Function
- TDIST Function
- TINV Function
- TTEST Function
- VAR Function
- VARP Function
- WEIBULL Function
- ZTEST Function
- Logical Functions
- Logical Functions
- AND Function
- FALSE Function
- IF Function
- IFERROR Function
- IFNA Function
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- NOT Function
- OR Function
- SWITCH Function
- TRUE Function
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- Text Functions
- Text Functions
- ARRAYTOTEXT Function
- BAHTTEXT Function
- CHAR Function
- CLEAN Function
- CODE Function
- CONCAT Function
- CONCATENATE Function
- DBCS Function
- DOLLAR Function
- Exact Function
- FIND Function
- FINDB Function
- FIXED Function
- LEFT Function
- LEFTB Function
- LEN Function
- LENB Function
- LOWER Function
- MID Function
- MIDB Function
- NUMBERVALUE Function
- PHONETIC Function
- PROPER Function
- REPLACE Function
- REPLACEB Function
- REPT Function
- RIGHT Function
- RIGHTB Function
- SEARCH Function
- SEARCHB Function
- SUBSTITUTE Function
- T Function
- TEXT Function
- TEXTAFTER Function
- TEXTBEFORE Function
- TEXTJOIN Function
- TEXTSPLIT Function
- TRIM Function
- UNICHAR Function
- UNICODE Function
- UPPER Function
- VALUE Function
- VALUETOTEXT Function
- Date & Time Functions
- Date & Time Functions
- DATE Function
- DATEDIF Function
- DATEVALUE Function
- DAY Function
- DAYS Function
- DAYS360 Function
- EDATE Function
- EOMONTH Function
- HOUR Function
- ISOWEEKNUM Function
- MINUTE Function
- MONTH Function
- NETWORKDAYS Function
- NETWORKDAYS.INTL Function
- NOW Function
- SECOND Function
- TIME Function
- TIMEVALUE Function
- TODAY Function
- WEEKDAY Function
- WEEKNUM Function
- WORKDAY Function
- WORKDAY.INTL Function
- YEAR Function
- YEARFRAC Function
- Cube Functions
- Cube Functions
- CUBEKPIMEMBER Function
- CUBEMEMBER Function
- CUBEMEMBERPROPERTY Function
- CUBERANKEDMEMBER Function
- CUBESET Function
- CUBESETCOUNT Function
- CUBEVALUE Function
- Math Functions
- Math Functions
- ABS Function
- AGGREGATE Function
- ARABIC Function
- BASE Function
- CEILING.MATH Function
- COMBIN Function
- COMBINA Function
- DECIMAL Function
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- EVEN Function
- EXP Function
- FACT Function
- FACTDOUBLE Function
- FLOOR.MATH Function
- GCD Function
- INT Function
- LCM Function
- LN Function
- LOG Function
- LOG10 Function
- MDETERM Function
- MINVERSE Function
- MMULT Function
- MOD Function
- MROUND Function
- MULTINOMIAL Function
- MUNIT Function
- ODD Function
- PI Function
- POWER Function
- PRODUCT Function
- QUOTIENT Function
- RADIANS Function
- RAND Function
- RANDBETWEEN Function
- ROMAN Function
- ROUND Function
- ROUNDDOWN Function
- ROUNDUP Function
- SERIESSUM Function
- SIGN Function
- SQRT Function
- SQRTPI Function
- SUBTOTAL Function
- SUM Function
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- SUMX2PY2 Function
- SUMXMY2 Function
- TRUNC Function
- Trigonometric Functions
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- ACOS
- ACOSH Function
- ACOT Function
- ACOTH Function
- ASIN Function
- ASINH Function
- ATAN Function
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- COS Function
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- SINH Function
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- TANH Function
- Database Functions
- Database Functions
- DAVERAGE
- DCOUNT
- DCOUNTA
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- DSUM
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- DVARP
- Dynamic Array Functions
- Dynamic Array Functions
- FILTER Function
- RANDARRAY Function
- SEQUENCE Function
- SORT Function
- SORTBY Function
- UNIQUE Function
- XLOOKUP Function
- XMATCH Function
- Engineering Functions
- Engineering Functions
- BESSELI Function
- BESSELJ Function
- BESSELK Function
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- BIN2DEC Function
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- BITOR Function
- BITRSHIFT Function
- BITXOR Function
- COMPLEX Function
- CONVERT Function
- DEC2BIN Function
- DEC2HEX Function
- DEC2OCT Function
- DELTA Function
- ERF Function
- ERF.PRECISE Function
- ERFC Function
- ERFC.PRECISE Function
- GESTEP Function
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- IMLOG2 Function
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- IMPOWER Function
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- IMREAL Function
- IMSEC Function
- IMSECH Function
- IMSIN Function
- IMSINH Function
- IMSQRT Function
- IMSUB Function
- IMSUM Function
- IMTAN Function
- OCT2BIN Function
- OCT2DEC Function
- OCT2HEX Function
- Financial Functions
- Financial Functions
- ACCRINT Function
- ACCRINTM Function
- AMORDEGRC Function
- AMORLINC Function
- COUPDAYBS Function
- COUPDAYS Function
- COUPDAYSNC Function
- COUPNCD Function
- COUPNUM Function
- COUPPCD Function
- CUMIPMT Function
- CUMPRINC Function
- DB Function
- DDB Function
- DISC Function
- DOLLARDE Function
- DOLLARFR Function
- DURATION Function
- EFFECT Function
- FV Function
- FVSCHEDULE Function
- INTRATE Function
- IPMT Function
- IRR Function
- ISPMT Function
- MDURATION Function
- MIRR Function
- NOMINAL Function
- NPER Function
- NPV Function
- ODDFPRICE Function
- ODDFYIELD Function
- ODDLPRICE Function
- ODDLYIELD Function
- PDURATION Function
- PMT Function
- PPMT Function
- PRICE Function
- PRICEDISC Function
- PRICEMAT Function
- PV Function
- RATE Function
- RECEIVED Function
- RRI Function
- SLN Function
- SYD Function
- TBILLEQ Function
- TBILLPRICE Function
- TBILLYIELD Function
- VDB Function
- XIRR Function
- XNPV Function
- YIELD Function
- YIELDDISC Function
- YIELDMAT Function
- Information Functions
- Information Functions
- CELL Function
- ERROR.TYPE Function
- INFO Function
- ISBLANK Function
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- ISEVEN Function
- ISFORMULA Function
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- ISNA Function
- ISNONTEXT Function
- ISNUMBER Function
- ISODD Function
- ISREF Function
- ISTEXT Function
- N Function
- NA Function
- SHEET Function
- SHEETS Function
- TYPE Function
- Lookup & Reference Functions
- Lookup & Reference Functions
- ADDRESS Function
- AREAS Function
- CHOOSE Function
- COLUMN Function
- COLUMNS Function
- FORMULATEXT Function
- GETPIVOTDATA Function
- HLOOKUP Function
- HYPERLINK Function
- INDEX Function
- INDIRECT Function
- LOOKUP Function
- MATCH Function
- OFFSET Function
- ROW Function
- ROWS Function
- RTD Function
- TRANSPOSE Function
- VLOOKUP Function
- Statistical Functions
- Statistical Functions
- AVEDEV Function
- AVERAGE Function
- AVERAGEA Function
- AVERAGEIF Function
- AVERAGEIFS Function
- BETA.DIST Function
- BETA.INV Function
- BINOM.DIST Function
- BINOM.DIST.RANGE Function
- BINOM.INV Function
- CHISQ.DIST Function
- CHISQ.DIST.RT Function
- CHISQ.INV Function
- CHISQ.INV.RT Function
- CHISQ.TEST Function
- CONFIDENCE.NORM Function
- CONFIDENCE.T Function
- CORREL Function
- COUNT Function
- COUNTA Function
- COUNTBLANK Function
- COUNTIF Function
- COUNTIFS Function
- COVARIANCE.P Function
- COVARIANCE.S Function
- DEVSQ Function
- EXPON.DIST Function
- F.DIST Function
- F.DIST.RT Function
- F.INV Function
- F.INV.RT Function
- F.TEST Function
- FISHER Function
- FISHERINV Function
- FORECAST Function
- FORECAST.ETS Function
- FORECAST.ETS.CONFINT Function
- FORECAST.ETS.SEASONALITY Function
- FORECAST.ETS.STAT Function
- FORECAST.LINEAR Function
- FREQUENCY Function
- GAMMA Function
- GAMMA.DIST Function
- GAMMA.INV Function
- GAMMALN Function
- GAMMALN.PRECISE Function
- GAUSS Function
- GEOMEAN
- GROWTH
- HARMEAN
- HYPGEOM.DIST
- INTERCEPT Function
- KURT Function
- LARGE Function
- LINEST Function
- LOGEST Function
- LOGNORM.DIST Function
- LOGNORM.INV Function
- MAX Function
- MAXA Function
- MAXIFS Function
- MEDIAN Function
- MIN Function
- MINA Function
- MINIFS Function
- MODE.MULT Function
- MODE.SNGL Function
- NEGBINOM.DIST Function
- NORM.DIST Function
- NORM.INV Function
- NORM.S.DIST Function
- NORM.S.INV Function
- PEARSON Function
- PERCENTILE.EXC
- PERCENTILE.INC
- PERCENTRANK.EXC
- PERCENTRANK.INC
- PERMUT
- PERMUTATIONA
- PHI
- POISSON.DIST
- PROB
- QUARTILE.EXC
- QUARTILE.INC
- RANK.AVG
- RANK.EQ
- RSQ
- SKEW
- SKEW.P
- SLOPE
- SMALL
- STANDARDIZE
- STDEV.P
- STDEV.S
- STDEVA
- STDEVPA
- STEYX
- T.DIST
- T.DIST.2T
- T.DIST.RT
- T.INV
- T.INV.2T
- T.TEST
- TREND
- TRIMMEAN Function
- VAR.P Function
- VAR.S Function
- VARA Function
- VARPA Function
- WEIBULL.DIST Function
- Z.TEST Function
- Web Functions
- Web Functions
- ENCODEURL Function
- FILTERXML Function
- WEBSERVICE Function
Excel - VLOOKUP Function
VLOOKUP Function
The Excel VLOOKUP function searches for valuable data in the array's column using the lookup value. The V stands for vertical, which means exploring the data vertically. This function is part of the Lookup and Reference function. While playing with millions of data, extracting the data from a specific column is very challenging. For example, you have two datasets, Employee and Payroll, and the employee ID column is common in both datasets; you want to extract the salary details for the particular employee ID using the VLOOKUP function.
Compatibility
This advanced Excel function is compatible with the following versions of MS Excel −
- Excel for Microsoft 365
- Excel for Microsoft 365 for Mac
- Excel for the web
- Excel 2024
- Excel 2024 for Mac
- Excel 2021
- Excel 2021 for Mac
- Excel 2019
- Excel 2016
- Excel 2013
- Excel 2010
- Excel 2007
Syntax
The syntax of the VLOOKUP function is as follows −
=VLOOKUP(lookup_value, table_array, col_index_num, [range_lookup])
Arguments
You can use the following arguments with the VLOOKUP function −
| Argument | Description | Required / Optional |
|---|---|---|
| lookup_value | It specifies a numeric value or cell reference. The lookup value must be presented in the table array's first column where the data is to be searched. | Required |
| table_array | It represents the cell range within which the VLOOKUP function would search for the lookup value and retrieve the resulting value. | Required |
| col_index_num | It specifies the column number to find the targeted value. In the table array, the leftmost column is considered 1, the second-most column is considered 2, and so on. | Required |
| range_lookup |
It specifies the Boolean value as TRUE(Approximate match) or FALSE(Exact match).
|
Optional |
Points to Remember
- You can use the wildcard characters in the first argument lookup_value when specifying the FALSE value in the range_lookup argument, and the text string specified in the lookup_value.
- The best practice using the VLOOKUP function is to sort the first column in the table_array before employing the TRUE option in the range_lookup.
- To quickly fill in the formula in the cells' range, you must utilize the absolute references for the range_lookup to fill the exact lookup range.
- Before evaluating the VLOOKUP function, the data must not contain trailing, leading spaces, or special characters, as the function generates inaccurate results.
- If the col_index_num argument is larger than the total number of columns in the table array, the VLOOKUP function will retrieve the #REF! error.
- If the first argument table_array is smaller than 1, the VLOOKUP function will return the #VALUE! error.
- If the range_lookup is set to FALSE and the exact value is not found in the first column, the VLOOKUP function will retrieve the #N/A error.
- If the lookup_value is less than the smallest value presented in the table array's first column, then the VLOOKUP function will return the #N/A error.
- If you specify the text string in the first argument, then it must be enclosed in double quotation marks. Otherwise, will the VLOOKUP function retrieve the #NAME? error.
Example of VLOOKUP Function
Practice the following example to learn the use of the VLOOKUP function in Excel.
What does the VLOOKUP function do in Excel?
In this example, we will demonstrate the execution of the VLOOKUP function to search for specific data in the lookup column of the defined table.
Step 1 − First, assume the sample dataset where the lookup value is specified in the cell range B2:B4 and the respective data is mentioned in the cell range C2:G4.
Step 2 − After that, enter the formula =VLOOKUP(C5,B1:G3,4,FALSE) in the C7 cell.
And then hit the Enter tab to get the result.
Step 3 − Moreover, move to the G7 cell and write the formula =VLOOKUP(C5,B1:G3,11,FALSE). In this expression, the third argument, col_index_num, is 11, which does not exist in the table array.
Therefore, the VLOOKUP function returns the #REF! error.
Download Practice Sheet
You can download and use the sample data sheet to practice the VLOOKUP function.
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