VLOOKUP

Intermediate

Lookup & Reference

Searches for a value in the first column of a table and returns a value in the same row from another column. Vertical lookup.

Syntax
=VLOOKUP(lookup_value, table_array, col_index_num, [range_lookup])
Parameters
lookup_value
Required
(any)

The value to search for in the first column

table_array
Required
(range)

The table range containing data

col_index_num
Required
(number)

Column number in the table to return value from

range_lookup(boolean)

TRUE for approximate match, FALSE for exact match

Examples
Real-world examples to help you understand how to use VLOOKUP

Find employee salary

=VLOOKUP("John", A1:C10, 3, FALSE)

Searches for "John" in column A and returns salary from column C

Result: Salary value

Product price lookup

=VLOOKUP(B2, Products!A:D, 4, FALSE)

Finds product price from another sheet

Result: Price from column 4

Grade lookup with ranges

=VLOOKUP(A1, GradeTable, 2, TRUE)

Approximate match for grade ranges

Result: Letter grade

Common Use Cases
  • ✓Look up employee information
  • ✓Find product prices or details
  • ✓Merge data from different tables
  • ✓Create automated invoices
  • ✓Search database records
Pro Tips
  • 💡Use FALSE for exact match in most cases
  • 💡First column of table_array must contain lookup values
  • 💡Consider XLOOKUP as modern replacement
  • 💡Use $ to lock table_array when copying formula
Common Errors
  • ⚠️#N/A - Lookup value not found
  • ⚠️#REF! - col_index_num exceeds table columns
  • ⚠️#VALUE! - col_index_num is not a number
  • ⚠️Wrong results with TRUE when data not sorted
Related Formulas
HLOOKUPXLOOKUPINDEXMATCH

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