Lookup & Reference
Deprecated
VLOOKUP
Searches the first column of a range and returns a value from the same row.
Available in All versions
Syntax
VLOOKUP(lookup_value, table_array, col_index_num, [range_lookup])What it returns
The value from the chosen column, on the matched row.
Arguments
| Argument | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
lookup_value |
Yes | The value to look up in the first column. |
table_array |
Yes | The table in which to search. |
col_index_num |
Yes | The column number from which to return the value. |
range_lookup |
No | TRUE/1 approximate (default), FALSE/0 exact match. |
Example
Lookup value
Apple
| A | B | C | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fruit | Stock | Price |
| 2 | Apple | 12 | 1.20 |
| 3 | Banana | 40 | 0.50 |
| 4 | Cherry | 8 | 3.00 |
Result
1.20
Find Apple, return the value from the 3rd column (Price).
=VLOOKUP("Apple", A2:C10, 3, FALSE)Important to know
Approximate match is the default — with TRUE/1 the first column must be sorted ascending, or results are wrong.
Use FALSE/0 for exact lookups.
Searches left-to-right only (lookup column must be first).