Comments on: INDEX & MATCH in Excel - better alternative to VLOOKUP

This tutorial demonstrates the key strengths of Excel's INDEX / MATCH function that make it superior to VLOOKUP. You will find a number of formula examples that will help you easily cope with many complex tasks when VLOOKUP fails. Continue reading →

Comments page 4. Total comments: 614

  1. I have a result set as below:
    COL A COL B
    1111987 1224
    1119361 1072
    1119361 1223
    1119361 1224
    1123961 1223
    1123961 1224
    1124136 1072
    1124136 1223

    Since No# - 1124136, isn't having a combo of 1224, I wish to have that as a result.
    Please assist.

    1. Hello!
      If I understand your task correctly, the following formula should work for you:

      =INDEX(A1:A8,MATCH(0,COUNTIFS(A1:A8,"="&A1:A8,B1:B8,"=1224"),0))

      I hope this will help

  2. I have name of students in column B and grade scored in column BT in sheet 1. I want to pull the name of students who scored A to sheet 2, B to sheet 3, C to sheet 4 etc

  3. I am looking to match based on two unique numbers that have the same result. The lookup tables or array results are in a different
    Example.

    Column A = US product ID #
    Column B = CA product ID #
    Column C = the product name of both Column A and Column B of that Same row, so can have either a corresponding US or CA Product ID

    Example: US1234 or CA123 = pencils

    For the entry, they will only enter in product ID number below, and I want to dynamically return the product name without knowing if it will be a US ID or a CA iD
    Product ID Product Name

    Thanks

    1. Hello Joseph!
      If I understand your task correctly, the following formula should work for you:

      =IFERROR(INDEX(C1:C5,MAX(IFERROR(MATCH("*"&$E$1&"*",A1:A5,0),-1), IFERROR(MATCH("*"&$E$1&"*",B1:B5,0),-1))),"ERROR")

      where E1 -- Product ID

      I hope this will help, otherwise please do not hesitate to contact me anytime.

  4. Hi all,Good day
    I need some help.
    I have a list of 5000 items.
    For each item, many Purchase orders have been raised.
    how to extract item wise Purchase order numbers. Tried VLOOKUP and pivot , not able to get.

    1. Hello ANAND!
      I’m sorry but your task is not entirely clear to me.
      What is " item wise Purchase order numbers"? What exactly do you want to count? How many purchase orders were there? Amount?
      For me to be able to help you better, please describe your task in more detail. It’ll help me understand it better and find a solution for you. Thank you.

  5. I am using the formula to copy values from one sheet to other, from a table with 8 columns. The value has to come from the 8th column. The formula is working fine. Kindly inform if any variable can be put instead of writing 8.
    Thanks.
    Sheets("EXE_1").Select
    Range("O4").Select
    ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = _
    "=IFERROR((INDEX(MIN_WIP!R4C17:R20C25, MATCH(EXE_1!RC[-13],MIN_WIP!R4C17:R20C17,0),8)),""0"")"

    1. Hello Manas!
      It is possible to insert an expression, which will return a number, instead of "8" in your formula. However, to give you a full and accurate answer, additional information on the result you would like to get is required. Moreover, I would like to see your formula in standard view, not R1C1.

  6. Hello,
    I have a table of values where I want to pick a specific unit, look for the last (previous) "on" for that unit, and record/calculate the time in between when the unit was turned on and when it was turned off.

    I.E. - Lights - Jerry turned the lights ON @ 11/1/2019 10:56AM and OFF @ 11:05AM so the DURATION = 00:09:00.

    Person TIME ON/OFF UNIT DURATION
    Dan 11/1/2019 10:00AM OFF Lamp
    Jerry 11/1/2019 10:56AM ON Lights
    Tom 11/1/2019 10:59AM ON Door
    Dan 11/1/2019 11:02AM ON Car
    Dan 11/1/2019 11:03AM OFF Car 00:01:00
    Jerry 11/1/2019 11:05AM OFF Lights 00:09:00

    How do I get the DURATION cell in the "Lights" "OFF" line to populate based off the TIME from the last "Lights" "ON" line?

    Thank you!

  7. Hi,
    I try to lookup formula match with any of two different range. It means first look with A4 suppose if details not available means get the data with B4 cell.

  8. It seems a Windows update has now broken this formula and it produces a #SPILL error message. Can you produce a workaround for this?

    1. Hi Graham,

      I've retested the formulas in our sample worksheet. All seem to be working normally. Can you please specify exactly which one returns an error?

  9. NEW STOCK
    TOTAL
    32

    OLD STOCK
    TOTAL
    45

    OLD 0-100 DAYS
    40
    OLD 100+ DAYS
    5
    NEW 0-100 DAYS
    RESULT REQUIRED
    32
    NEW 100+ DAYS
    0

  10. Hi, if there a “name “in a2,a6,a7,a16 etc how can I fetch data of b2,b6,b7 and so on? I tried using index but it ends up with showing result of b2 only

  11. Hi Team,
    I am trying to use index match in the following situation, could you please assist with this? :
    tab1 : current month data - FTE details containing staff number, name, FTE,Position,auto pay-Y/N
    Tab2 : previous month data - FTE details containing staff number, name, FTE,Position,auto pay-Y/N
    I want to see all the leavers so I am using the following formula, please let me know how to correct this :
    =if(index(current month staff id,match(1,(current month auto pay=Y)*(current month=Jul19)*(previous month staff id=current month),0))=previous month staff id," ","Leaver")

  12. Hi! How can I add more criteria to the INDEX MATCH formula when looking up at let's say 5 parameters to get more than one return, i.e. looking up suppliers criteria to return supplier names? I've managed to utilize INDEX MATCH but if there is more than one supplier matching the criteria, the formula only returns the first supplier name.
    THanks!

  13. Pulling my hair out now.
    Main Data table has skills in column A, Names across the top in row 5, and the data that links these are 1-5 (skills matrix basically).
    I'm trying to now (on a separate tab) pull the info per individual, in that on a new sheet, I have a list of the names, but to the right of them (in multiple cells) have all the skills that they have a 5 against. (Basically, trying to get a list of all their top rated skills).
    Rough look of data;
    Jay | Chris
    Redhat 5 5 | 4
    Redhat 6 4 | 5
    AIX 7 5 | 3

    From here, I'd like the formula to look through Jay, and next to his name (in the new sheet) pull Redhat 5, then AIX 7. For Chris it would just be Redhat 6.
    Hope someone can help!!

  14. =INDEX([12.xlsx]Sheet1!$F$2:$F$141,MATCH([12.xlsx]Sheet1!$E$2:$E$141,P6:P18,1))

  15. i am able to get the value but it is not matching

  16. i am trying but it is not matching

  17. Good afternoon, I am using the array formula to match a single value, I was wondering what can I change to get all the lower than $k$1.For example, if I type 300 in $K$1 I want the system to go and find all the values between -0 to 300 included.
    =IFERROR(INDEX(Data!$A$9:$A$900,SMALL(IF(COUNTIF($K$1,Data!$H$9:$H$900), MATCH(ROW(Data!$H$9:$H$900), ROW(Data!$H$9:$H$900)), ""), ROWS($A$1:A1))),"")
    It would be great if you can help me.

  18. Hi! I just need the same formula that Lee-Anne requested above.
    Thank you!

  19. So can I use the index & Match with named Ranges?
    I keep trying but it keeps coming back N/A, (A value is not available)
    Thanks

  20. Hi Madam,
    Today I am trying two-dimensional VLOOKUP formula e.i(=INDEX($A$1:$E$11, 4, 5, 0)).
    I need to try =INDEX($A$1:$E$11, 5, 4, 0)).....Is it possible??
    pls help

  21. Please help!!! I have a large workbook contains 100+ worksheets. on Each worksheet I have a product number in column B and the worksheet name in column c
    In a summary sheet I have a list of product numbers in column D.
    Is there a way to use Index and Match to search the entire workbook in Column B of each worksheet, for the product number located in my summary sheet in column D and return the worksheet name located in column C of each worksheet?

    Thank you so much!

  22. please help. i have 3 columns. how to find the value of Bus 3 & car 3 values using index and match functions

    col 1 col 2 col 3

    bus 1 2100
    bus 2 200
    bus 3 500

    car 1 200
    car 2 300
    car 3 400

  23. hello i am having some trouble with my index match function i am usung it to return one size below my input size for instance when i input a size D10.75 it returns D10.01 (the way our measurements work) but when i move to a size under 10 ( D9.4) it will return our largest size (30) just wondering if anyone has had similar issues i have not found any errors with sizes above 10

  24. Hi Svetlana,
    The fantastic thing about Index Match is it solves most of the troubleshooting issues that arise from the other lookup functions. You can find a related value in any table at all, searching on any value you have. The other file doesn't have to have the same set of values on the search variable, nor does it have to be sorted in any order. So Index Match is amazingly powerful, flexible and accurate. Of course it does takes some concentration to work with it.
    I first figured out the Index Match combination back in the 90's when I was doing heavy analysis of data. I'm glad to see it's eventually getting to be better known. It would be a lot better known if Microsoft made it into a single function, which would be easier than combining two functions yourself.

  25. Hi, Thank you for this useful information about index & match. It is very useful to us and it will save time to us for our work.

  26. Hi, Svetlana. Thank you for a great tutorial. Unfortunately, I'm quite new at Excel, and have trouble applying INDEX/MATCH in my sheet. I hope you can help. Here goes: I have one summary tab (X) where each column's data would be ported over to different tabs (Y) in the sheet. Each column of X will be numbered at their corresponding topmost cell from 1 to 10, and each Y tab will be labelled from 1 to 10 in a specific cell. Would it be possible to match/lookup X 1 to Y 1 (X 2 to Y 2, and so on) so that the range of data in column X 1 ports over to a column in Y 2? (I hope what I wrote makes sense).

    1. Sorry. For the last sentence, I meant to port the range of data in column X 1 onto Y 1.

  27. I'm having issues with INDEX/MATCH using a large data set (180,000+ rows, 15 columns). The value in A2 is 40000001. The formula I am using is =INDEX($A$1:$O$74190,MATCH(A2,$L$1:$L$74190,0),15) and it results in a #N/A. However, when I change it to =INDEX($A$1:$O$74190,MATCH("40000001",$L$1:$L$74190,0),15) it pulls in the correct value. Why will it not recognize A2 as being 40000001?

  28. good day, i'm using v lookup but want to try the Index Match. problem is i've got double dates because i work on 2 shifts. obviously if says #value. how can i make this work?

  29. I have a table with a lot of data - need to take column A (product ID) and all of the MATCH Column A take and add all of the numbers from Column C (Qty) and Column D (price) and Place in new table with Product ID, Product Name, Total QTY, Total Price, and Average Price (( column B product description))

  30. Hi
    Great tutorial. I am unable to find a solution for an issue we have. I have tried combinations of SUMIF and VLOOKUP without success.

    We have a roster built in Excel and this has a range of duties in rows as below
    Date1 Date2 Date3 Date4 Date5
    AD01 BN01 BN01 PH01 ML07

    The codes refer to a number of sectors in a named range "Duties" and the number of sectors are in column 3 of that range. AD01 = 2, BN01 = 3, PH01 = 4, ML07 = 1

    What I need is a sum that totals the row, so in the example above, the result will be 13 (2+3+3+4+1).

    Any help will be appreciated.

  31. Hi ,
    I am struggling with a data table.
    I have one parameter in first column , i have a value to lookup in an array pertaining to a particular Row based on values in 1st column.
    I have to return the collumn hedder data for theat particular indexed Row(Based on parameter in 1st col ) & Column (Based on the desired lookup value )

    Hope you understood my problem.

  32. The only practical advantage I'm seeing over vlookup from the article is if you want to look left or if you have a HUGE file, although I've never encountered any noticeable lag with vlookup even in gigantic files.

    Most users don't lookup cells with over 250 characters.

    If you use Tables instead of ranges, then inserting columns/rows will not affect vlookup.

    You can use Sumif(s) to obtain the same response as the last array example.

    Vlookup allows approximate matches and the index/match also requires values to be sorted in either increasing/decreasing order.

    Am I missing another advantage that allows more flexible lookups, i.e. names that may not be spelled exactly the same way??

  33. I have column A2:A10, B2:B10, C2:C10, D2:D10, with random name and few are matching within. Also in same sheet from A13 to A75 have main name table, now I want EXACT MATCH if any name MATCH (priority) 3 times or 2 times within A2:A10, B2:B10, C2:C10, D2:D10 if 3 times match need HIGHLIGHT exact NAME in main table (A13 to A75).

    If possible please help me, Thanks in advance.

  34. I am trying to sort a Christmas list i have made on Open Office into my grandkids names. The list I made has 3 main columns..A,B and C with multible columns.... D,E,F,etc.with "x' in them for each person that gets that gift. I would like to write a formula that would copy column A,B & C for the person in say D column(Caitlin) that has an x beside it. I tried writing a formula for say a-1 that says =if(d629="x";+a6290 but it doesn't work. I would also like for it to move to the next row under D if there is no x in d629.
    If you could help me out, I would greatly appreciate it.

    Thanks and ...HAVE A GREAT DAY and a MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!

  35. I need formula to display the lowest vendor for each row. Can anyone help with this as the Index function uses range which is giving error due to values are located in alternate columns.

    Thank you

    | Vendor | Discount | Price | Vendor | Discount | Price | Lowest vendor|
    Product 1| AAA | 15 | 2000 | BBB | 10 | 2500 | ???formula |
    Product 2| CCC | 15 | 1500 | DDD | 20 | 1000 | ???formula |

  36. I have a scenario, I want to pickup data from another sheet where in like following
    Name/month/place
    A/apr-18/x
    A/apr-18/y

    How do I lookup the place from this sheet to another using index and match. Conditions are place is unique bit name and month will get repeat so it's a kind of multiple criteria. I have done this through vlookup by added a column but I want to know in this format

  37. I have two columns that are pull down lists and I want to to pull in the required value of the intersections based on the selection from the pull down lists... I have a basic risk register developed that I would like to correlate the correct risk value... For example I have a consequence pulldown list (AK11) and a likelihood pull down list (AL11) and I want to match the correct value into AK12... the table that I am using to reference is a simple 5 x 5...

    I cannot seem to get the index table and match formula to work - I either get a 0 or no value?

  38. Would like to ask if there is also an alternative to this if you are looking for cells containing a certain value. The thing with the index-match formula is that it finds for the exact value. it is similar to the vlookup with approximate match. Thing is the data is on the right side so I'm needing a left lookup formula with approximate match, not exact match.

    Thank you for those who can answer my query.

  39. I am trying to get a formula to lookup a "itemNo" and search for the lowest 6 bidders in a table as given below. Would greatly appreciate your support.

    SEARCH Item_02
    No of Bidders 6

    Class Bidder Value
    1 LISTEC HOLDINGS #VALUE!
    2 HEMSONS #VALUE!
    3 ANALYTICAL INSTRUMENTS #VALUE!
    4 LABORATORY EQUIPMENTS #VALUE!
    5 AVON #VALUE!
    6 HI FI CENTER PROJECT #VALUE!

    SUPPLIERS Item_01 Item_02 Item_03 Item_04
    LISTEC HOLDINGS Rs. 225,000 Rs. 29,688 Rs. 83,000 Rs. 68,000
    TECHNO INSTRUMENTS N/Q N/Q Rs. 974,370 Rs. 1,583,090
    ROTEX N/Q N/Q Rs. 650,000 N/Q
    AVON Rs. 518,790 N/Q N/Q N/Q
    ATA INTERNATIONAL N/Q Rs. 79,000 Rs. 978,000 Rs. 1,490,000
    CAN COM Rs. 140,000 Rs. 6,500 Rs. 1,450,000 Rs. 2,350,000
    HI FI CENTER PROJECT Rs. 585,800 Rs. 18,300 Rs. 331,000 Rs. 321,000
    HEMSONS Rs. 369,860 Rs. 99,750 N/Q N/Q
    ISLAND WIDE SCIENTIFIC N/Q N/Q Rs. 4,136,000 Rs. 2,811,000
    CLARION INTERNATIONAL Rs. 1,534,000 N/Q Rs. 970,000 Rs. 1,165,000
    SALID ZONE N/Q N/Q Rs. 627,300
    RAMATAS GLOBALTRADING N/Q N/Q Rs. 1,440,000 Rs. 1,760,000

  40. Good day Svetlana,

    I hope you will be able to help me. I have been going back and fourth between whether to use a macro or formula to solve this problem and am still not sure.

    I have two columns from one spreadsheet and 3 columns from another that I first need to line up and match the invoice numbers from each of the two sets of columns and then I need to find the difference between the values of the other two columns from each set. The last column will tell me who VP those differences will be assigned to.

    This INDEX/MATCH formula seems like the best (formula) method to attempt, but I have over 7000 rows that I need to line up and find the differences for each all at the same time.

    The best (macro) method I have found is from here: http://sites.madrocketscientist.com/jerrybeaucaires-excelassistant/text-functions/line-up-matches and it works almost perfectly, except for the last 400 rows, the macro splits them up in two columns despite the fact that they still match each other.

    If you happen to know how I can achieve this through a formula, I would appreciate any and all help on this one.

    Thank you very much Svetlana.
    Dennis

  41. Hi,
    I need to look up for a multiple colums with offset for client invoice # po# amount details etc. Please help.
    Regards
    Rashmi

  42. Hello,

    I am trying to reference a sheet that runs horizontally and use INDEX MATCH to fill in another sheet that runs vertical. But is based on multiple criteria.

    IE :

    Customer Measure wk 35 wk 36 wk 37 wk 38
    Erik Retail $9.99 $9.99 $9.99 $9.99
    Erik Cost $4.50 $4.50 $4.50 $4.50
    Erik Sellout FCST 100 100 150 100
    Erik Channel Inventory 250 150 0 100

    I need to look up "Erik", by "sellout FCST" by "wk 37"

    I understand INDEX and with MATCH which was a fantastic tutorial. But i am having trouble adding this small example above.

    Thank you for any help provided.
    E

  43. Hello. I am working on a spreadsheet and trying to figure out the best way. What I need is to find a match from the sheet I am working on which starts on E3. I want to be able to look on the same row on a different sheet that matches the text in E3. It will have a range to match from E3-J3 on the other sheet. However, I do not want it to simply return the value found in that matches, I want it to designate text for each column. Basically if row E3 has the text Cookie in it and it finds a match on the other sheet row 3 in the columns E3-J3 that also contains Cookie, how can I make it return a value based on the column it is found in? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

  44. Hi,

    Which formula do I put in D2 to achieve the following?

    If A2 contains all the text (consecutively but not an exact match) from any cell from range B2 through B50, then display the corresponding text that's currently located in column C in that corresponding row. So if it finds that A2 contains text (consecutively but not an exact match) that exists say in B47 then it should display the text from C47 in column D2.

    Your help would really be appreciated

  45. Hi, My data is A4:J22.
    I have column B which contains the category name, used multiple times.
    I have column F containing a dollar value amount still to be paid.

    In cell K3, I want put the total dollar value (from column F) for specific text "Meal Entertainment" in column B.

    Eg:
    Column B: Column F:
    Meal Entertainment $20.00
    Living Expenses $1,000.00
    Living Expenses $50.00
    Meal Entertainment $100.00

    So, in column K3, I want to end up with an amount of $120.00.

    Thanks in advance.

    1. Thanks. I will give this a try.

      1. THANK YOU!!!! It works perfectly.

        1. Lee-Anne, could you share the solution? It appears the previous comment has been deleted, but I am running into the same problem!

  46. Please help me to match information in order to return the correct code to Column A.....Column B (desc) contains information to be matched to column C (type) and then return Column D (code) to Column A....Column B is a description column and contains different information to describe type, but is all the same. Thank You for your Help!
    Ex.
    B C D
    1 Motor Truck Sc Motor Truck Sc MTS
    2 Truck Sc
    3 MTS

  47. Plsss help me, how can I lookup Apple3 & Orange4 value-

    Apple1 80
    Apple2 100
    Apple3 90
    Orange1 120
    Orange2 220
    Orange3 180
    Orange4 160

  48. Hi... I am working on pulling information from one tab containing several columns of numbers into a separate tab. I used the index function and it works great, but only for one instance of the "search" box. I'm using it to pull information from various events that have occurred at the arena in which I work. How would I adjust the formula to make it pull all of the events that have the same name? For example, Jimmy Buffett has performed multiple times here, but when I type "jimmy buffett" in my search cell, it only pulls data from one show, when he has has four shows here.

  49. Request your help in below issue. Want to match the cell value in column but unable to do that. Please help me.

    Column1 Column2
    2133 GMA
    2133 MCA
    2133 MCA2
    6488 USI
    6488 GMA
    7645 MCA2
    7645 USI
    6488 NOT

    Column4 column5(GMA) Column6(MCA2) Column7(MCA)
    2133
    6488
    7645

    Request your help in creating the formula that can match the value against column4 from column2 and column2.

  50. Sheet 1
    Line# PO Qty Reciver
    2 222000 10 A20535
    6 222000 15 A20587
    9 222000 20 A20687

    Sheet 2
    line# PO Receiver
    2 222000 A20535 ;A20587;A20687 (Answer)

    I need the answer by making formula in Sheet 2 as display above.

    Please help

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