Skip to content
Excel

LOOKUP function in Excel

Looks up values in a vector or array

=LOOKUP(lookup_value, lookup_vector, [result_vector])

LOOKUP syntax and parameters

Three arguments, two required.

  • lookup_valueanyRequired
  • lookup_vectorarrayRequired
  • result_vectorarrayOptional

LOOKUP examples

Formulas you'll actually reuse.

  1. A loyalty tier from spend — the thresholds must be sorted ascending:

    =LOOKUP(B2, {0, 1000, 5000, 20000}, {"Bronze", "Silver", "Gold", "Platinum"})

    Result"Gold"

  2. The last non-empty entry in a column — the classic LOOKUP trick:

    =LOOKUP(2, 1/(A2:A200 <> ""), A2:A200)

    Result"Acme Corp"

LOOKUP in Google Sheets

Same name — your formula ports as-is.

Try LOOKUP in the playground

Edit the example — nothing to install.

Preloaded with the LOOKUP formula from Example 1 — change anything and watch it respond.

Loading the editor…

LOOKUP errors

What they mean — and the fixes.

  • #N/A

    The value is smaller than every entry in the lookup vector — LOOKUP returns the largest entry at or below it, so start the vector with a floor such as 0.

Related functions

More ways Excel gets this done.