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VLOOKUP function in Google Sheets

Vertical lookup. Searches down the first column of a range for a key and returns the value of a specified cell in the row found.

=VLOOKUP(search_key, range, index, is_sorted)

VLOOKUP syntax and parameters

Four arguments, three required.

  • search_keyanyRequired

    The value to search for in the search column.

  • rangerangeRequired
  • indexanyRequired
  • is_sortedbooleanOptional

    [OPTIONAL] The manner in which to find a match for the search_key. FALSE: For an exact match, this is recommended. TRUE: For an approximate match, this is the default if is_sorted is unspecified. Tip: Before you use an approximate match, sort your search key in ascending order. Otherwise, you may likely get a wrong return value. Learn why you may encounter a wrong return value.

VLOOKUP examples

Formulas you'll actually reuse.

  1. The price for the SKU in E2 — FALSE forces an exact match:

    =VLOOKUP(E2, A2:C200, 3, FALSE)

    Result24.99

  2. A tier from spend with an approximate match — thresholds sorted ascending:

    =VLOOKUP(B2, {0, "Bronze"; 1000, "Silver"; 5000, "Gold"; 20000, "Platinum"}, 2, TRUE)

    Result"Gold"

VLOOKUP in Excel

Same name — your formula ports as-is.

Try VLOOKUP in the playground

Edit the example — nothing to install.

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

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VLOOKUP errors

What they mean — and the fixes.

  • #N/A

    No exact match — check for trailing spaces, numbers stored as text, or a lookup value that isn't in the FIRST column of the range.

  • #REF!

    The column index is larger than the number of columns in the range.

Related functions

More ways Google Sheets gets this done.