Vlookup vs Index and Match in Excel

Posted on:  08/26/2017
Vlookup vs Index and Match in Excel

Vlookup is a great function. Most Excel users would have it in their top 10 function list. VLOOKUP is a lookup and reference function. If you are trying to find things in a table or a range by row Vlookup is a great function to use. Two other functions when joined together are better than Vlookup. They are the Index and Match function.

Just two reasons to use Index and Match over Vlookup in Excel:

  1. If you add or delete a column in your table, Vlookup will be wrong and Index and Match will still be correct.
  2. Vlookup can only look to the right. It can’t look to the left. Index and Match can look left and right.

Video on Vlookup vs. Index and Match

Type in this information in Excel.

Excel Data VLOOKUP

Type a county in F2 (the United States is shown) and the Index and Match function and Vlookup function.

VLOOKUP index match functions

 

Chris Menard

Chris Menard is a certified Microsoft Trainer (MCT) and works as a full-time Trainer at BakerHostetler - one of the largest law firms in the US. He runs a YouTube channel with 900+ technology videos that cover various tools such as Excel, Word, Zoom, Teams, Gmail, Google Calendar, and Outlook. To date, the channel has helped over 20 million viewers. Menard also does 2 to 3 public speaking events every year, presenting at the Administrative Professional Conference (APC), the EA Ignite Conference, the Support Staff Conference, the University of Georgia, and CPA conferences. You can connect with him on LinkedIn at https://chrismenardtraining.com/linkedin or watch his videos on YouTube at https://chrismenardtraining.com/youtube.

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