How to Use VLOOKUP in Excel

In this tutorial, you will learn how to use VLOOKUP in Excel.

When you need to search by row in a table or a range, use VLOOKUP. For instance, you could use the part number to check the cost of an automobile part or the employee ID to seek for a person’s name.

Once ready, we’ll get started by utilizing real-world examples to show you how to use VLOOKUP in Excel.

What is VLOOKUP

=VLOOKUP([value], [range], [column number], [false or true])

Argument Description
lookup_value The key value to look for
lookup_array the range or array to search
[column number] The range or array to return
[false or true] If the value you’re seeking for exactly matches, the result will be 0 or FALSE; if not, it will be 1, or TRUE.

Use VLOOKUP in Excel

Before we begin we will need a group of data to be used to use VLOOKUP in Excel.

Step 1

First, you need to have a clean and tidy group of data to work with. In this example, you can use the VLOOKUP function to look for the description for Apple.

Step 2

To find the description for ‘Apple’, you can put this formula =VLOOKUP(D2,A2:B6,2,FALSE).

Step 3

Once you press enter, your formula will return something like this.

Summary

That’s all there is to it. You are welcome to copy the example spreadsheet below to see how it is done. The most crucial lesson is to enjoy yourself while doing it.

In this tutorial, I covered how to use VLOOKUP in Excel.