MATCH

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When to use it

When should I use MATCH instead of VLOOKUP?

Use MATCH when you need the position (row or column number) of a value rather than the value itself — often combined with INDEX to build a flexible lookup.

How do I force MATCH to find an exact match?

Pass 0 as the third argument. Using 1 or -1 assumes the list is sorted and returns the nearest match instead.

Use cases

Locate a name in a roster

Use MATCH inside INDEX for a lookup

Used in

operations · sales

Syntax

MATCH(search_key, range, [match_type])

Examples

=MATCH("a",{"a","b","c"},0) // => 1
=MATCH("b",{"a","b","c"},0) // => 2
=MATCH("c",{"a","b","c"},0) // => 3