FIND vs SEARCH in Excel: Key Differences and When to Use Each
FIND locates text with case sensitivity and returns the position of the first match, while SEARCH does the same but ignores case. Both return the position number or an error if the text is not found.Quick Comparison
Here is a quick side-by-side comparison of the FIND and SEARCH functions in Excel.
| Feature | FIND | SEARCH |
|---|---|---|
| Case Sensitivity | Case-sensitive | Case-insensitive |
| Wildcard Support | No | Yes (supports ? and *) |
| Error if Not Found | Returns #VALUE! error | Returns #VALUE! error |
| Start Position Optional | Yes, can specify start number | Yes, can specify start number |
| Use Case | Exact case match needed | Flexible search ignoring case |
Key Differences
The main difference between FIND and SEARCH is case sensitivity. FIND treats uppercase and lowercase letters as different, so searching for "apple" will not find "Apple". In contrast, SEARCH ignores case, so it treats "apple" and "Apple" as the same.
Another difference is that SEARCH supports wildcards like ? (any single character) and * (any sequence of characters), which FIND does not. This makes SEARCH more flexible for pattern matching.
Both functions return the position number of the first character of the found text within the searched string, or a #VALUE! error if the text is not found. You can also specify a starting position for the search in both functions.
FIND Example
=FIND("cat", "The Cat sat on the mat", 1)
SEARCH Equivalent
=SEARCH("cat", "The Cat sat on the mat", 1)
When to Use Which
Choose FIND when you need an exact case match, such as distinguishing "Dog" from "dog". Use SEARCH when case does not matter or when you want to use wildcards for flexible searching. For example, SEARCH is better for user input where case may vary.