VLOOKUP function in Google Sheets - Step-by-Step Guide

Introduction

VLOOKUP helps you find information in a table quickly. It looks for a value in the first column and returns a matching value from another column in the same row. This saves time when searching for data manually.

When you want to find a product price by entering its name.

When you need to get a student's grade by looking up their ID number.

When you want to match employee names with their phone numbers from a list.

When you have a list of cities and want to find their population from another table.

When you want to combine data from two sheets based on a common key.

Steps

Step 1: Click

- the cell where you want the result

The cell is selected and ready for input

Step 2: Type

- the selected cell

You start entering the formula

💡 Start with an equal sign (=) to tell Sheets you are entering a formula

Step 3: Enter

- the formula bar or cell

Formula looks like =VLOOKUP(search_key, range, index, [is_sorted])

💡 For example: =VLOOKUP(A2, B2:D10, 3, FALSE)

Step 4: Press

- Enter key

The cell shows the matching value from the table

Step 5: Check

- the formula and data

You see the correct value or an error if no match is found

Before vs After

Before

Cell C2 is empty; you have a table in B2:D10 with product names, IDs, and prices

After

Cell C2 shows the price of the product named in A2 by looking it up in the table

Settings Reference

search_key

📍 first argument in VLOOKUP formula

The value you want to find in the first column of the range

Default: none

range

📍 second argument in VLOOKUP formula

The table where you look for the search_key and get the result

Default: none

index

📍 third argument in VLOOKUP formula

The column number in the range to return the value from

Default: none

is_sorted

📍 fourth optional argument in VLOOKUP formula

TRUE finds approximate match; FALSE finds exact match

Default: TRUE

Common Mistakes

Using TRUE or leaving is_sorted blank when you want an exact match

This can return wrong or unexpected results if the data is not sorted

Always use FALSE for exact matches to get correct results

Setting index to 1 or less

Index 1 returns the search column itself, not the value you want

Set index to 2 or higher to get data from columns to the right

Not fixing the range with $ signs when copying the formula

The range shifts and causes wrong lookups

Use absolute references like $B$2:$D$10 to keep the range fixed

Summary

VLOOKUP finds a value in the first column of a table and returns a related value from another column.

Use FALSE for exact matches to avoid errors.

Fix the lookup range with $ signs when copying formulas to other cells.