How to Use REGEXREPLACE in Google Sheets: Simple Guide

Use REGEXREPLACE(text, regular_expression, replacement) in Google Sheets to replace parts of text that match a pattern with new text. It works by searching the text for matches to the regular_expression and replacing them with the replacement string.

Syntax

The REGEXREPLACE function has three parts:

• text: The original text or cell reference where you want to replace text.
• regular_expression: The pattern you want to find, written as a regular expression.
• replacement: The text you want to use instead of the matched pattern.

The function looks like this:

plaintext

REGEXREPLACE(text, regular_expression, replacement)

Example

This example replaces all digits in the text with the word "#".

If cell A1 contains: Order123, the formula:

google_sheets_formula

=REGEXREPLACE(A1, "\\d", "#")

Output

Order###

Common Pitfalls

Common mistakes include:

• Not escaping special characters in the regular expression (like \).
• Using plain text instead of a proper regular expression pattern.
• Forgetting that the replacement text is literal and does not interpret regex groups unless you use $1, $2, etc.

Wrong example (missing escape for dot):

google_sheets_formula

=REGEXREPLACE("file.txt", ".txt", "_backup.txt")

Correct example (escaped dot):
=REGEXREPLACE("file.txt", "\.txt", "_backup.txt")

Quick Reference

Parameter	Description	Example
text	Text or cell to search	"Hello123"
regular_expression	Pattern to find	"\\d" (matches digits)
replacement	Text to replace matches	"#"

Key Takeaways

REGEXREPLACE replaces text matching a pattern using regular expressions.

Always escape special regex characters like dot (.) with double backslashes (\\).

Replacement text is literal; use $1, $2 to refer to captured groups if needed.

Test your regex pattern to avoid unexpected replacements.

Use REGEXREPLACE to clean or format text dynamically in your sheets.