Scribd
Upload
100 views

How To Use Index and Match

This document explains how to use the INDEX and MATCH functions in Excel to perform lookups. It discusses how INDEX retrieves a value based on row and column numbers, and how MATCH finds the position of a lookup value. It then shows how to combine INDEX and MATCH to perform dynamic lookups by nesting MATCH inside INDEX. Examples are provided for two-way lookups, left lookups, case-sensitive lookups, closest matches, and multiple criteria lookups.

Uploaded by

Golam Masud
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
100 views

How To Use Index and Match

This document explains how to use the INDEX and MATCH functions in Excel to perform lookups. It discusses how INDEX retrieves a value based on row and column numbers, and how MATCH finds the position of a lookup value. It then shows how to combine INDEX and MATCH to perform dynamic lookups by nesting MATCH inside INDEX. Examples are provided for two-way lookups, left lookups, case-sensitive lookups, closest matches, and multiple criteria lookups.

Uploaded by

Golam Masud
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 10

How to use INDEX and MATCH

INDEX and MATCH is the most popular tool in Excel for performing more advanced
lookups. This is because INDEX and MATCH is incredibly flexible – you can do
horizontal and vertical lookups, 2-way lookups, left lookups, case-sensitive lookups, and
even lookups based on multiple criteria. If you want to improve your Excel skills, INDEX
and MATCH should be on your list.

This article explains in simple terms how to use INDEX and MATCH together to perform
lookups. It takes a step-by-step approach, first explaining INDEX, then MATCH, then
showing you how to combine the two functions together to create a dynamic two-way
lookup. There are more advanced examples further down the page.

The INDEX Function


The INDEX function in Excel is fantastically flexible and powerful, and you'll find it in a
huge number of Excel formulas, especially advanced formulas. But what does INDEX
actually do? In a nutshell, INDEX retrieves the value at a given location in a range. For
example, let's say you have a table of planets in our solar system (see below), and you
want to get the name of the 4th planet, Mars, with a formula. You can use INDEX like
this:
=INDEX(B3:B11,4)

INDEX returns the value in the 4th row of the range.


Video: How to look things up with INDEX
What if you want to get the diameter of Mars with INDEX? In that case, we can supply
both a row number and a column number, and provide a larger range. The INDEX
formula below uses the full range of data in B3:D11, with a row number of 4 and column
number of 2:
=INDEX(B3:D11,4,2)

INDEX retrieves the value at row 4, column 2.


To summarize, INDEX gets a value at a given location in a range of cells based on
numeric position. When the range is one-dimensional, you only need to supply a row
number. When the range is two-dimensional, you'll need to supply both the row and
column number.

At this point, you may be thinking "So what? How often do you actually know the
position of something in a spreadsheet?"

Exactly right. We need a way to locate the position of things we're looking for.

Enter the MATCH function.

The MATCH function


The MATCH function is designed for one purpose: find the position of an item in a range.
For example, we can use MATCH to get the position of the word "peach" in this list of
fruits like this:
=MATCH("peach",B3:B9,0)
MATCH returns 3, since "Peach" is the 3rd item. MATCH is not case-sensitive.
MATCH doesn't care if a range is horizontal or vertical, as you can see below:
=MATCH("peach",C4:I4,0)

Same result with a horizontal range, MATCH returns 3.


Video: How to use MATCH for exact matches
Important: The last argument in the MATCH function is match type. Match type is
important and controls whether matching is exact or approximate. In many cases you
will want to use zero (0) to force exact match behavior. Match type defaults to 1, which
means approximate match, so it's important to provide a value. See the MATCH page for
more details.
INDEX and MATCH together
Now that we've covered the basics of INDEX and MATCH, how do we combine the two
functions in a single formula? Consider the data below, a table showing a list of
salespeople and monthly sales numbers for three months: January, February, and March.
Let's say we want to write a formula that returns the sales number for February for a
given salesperson. From the discussion above, we know we can give INDEX a row and
column number to retrieve a value. For example, to return the February sales number for
Frantz, we provide the range C3:E11 with a row 5 and column 2:
=INDEX(C3:E11,5,2) // returns $5194
But we obviously don't want to hardcode numbers. Instead, we want a dynamic lookup.
How will we do that? The MATCH function of course. MATCH will work perfectly for
finding the positions we need. Working one step at a time, let's leave the column
hardcoded as 2 and make the row number dynamic. Here's the revised formula, with the
MATCH function nested inside INDEX in place of 5:
=INDEX(C3:E11,MATCH("Frantz",B3:B11,0),2)
Taking things one step further, we'll use the value from H2 in MATCH:
=INDEX(C3:E11,MATCH(H2,B3:B11,0),2)
MATCH finds "Frantz" and returns 5 to INDEX for row.
To summarize:

1. INDEX needs numeric positions.


2. MATCH finds those positions.
3. MATCH is nested inside INDEX.
Let's now tackle the column number.

Two-way lookup with INDEX and MATCH


Above, we used the MATCH function to find the row number dynamically, but
hardcoded the column number. How can we make the formula fully dynamic, so we
can can return sales for any given salesperson in any given month? The trick is to use
MATCH twice – once to get a row position, and once to get a column position.

From the examples above, we know MATCH works fine with both horizontal and
vertical arrays. That means we can easily find the position of a given month with
MATCH. For example, this formula return the position of March, which is 3:
=MATCH("Mar",C2:E2,0) // returns 3
But of course we don't want to hardcode any values, so let's update the worksheet to
allow the input of a month name, and use MATCH to find the column number we need.
The screen below shows the result:
A fully dynamic, two-way lookup with INDEX and MATCH.
=INDEX(C3:E11,MATCH(H2,B3:B11,0),MATCH(H3,C2:E2,0))
The first MATCH formula returns 5 to INDEX as the row number, the second MATCH
formula returns 3 to INDEX as the column number. Once MATCH runs, the formula
simplifies to:
=INDEX(C3:E11,5,3)
and INDEX correctly returns $10,525, the sales number for Frantz in March.

Note: you could use Data Validation to create dropdown menus to select salesperson and
month. 
Video: How to do a two-way lookup with INDEX and MATCH
Video: How to debug a formula with F9 (to see MATCH return values)
Left lookup
One of the key advantages of INDEX and MATCH over the VLOOKUP function is the
ability to perform a "left lookup". Simply put, this just means a lookup where the ID
column is to the right of the values you want to retrieve, as seen in the example below:
Read a detailed explanation here.
Case-sensitive lookup
By itself, the MATCH function is not case-sensitive. However, you use the EXACT
function with INDEX and MATCH to perform a lookup that respects upper and lower
case, as shown below:
Read a detailed explanation here.
Note: this is an array formula and must be entered with control + shift + enter, except
in Excel 365.
Closest match
Another example that shows off the flexibility of INDEX and MATCH is the problem of
finding the closest match. In the example below, we use the MIN function together with
the ABS function to create a lookup value and a lookup array inside the MATCH
function. Essentially, we use MATCH to find the smallest difference. Then we use
INDEX to retrieve the associated trip from column B.
Read a detailed explanation here.
Note: this is an array formula and must be entered with control + shift + enter, except
in Excel 365.
Multiple criteria lookup
One of the trickiest problems in Excel is a lookup based on multiple criteria. In other
words, a lookup that matches on more than one column at the same time. In the example
below, we are using INDEX and MATCH and boolean logic to match on 3 columns: 
Item, Color, and Size:
Read a detailed explanation here.
Note: this is an array formula and must be entered with control + shift + enter, except
in Excel 365.
More examples of INDEX + MATCH
Here are some more basic examples of INDEX and MATCH in action, each with a
detailed explanation:

 Basic INDEX and MATCH exact (features Toy Story)


 Basic INDEX and MATCH approximate (grades)
 Two-way lookup with INDEX and MATCH (approximate match)

Author 

You might also like