MS Excel: XLOOKUP Explained
- 6 days ago
- 2 min read
If you work with data in Excel, XLOOKUP is one of the most powerful and useful formulas you can learn.
It replaces older lookup functions like VLOOKUP and HLOOKUP, making it easier, more flexible, and more reliable to retrieve information from a table.
What Does XLOOKUP Do?
XLOOKUP searches for a value in one column and returns matching information from another column.
In simple terms:
It finds data for you automatically.
For example, you can:
Look up an employee ID and return their department
Search for a product name and return its price
Find a customer invoice and return the payment status
The Basic Structure
=XLOOKUP(lookup_value, lookup_array, return_array)
lookup_value – What you are searching for
lookup_array – Where Excel should look
return_array – What Excel should return
Why XLOOKUP Is Better Than VLOOKUP
✔ It can search left or right
✔ It does not break if columns are inserted
✔ It handles errors more cleanly
✔ It works vertically and horizontally
✔ It is easier to read and build
Simple Example
Imagine you have:
Employee ID | Name | Department |
1001 | Sarah | Finance |
1002 | James | HR |
To return the department for Employee ID 1001:
=XLOOKUP(1001, A2:A3, C2:C3)
Excel will return: Finance
When Should You Use XLOOKUP?
Use XLOOKUP when:
You need to retrieve matching data
You are linking information between sheets
You want a more reliable alternative to VLOOKUP
You are working with structured datasets
Final Thoughts
XLOOKUP is one of the most valuable formulas for administrative, finance, HR, and reporting roles. If you regularly search for information manually, learning XLOOKUP will dramatically improve your efficiency.
If you don’t yet use lookup functions confidently, it may be time to level up your Excel skills.
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