MATCH

• How to use MATCH formula?
• Examples of using MATCH formula
• MATCH formula not working?
• Similar formulas to MATCH

Usage

Use the MATCH formula with the syntax shown below, it has 2 required parameters and 1 optional parameter:

=MATCH(search_key, range, [search_type])

1. search_key (required):
   The value to search for within the range.
2. range (required):
   The range of cells to search within.
3. search_type (optional):
   Determines the type of match to be performed. If omitted, an exact match is performed by default. Valid values include: 0 - Exact match, 1 - Less than, 2 - Greater than.

Examples

Finding the position of a value within a range

The MATCH formula can be used to find the position of a value within a range, which can then be used with the INDEX formula to retrieve a value from a specific cell in the range.

Performing approximate matches

By specifying a search type of 1 or 2, the MATCH formula can be used to perform approximate matches, such as finding the closest match that is less than or greater than the search key.

Conditional formatting based on a value's position

The MATCH formula can be used in conjunction with conditional formatting to highlight cells that match a certain criteria, such as all cells that have a value less than a certain threshold.

Common Mistakes

Incorrect Search Type

One common mistake users make is selecting an incorrect search type. The search type argument can be set to 1, 0, or -1. If the search type is not set correctly, the formula may return inaccurate results.

Wrong Range

Another mistake is providing the wrong range argument. If the range is not set correctly, the formula may return an error or inaccurate results.

Not Sorting the Range

One important thing to note is that the range argument needs to be sorted in ascending order, otherwise the formula may return inaccurate results. Users should make sure to sort the range argument in ascending order before using the MATCH formula.

Incorrect Search Key

If the search key argument is not correct, the formula may return an error or inaccurate results. Users should make sure that the search key argument is correct and matches the data in the range argument.

Not Using Exact Match

If the search type argument is not set to 0 (exact match), the formula may return inaccurate results. Users should make sure to set the search type argument to 0 if they want to perform an exact match.

Related Formulas

The following functions are similar to MATCH or are often used with it in a formula:

• INDEX

  The INDEX formula in Google Sheets is used to return a value or reference of a cell at the intersection of a specified row and column in a given range. The formula is commonly used to lookup and retrieve values from a table or range of cells.

• VLOOKUP

  The VLOOKUP function is a lookup formula used to search for a value in the first column of a range of cells (the search key) and return a value in the same row from a specified column in that range. This function is most commonly used to look up and retrieve data from a table.

• HLOOKUP

  The HLOOKUP function is a lookup formula that searches for a key in the top row of a table and returns the value in the same column for a specified row. This function is commonly used to extract data from a table based on a specific criteria.

• OFFSET

  The OFFSET formula in Google Sheets returns a cell or range of cells that is a specified number of rows and columns from a starting cell reference. This formula is most commonly used to create dynamic ranges that can expand or contract as data is added or removed from a sheet.

Learn More

You can learn more about the MATCH Google Sheets function on Google Support.