VLOOKUP

VLOOKUP (Vertical Lookup) – “Find Down a Column”

Imagine your data is organized in columns (like a list of names, then ages next to them).

VLOOKUP helps you find something in the first column and then grab information from a column to its right.

When to use: When your data is arranged vertically (in columns).
How it works (in simple terms):
* “Find this specific thing…”
* “…in the very first column of this table…”
* “…and once you find it, go over to this column number and grab the value.”

Example: You have a list of students with their scores. You want to find “John’s” score.
Student | Score
——|-—–
Mary | 85
John | 92
Sarah | 78

If you want John’s score, you’d use VLOOKUP to look for “John” in the “Student” column and get the value from the “Score” column.

HLOOKUP

HLOOKUP (Horizontal Lookup) – “Find Across a Row”

This is like VLOOKUP, but for data that’s arranged in rows (like months across the top, then sales figures for each month below).

HLOOKUP helps you find something in the first row and then grab information from a row below it.

When to use: When your data is arranged horizontally (in rows).
How it works (in simple terms):
* “Find this specific thing…”
* “…in the very first row of this table…”
* “…and once you find it, go down to this row number and grab the value.”

Example: You have a table showing sales for different months. You want to find the sales for “January”.
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar
——|——|—-|—
Sales | 100 | 120 | 90
Expenses| 50 | 60 | 45

If you want January’s sales, you’d use HLOOKUP to look for “Jan” in the “Month” row and get the value from the “Sales” row.

XLOOKUP

XLOOKUP – “The Super Finder” (Newer & Better)

XLOOKUP is the upgraded, more flexible version of VLOOKUP and HLOOKUP.

It can do what both of them do, and more, without some of their tricky parts. When to use: Anytime you need to find data! It’s generally preferred over VLOOKUP and HLOOKUP if your Excel version has it.

How it works (in simple terms):
* “Find this thing…”
* “…in this list (or column/row)…”
* “…and give me the matching value from this other list (or column/row).”

Example: Using the student example from VLOOKUP:
Student | Score
——|-—–
Mary | 85
John | 92
Sarah | 78

To find John’s score, XLOOKUP is simpler: “Find ‘John’ in the ‘Student’ column, and give me the value from the ‘Score’ column.” You don’t need to count columns!

LOOKUP

LOOKUP – “The Basic Finder” (Older & Less Precise)

LOOKUP is the oldest and simplest of the bunch. It’s less precise than the others and can be a bit trickier to use correctly, so it’s not used as often anymore. Think of it as a very basic tool.

When to use: Rarely, now that VLOOKUP, HLOOKUP, and especially XLOOKUP exist. It can be useful for approximate matches in sorted data, but it’s often better to use XLOOKUP for that too.

How it works (in simple terms):
* “Find this value…”
* “…in this sorted list (or column/row)…”
* “…and give me the corresponding value from another list (or column/row).”

Example: You have a sorted list of grades and their corresponding letter grades.

Score | Grade
—-|-—–
0 | F
60 | D
70 | C
80 | B
90 | A
If you want to find the grade for a score of 82, LOOKUP could find where 82 fits in the “Score” column and give you the “B” from the “Grade” column. However, XLOOKUP can do this more reliably and without the strict sorting requirement.

In a nutshell:

* VLOOKUP: Good for finding data down a column.
* HLOOKUP: Good for finding data across a row.
* XLOOKUP: The best all-rounder, replacing both VLOOKUP and HLOOKUP.
* LOOKUP: The older, simpler version, often less reliable than the others.