IntermediateLookup & Reference
Look up a unit price with VLOOKUP
Use VLOOKUP with exact match to pull prices from a product table.
VLOOKUP
8 min25 points
VLOOKUP practice exercises
Finds a value in the first column of a table and returns a value from another column. Below are 3 interactive exercises that put it to work on realistic business data — you write the formula, and get told exactly what went wrong when it does not work.
Syntax
VLOOKUP(lookup_value, table_array, col_index_num, [range_lookup])
Need a refresher? Learn VLOOKUP — syntax, a worked example and where it goes wrong.
Practise VLOOKUP
Ordered from most approachable to hardest.
- IntermediateLookup & Reference
Look up a shipping band with VLOOKUP
Match a weight to a rate band, where the weight will never appear in the table.
VLOOKUP
10 min30 points - IntermediateLookup & Reference
When can VLOOKUP not do the job?
Identify the one situation VLOOKUP genuinely cannot handle.
VLOOKUP · XLOOKUP
3 min20 points
When VLOOKUP is the right tool
Finds a value in the first column of a table and returns a value from another column. It belongs to the lookup & reference family, and it shows up constantly in real work — which is why it is worth being genuinely fluent rather than merely familiar.
Reading about a function is not the same as being able to write it. The exercises on this page exist because the gap between recognising VLOOKUP and producing it from memory, correctly, on data you have not seen before, only closes by doing it.
Related functions
Questions about VLOOKUP
How do I practise VLOOKUP without Excel installed?
Every exercise on this page runs in your browser. You type the VLOOKUP formula into a real spreadsheet grid and get told immediately whether it works — no download, no account.
What does VLOOKUP do?
Finds a value in the first column of a table and returns a value from another column. The syntax is VLOOKUP(lookup_value, table_array, col_index_num, [range_lookup]). The exercises below put it to work on realistic business data rather than abstract examples.
How long does it take to learn VLOOKUP?
Most people can write a working VLOOKUP formula within twenty minutes of practice. Getting it right under pressure — with edge cases, unsorted data and ranges that must survive being filled down — is what the harder exercises here are for.