Excel Lookup and Reference Functions

January 19, 2026

When you are working in Excel, you will be more likely to notice that you are spending more time finding data. Maybe you are looking for a salary, a student mark, or a product price. You will become more tired scrolling up and down continuously. It will lead to more mistakes. That is exactly where the lookup and reference function help. Think of them as shortcuts. Instead of searching with your eyes, you tell Excel what you are looking for, and it brings the answer to you.

What are Excel Lookup and Reference Functions?

Lookup and reference functions are tools that help you locate data in a spreadsheet. Instead of scrolling through rows or columns manually, you can use a function to find exactly what you need. In simple terms, these excel functions will help you with the following matters:

To Find a value in a list or table
Pull related information from somewhere else
Figure out where something is located
Connect data from different sheets

You’ll use these frequently in real-world office work. Reports, salary sheets, attendance files, sales trackers, and many more depend on these functions. Let’s go through the most useful excel lookup and reference functions below:

VLOOKUP

VLOOKUP is usually the first lookup function people learn. It searches down a column to find something and then returns related data from the same row.
You might use it when you have employee IDs in one column and salaries in another.
For example, if employee ID 104 is in column A and the salary is in column C, VLOOKUP can fetch the salary instantly. You don’t need to scroll or manually match anything.
One thing, VLOOKUP only works from left to right. If your data isn’t arranged properly, it won’t help. That’s why people are looking for another alternative.

HLOOKUP

HLOOKUP works just like VLOOKUP, but instead of looking down a column, it looks across a row.
In simpler terms, it looks in the top row of a table and returns the value from a specified row. This comes in handy when your headings are placed horizontally.
For example, months like Jan, Feb, and Mar are in the top row, and sales numbers are below them. HLOOKUP can pull the sales for a specific month.

INDEX

INDEX is one of those functions that feels simple once you get it. It doesn’t search like VLOOKUP.
Instead, you simply tell Excel which range to look at, which row, and which column. And it gives you the exact value sitting there.
INDEX does not care about where your data starts. You can pull data from anywhere.
When the INDEX function is mixed with MATCH, it becomes very powerful and much safer than VLOOKUP.

MATCH

MATCH doesn’t return the value itself. It tells you where the value is.
Say you’re looking for a number in a long list. MATCH will tell you, “This value is in the 5th row.” That might not sound useful alone, but when you pair it with INDEX, Excel suddenly feels smarter.
In real work, INDEX and MATCH are often used together to build flexible reports.

XLOOKUP

XLOOKUP is Excel’s newer and better option. If you’re using a recent version of Excel, this is worth learning early.
It can look up values vertically or horizontally, work even if columns move, and show a custom message if nothing is found.
Instead of seeing an error, you can show something friendly like “Not Found”. That’s helpful when others use your file. Once you’re comfortable with XLOOKUP, you’ll rarely miss VLOOKUP.

XMATCH

XMATCH is like an upgraded version of MATCH.
It finds the position of a value but gives you more options. It can handle exact matches, approximate matches, and search order options.

CHOOSE

CHOOSE is a straightforward function that lets you select a value from a list based on a position number.
It’s useful when you want to extract values without writing long formulas.
The CHOOSE Function has a limit of 254 values.

ADDRESS

The ADDRESS Function will convert row and column numbers into a cell reference like C2 or D5.
This is very useful for building complex formulae by referencing large data sets.
This function will help you to do dynamic referencing to extract a cell reference whose value can be changed by the user. It is usually done by combining with the INDIRECT function.

INDIRECT

If you have a cell that contains text like “B2”, INDIRECT can treat that text as an actual cell reference.
It’s useful when sheet names or cell references change based on user input.
The limitation of the INDIRECT function is that it can slow down large files if overused.

Apart from this, there are also some small lookup and reference functions in excel that support your work:

LOOKUP: Finds a value in a row or column and returns the corresponding value.
COLUMN / COLUMNS: Returns column number or counts columns in a range.
ROW / ROWS: Returns row number or counts rows in a range.
FILTER: Extracts data that meets certain criteria.
SORT / SORTBY: Sorts data by column(s) or custom criteria.
UNIQUE: Returns unique values from a list.
VSTACK / HSTACK: Stack ranges vertically or horizontally.
TAKE / TOCOL / TOROW: Work with parts of arrays for more control.

These are great for dashboards and clean reporting. In real files, you rarely use just one function. You might use MATCH to find a position, INDEX to return a value, and FILTER to narrow results. At first, this feels confusing. That’s normal. Everyone goes through that phase. With practice, these formulas start to feel logical instead of scary, especially when they’re taught step by step in practical accounting courses.

Final Thoughts

If Excel feels overwhelming right now, don’t worry. It’s not about memorising formulas. It’s about understanding what problem you’re solving. Start small. Try one function at a time. Over time, you will start to trust excel more and will start to use lookup and reference functions more frequently. The more you practice with real data and small tasks, the more you will adapt in using the excel tool.

FAQs

1. What are Excel lookup and reference functions?

They are Excel tools used to find specific data from a table or range without manually searching through cells.

2. When should lookup functions be used in Excel?

We usually use lookup functions when working with large datasets, where data has to be retrieved accurately.

3. What is the difference between lookup functions and reference functions?

Lookup functions search for a value and return related data, while reference functions point to specific cells, rows, or columns. This is the basic difference between these two functions.

4. Which Excel lookup function should beginners start with?

Beginners should start with VLOOKUP or XLOOKUP, as they are commonly used and cover most practical needs.

5. Are Lookup and reference functions in Excel difficult to learn?

No, even beginners can learn these functions, and it is not that difficult to understand all these functions.

Author Info

CA Veena

Ms. Veena Vijayan is a Chartered Accountant with over 15 years of hands-on experience in finance, accounting, taxation, audit, and compliance across different industries. Throughout her career, she has taken on key responsibilities from managing finance and accounts departments to working as an Audit Manager and later becoming an Audit Partner. As the Chief Operating Officer at Finprov, Ms. Veena focuses on building efficient systems, improving the performance of the team, delivering high-quality learning and training experiences, and building long-term strategies. Her thoughtful leadership and focus on continuous improvement make her a driving force behind Finprov’s success and innovation.