
In this example, both workbooks have an invoice number, a date, and an amount so that I could use any of these as my lookup value. To use VLOOKUP to compare two lists, there needs to be at least one matching piece of information for each record. How do you do a VLOOKUP to compare two lists? Use the fill handle to drag the formula to the rest of the cells you want to match.How do you match 2 columns in Excel and return a value?ĭifferent Excel formulas can be used to compare two columns, find the matches in the column and return a value.#N/A is returned if no match is found.


Select two columns that you will compare with, then click Home > Conditional Formatting > Highlight Cells Rules > Duplicate Values. The Conditional Formatting feature in Excel is powerful, here you can use it to compare two columns cells by cells and then highlight the differences or matches as you need. How do I compare two Excel cells for differences in values? You can even add custom text to display the word “Match” when a criterion is met and “Not a Match” when it's not met. If Function will return the value TRUE if the values match and FALSE if they don't. You can use the IF Function to compare two lists in Excel for matches in the same row. Use the =VLOOKUP(B2,$A$2:$A$14,1,0) for the column displaying the results.2 How do I compare two lists in Excel for matches? Excel will compare each cell in the second column against the cells in the first column. Another way to have Excel find duplicates in two columns is to use a VLOOKUP function. How do I compare two columns in matching data?Ĭompare Two Columns With a VLOOKUP Function and Find Matching Data. To compare two columns in Excel row-by-row, write a usual IF formula that compares the first two cells.Compare two columns for matches or differences in the same row How do I compare two Excel columns for differences?Įxample 1.

Compare two columns in excel for differences how to#
We have shown how to address the Excel Compare Two Columns problem by looking at a number of different cases. The solution to the previously mentioned problem, Excel Compare Two Columns, can also be found in a different method, which will be discussed further down with some illustrative code.
