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Function

MATCH Function
Get the position of a value within an array

Written by CFI Team

Updated June 12, 2022

What is the MATCH Function?

The MATCH Function [1] is categorized under Excel Lookup and Reference
functions. It looks up a value in an array and returns the position of the
value within the array. For example, if we wish to match the value 5 in
the range A1:A4, which contains values 1,5,3,8, the function will return 2,
as 5 is the second item in the range.

In financial analysis, we can use the MATCH function along with other
functions to look up and return the sum of values in a column. It is
commonly used with the INDEX function. Learn how to combine INDEX
MATCH as a powerful lookup combination.

Formula
=MATCH(lookup_value, lookup_array, [match_type])

The MATCH formula uses the following arguments:

1. Lookup_value (required argument) – This is the value that we want

to look up.

2. Lookup_array (required argument) – The data array that is to be

searched.
3. Match_type (optional argument) – It can be set to 1, 0, or -1 to return
results as given below:

Match_type Behavior

1 or omitted When the function cannot find an exact match, it will

return the position of the closest match below the
lookup_value. (If this option is used, the lookup_array
must be in ascending order).

0 When the function cannot find an exact match, it will

return an error. (If this option is used, the lookup_array
does not need to be ordered).

-1 When the function cannot find an exact match, it will

return the position of the closest match above the
lookup_value. (If this option is used, the lookup_array
must be in descending order).

How to Use the MATCH Function in Excel

To understand the uses of the function, let’s consider a few examples:

Example 1
Suppose we are given the following data:
We can use the following formula to find the value for Cucumber.
We get the result below:

Example 2
Suppose we are given the following data:
Suppose we wish to find out the number of Trousers of a specific color.
Here, we will use the INDEX or MATCH functions. The array formula to
use is:

We need to create an array using CTRL + SHIFT + ENTER. We get the

result below:
Things to Remember
1. The MATCH function does not distinguish between uppercase and
lowercase letters when matching text values.

2. N/A! error – Occurs if the match function fails to find a match for the
lookup_value.

3. The function supports approximate and exact matching and

wildcards (* or ?) for partial matches.

Click here to download the sample Excel file

Additional Resources
Thank you for reading CFI’s guide to the MATCH Function. To learn more,
check out these additional CFI resources:

Excel Functions for Finance

Advanced Excel Formulas Course

Advanced Excel Formulas You Must Know

Financial Analyst Program

Article Sources
1. MATCH Function
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