How to use the Lookup Function to Compare Two Columns In Excel
The LOOKUP function is used to search for a particular value in a particular row or column and return the result from another row or column. Excel has various lookups such as VLOOKUP (V stands for vertical), HLOOKUP (H stands for horizontal), and XLOOKUP (combination of both VLOOKUP and HLOOKUP).
Let’s see the below example to compare two columns using VLOOKUP.
Where Column A consists of a list of exams given by a student and Column B is a list of
subjects that students passed. The result sheet should contain a list of all the subjects. The VLOOKUP() is applied in cell C2 as =VLOOKUP(A2, $B$2:$B$4,1,0).
Drag the formula to apply it in the cell below C2. You will find the result in column C with the subjects that are cleared and those that have not been passed as N/A.
How to Compare Two Columns in Excel : Easy and Quick Methods
Excel provides various functions and methods by which we can compare two columns and identify matching and mismatching data. Working with a very large Excel dataset, comparing two different columns, and recording the result as Matched or Not Matched can be very time-consuming. It is simple to compare columns in small tables but it becomes complicated when you need to compare two columns in a large spreadsheet. Comparing the columns manually is a time-consuming approach that can be avoided with the application of some fundamental knowledge of Excel.
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