Excel INDEX MATCH vs. VLOOKUP: Which Should You Use? Excel INDEX MATCH vs. VLOOKUP: Which Should You Use? If you're an Excel user, you've likely used VLOOKUP at some point. But Excel pros often prefer INDEX MATCH . Why? Let's break it down with clarity and examples. 📌 What is VLOOKUP? VLOOKUP (Vertical Lookup) finds data in the leftmost column and returns a value from a column to its right. =VLOOKUP(lookup_value, table_array, col_index_num, [range_lookup]) Limitations: Can’t look left, slow with large data, and breaks with column insertions. 📌 What is INDEX MATCH? INDEX MATCH is a combination of two functions that gives you more flexibility: =INDEX(return_range, MATCH(lookup_value, lookup_range, 0)) Advantages: Can look left, more efficient with large data, and doesn’t break when you add columns. 🆚 Key Differences: Flexibility: INDEX MATCH works in any direction. Robustness: Le...