Comparison VLOOKUP vs XLOOKUP in Excel
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Table of Content:
| Feature | VLOOKUP | XLOOKUP |
|---|
| Lookup Direction | Searches only from left to right. | Searches in any direction (left-to-right, right-to-left, etc.). |
| Column Index | Requires a column index number for the result. | Directly specifies the return array. |
| Error Handling | Requires a separate function like IFERROR(). |
Built-in error handling with a custom message. |
| Exact Match Default | Defaults to approximate match if not specified. | Defaults to exact match for safer lookups. |
| Data Structure Requirement | Lookup column must always be the first column. | Lookup column can be anywhere in the table. |
| Horizontal Lookup | Cannot handle horizontal lookups directly. | Can handle both vertical and horizontal lookups. |
| Performance | Slightly slower with large datasets. | Optimized for better performance in large datasets. |
| Availability | Available in all Excel versions. | Available in Excel 365 and Excel 2019+ only. |
| Ease of Use | Less flexible; requires careful table setup. | Highly flexible and user-friendly. |
| Wildcard Support | Supports wildcards like * and ?. |
Supports wildcards and advanced conditions. |