How to match two spreadsheets without writing a formula
Quick answer
Upload both files, click the matching column in each table (the connector shows what you picked), tick the columns you want copied across, then run it and download the result.
- 1Upload your main file and your lookup file.
- 2Click the column to match on in each table.
- 3Tick the columns you want brought back.
- 4Run it and download.
Free, no sign-up, and your file is read on your own device rather than uploaded.
This does what a VLOOKUP formula does - finds each row's value in another table and copies columns back - but without the formula, the absolute references, or the #N/A that never explains itself. You upload two files (or two sheets in one workbook), click which column to match on in each, and it runs the whole lookup for you.
The column picker is real tables, not dropdowns: click a header in Sheet A, click the matching header in Sheet B, and a line connects them so you can see exactly what you told it before you run anything.
Step by step
Add your files
Your main spreadsheet, and the one you are pulling values from - either two files, or two sheets in the same workbook.
VLOOKUP OnlineClick the columns to match on
Click a column header in each table - the one that should be the same in both, like a customer ID or an email address.
VLOOKUP OnlineChoose what to bring back
Tick every column you want copied across. Unlike Excel VLOOKUP, you are not limited to one column, and you do not have to count columns to find it.
VLOOKUP OnlineRun it and download
The result keeps your original rows exactly as they were, with the new columns appended. Download it as an Excel workbook or CSV.
VLOOKUP Online
Tips
- Before running it, check the key-column quality warning - it flags trailing spaces, mismatched casing and numbers stored as text, which are the most common reasons a real VLOOKUP silently returns #N/A even when the values look identical to you.
- You can bring back several columns at once, rather than writing one formula per column the way Excel requires.
- If the values you are matching on are spelled slightly differently between the two files - "ABC Trading LLC" versus "ABC Trading L.L.C." - use Fuzzy Lookup instead, which is built for exactly that.
Common problems
Rows that should have matched came back as not found.
Check the key-quality warning before running it - a trailing space, an extra invisible character, or a number stored as text in one file and a real number in the other will all defeat an exact match. If the values are simply spelled differently, Fuzzy Lookup will catch what an exact match cannot.
The same key appears more than once in the lookup sheet.
This is flagged as a duplicate key rather than silently resolved to whichever row happened to come first - check the match summary to see which keys were affected and decide how you want them handled.
You need more than one column back, not just one.
That's already supported - tick every column you want in the result, in one pass, rather than repeating a formula for each one.
Frequently asked questions
- Do I need to know Excel formulas to use this?
- No - you click the column to match on in each table instead of writing =VLOOKUP(...). The tool handles the lookup itself.
- Can I bring back more than one column?
- Yes - tick as many columns as you need in the "columns to bring back" step, all copied across in the same run.
- Why did my values not match even though they look identical?
- Almost always a formatting difference invisible to the eye: a trailing space, inconsistent capitalisation, or a number stored as text on one side and a real number on the other. The key-quality check flags these before you run anything.
- What's the difference between this and VLOOKUP not matching in Excel?
- The most common cause is the same either way - a formatting mismatch in the key column - but this tool shows you that warning with real examples from your file before it runs, rather than a bare #N/A that gives no explanation.
- Are my spreadsheets uploaded to a server?
- No. Both files are read and matched entirely in your browser, on your own device.
Related data tools
- Match Similar NamesMatch records whose names never quite agree between two systems.
- Compare SpreadsheetsSee what changed between two versions of the same data.
- Data CleanerTidy a spreadsheet, and see exactly what changed, with real before-and-after examples.
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Ready to do it?
Free, no sign-up, and nothing is uploaded to a server.