compare two columns in excel and return differences

Compare two columns in excel and return differences full#

In this tutorial, we will explore several techniques to compare two columns in Excel and find matches and differences between them. Microsoft Excel offers a number of options to compare and match data, but most of them focus on searching in one column. Here, we discuss comparing two columns and finding matches in Excel using VLOOKUP and wildcard characters, along with examples and a downloadable Excel template.Comparing columns in Excel is something that we all do once in a while. This article is a guide to Compare Two Columns in Excel using Vlookup.

VLOOKUP does not necessarily require all the cell values to be neatly sorted and organized alphabetically.

Wildcard character asterisk can match any number of characters if the same string of words is available with a table array.

When we use a reference cell or value to search in a group of columns containing data to be matched and retrieve the output in the VLOOKUP table array or vertical lookup, the range we use is called VLOOKUP table array.

VLOOKUP can match if only the LOOKUP is the same as the table array.

So, unless we are sure about the data, please do not use it and rely on it.

Note: This wildcard method is not recommended because it can go wrong.

Compare two columns in excel and return differences full#

Similarly, in cell C7, we have the company name “Mind Tree,” but in “List A” (A6 cell), we have the full company name as “Mind Tree Software Co,” so there are extra characters in “List A.” Since we have provided wildcard character, it has matched the remaining portion of a word and returned the full result.

It says “CCD,” and in cell A5, we have the full company name as “Coffeeday Global Ltd (CCD).” Because in the table array, we have the word “CCD,” a wildcard that matches this short form company name word with the full company name in “List B.” For example, look at the value in C3 cell. This wildcard matches any number of characters for the provided value. It is mainly because of the wildcard character asterisk (*).You must be wondering how this is possible?.

Now, look at the results in the previous example, we got errors in rows 2 and 7, but we have got a result this time. So, wherever we have got #N/A, those values do not exist in the “List A” column. We are done with the formula, so we must close the bracket and press the “Enter” key to get the result.So, we must choose “FALSE” as the argument, or we can insert 0 as the argument value. We are looking for the range LOOKUP for an exact match.Since we have chosen only one column, our “Col Index Num” will be 1. Next is the “Col Index Num,” i.e., from the selected table array from which column we need the result.The table array will be “List A” cell values, so select the range of cells from A2 to A9 and make it an absolute cell reference.Our LOOKUP value will be the C2 cell value because we are comparing whether “List A” contains all the “List B” values or not, so choose the C2 cell reference.So, we must open the VLOOKUP function first. We can do this by using the VLOOKUP function. We need to match whether “List A” contains all the “List B” values or not.First, when the two column’s data is lined up like the below, we can use the VLOOKUP function to see whether column 1 includes column 2.The steps to compare two columns in Excel using VLOOKUP are as follows: