How to do a two-way lookup in Excel and Google Sheets

Excel & Google Sheets

=INDEX($B$2:$D$4,MATCH(F2,$A$2:$A$4,0),MATCH(G2,$B$1:$D$1,0))

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Formula

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1Set up a table with row labels in column A and column headers in row 1.
2In a separate area, put the row value to look up in one cell (e.g. F2) and the column header in another (e.g. G2).
3Enter =INDEX($B$2:$D$4,MATCH(F2,$A$2:$A$4,0),MATCH(G2,$B$1:$D$1,0)).
4The first MATCH finds the row position; the second MATCH finds the column position; INDEX returns the intersecting value.

Lock all table references with $ so the formula can be copied without breaking references.
In Excel 365 and Google Sheets, XLOOKUP supports two-dimensional lookup natively: =XLOOKUP(F2,$A$2:$A$4,XLOOKUP(G2,$B$1:$D$1,$B$2:$D$4)).

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0 means exact match. Use 1 for approximate match on ascending-sorted data, or -1 for descending-sorted data.

You can combine VLOOKUP with MATCH for the column index: =VLOOKUP(F2,$A$2:$D$4,MATCH(G2,$A$1:$D$1,0),0). This is less flexible than INDEX/MATCH.

Written and reviewed by FormulaCraft Team. Each formula on this page is run through our verification engine before publishing.

Last reviewed: May 28, 2026