📈 Not Another XLOOKUP Post 📉

These days, my LinkedIn feed is just a continuous scroll of "Excel gurus" hailing XLOOKUP as the second coming. "It's so much easier!" "It's the only lookup function you'll ever need!" "VLOOKUP is dead!" 🙄

I'm here to offer a different and, dare I say, more realistic take. Don't get me wrong, XLOOKUP is a fantastic function with some major upgrades. It can search left, handle errors natively, and its syntax is a dream compared to its clunky predecessors. But to say it's the answer to all of life's problems ignores some important facts.

Before you go converting every single one of your VLOOKUPs, here’s a couple issues everyone else seems to be conveniently ignoring:

1. The Compatibility Conundrum 🤨

So you've just spent a week building a masterpiece of a spreadsheet, meticulously crafted with dozens of XLOOKUPs. You send it off to a client or a coworker, brimming with pride, only to get an email back saying, "Uh, all I see is a #NAME? error."

XLOOKUP is not fully backwards compatible. It's only available in Excel for Microsoft 365 and Excel 2021. If you're working with anyone still on an older version—Excel 2016, 2019, or even a different spreadsheet program—your file is basically a glorified screenshot. The formulas won't work, and your brilliant work is just a static mess.

This is where the OG dynamic duo, INDEX/MATCH, reigns supreme. It works in almost every version of Excel and has for ages. It's the dependable friend that's always got your back, while XLOOKUP is the flaky friend who only shows up if the party is at a specific, exclusive venue.

2. The Unspoken Speed Problem 🐢

Everyone talks about how easy XLOOKUP is, but no one wants to admit it can be slower than both VLOOKUP and INDEX/MATCH.

"Wait, what?!" I know, I know. It's a shocking revelation in a world where new tech is supposed to be faster. But in tests on large datasets, XLOOKUP has been shown to be notably slower in many scenarios. When you're dealing with hundreds of thousands of rows of data, that speed difference isn't just a minor inconvenience—it's the difference between your spreadsheet calculating in seconds or in several minutes.

Professor Excel did a great breakdown on their site: Performance of XLOOKUP: How fast is the new XLOOKUP vs. VLOOKUP?

So, while XLOOKUP might be a no-brainer for a simple list of 50 people, it's not always the best choice for enterprise-level data crunching.

The Verdict: It's Not a One-Size-Fits-All Solution

Look, I'm not saying you should abandon XLOOKUP forever. It's a great tool, and for many people in a fully Microsoft 365 environment, it's a solid choice for a lot of data analysis tasks.

But here’s my advice, and it's something you won't hear from the other "gurus":

• For quick, simple lookups and files that won't be shared with external parties: Use XLOOKUP. The simplified syntax is just too good to pass up.

• For large datasets or files that need to be universally compatible: Stick with INDEX/MATCH. It's a bit more work to write, but it's a faster, more robust, and more dependable option.

And honestly, don't just listen to us talking heads - do your own research. Take the time to understand how these functions work. VLOOKUP, XLOOKUP, and INDEX/MATCH are all powerful in their own right, and the best Excel pro knows when to use each one. Because in the end, it's not about which function is "the best," it's about which one is the right tool for the job. 🛠️

Want to add more tools to your toolbox? Contact us at Ascendant Training: info@ascendanttraining.com