How to use VLOOKUP with approximate match in Google Sheets

In Google Sheets, VLOOKUP with an approximate match (TRUE) searches for the value closest to and inferior to the value you are looking for.
In this example, we'll find someone's grade based on their score number:

Formula in F4
=VLOOKUP(F3,B4:C9,2,TRUE)
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
1
2
Column 1
Column 2
👇 Try changing this value
3
Score
Grade
Lookup value
4
0
E
Result
B
5
60
D
6
70
C
7
80
B
8
90
A
9
100
A+
10
Open in Google Sheets
Show arrows
Separator
The approximate match works only if the values in the search range are in ascending order.

Procedure

  1. Enter =VLOOKUP in cell F4, where you want the Grade to appear.
  2. Enter the Lookup value F3, which contains the Score (87) you want to look for.
  3. Enter the Search range B4:C9, which is the data range containing all the Score and Grade values.
  4. Enter Column number 2, as the Grade column is the 2nd column of the Search range.
  5. Enter TRUE to look for an exact match.

Result

The final formula is: =VLOOKUP(F3, B4:C9, 2, TRUE)
VLOOKUP returns the value in F4, which is B.

Show reference
← PreviousHow to use VLOOKUP with exact matchNext →How to use VLOOKUP from another sheet