FILTER
Quirk foundCategory: Lookup and reference · Last tested 2026-08-06
Real, executed compatibility results for the FILTER function across Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, and LibreOffice Calc — verified by actually running it. Syntax and links to each vendor’s official documentation are below.
Support matrix
| Engine | Documented | Live-tested | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Excel | Yes | Not yet | n/a |
| Google Sheets | Yes | Not yet | n/a |
| LibreOffice Calc | No | Yes (25.8.7.3, 2026-08-06) | Quirk found |
LibreOffice version history
We executed the same test cases under each LibreOffice release to show exactly when FILTER’s support changed — not documentation claims, real results.
| LibreOffice version | Verdict | Tested |
|---|---|---|
| 24.2.0.3 | Unsupported (not recognized) | 2026-07-19 |
| 24.8.7.2 | Quirk found | 2026-07-19 |
| 25.2.0.3 | Quirk found | 2026-07-24 |
| 25.8.7.3 | Quirk found | 2026-08-06 |
Why isn't FILTER working in LibreOffice?
FILTER exists in LibreOffice 25.8.7.3, but it is not a drop-in match for
Excel — our executed tests found real behavioral differences (detailed in the test results on this
page). If a formula that works in Excel or Google Sheets misbehaves in LibreOffice, compare your usage
against the failing cases above before assuming your data is wrong.
Discovered quirks
- =FILTER(A1:A3,B1:B3>100) on LibreOffice Calc returned #N/A, but the documented/expected result is #CALC!. MISMATCH vs expected: expected '#CALC!', got '#N/A'
Executed test cases
LibreOffice Calc 25.8.7.3 (tested 2026-08-06)
| Formula | Description | Result | Expected | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| =FILTER(A1:A5,B1:B5>2) | Spill the subset of A1:A5 where the paired B value is >2 | {c, d, e} | {c, d, e} | Matched |
| =FILTER(A1:A3,B1:B3>100,"none") | if_empty argument is returned when no rows match | none | none | Matched |
| =FILTER(A1:A3,B1:B3>100) | No if_empty and no matches raises #CALC! | #N/A | #CALC! | Mismatch |
| =FILTER(A1:B3,A1:A3>1) | Filtering a 2-column range by a condition on the first column | {2, y, 3, z} | {{2, y}, {3, z}} | Matched |
| =FILTER({1,2,3,4},{1,0,1,0}) | Filtering an inline array literal by an inline boolean/number mask | {1, 3} | {1, 3} | Matched |
Docs & syntax
- Excel: official documentation
- Google Sheets: official documentation
Related how-to recipes
- How to count unique values that match a condition
- How to FILTER by multiple criteria (AND / OR)
- How to find values that appear in both of two lists
- How to use the FILTER function
- How to calculate a median with a condition (MEDIANIF)
- How to remove blank cells from a list
- How to return ALL matches, not just the first (VLOOKUP for multiple results)
- How to return the entire row of a match