VLOOKUP

Quirk found

Category: Lookup and reference · Last tested 2026-08-06

Real, executed compatibility results for the VLOOKUP 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	Yes	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 VLOOKUP’s support changed — not documentation claims, real results.

LibreOffice version	Verdict	Tested
24.2.0.3	Quirk found	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 VLOOKUP working in LibreOffice?

VLOOKUP 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

=VLOOKUP("a",A1:B3,5,FALSE) on LibreOffice Calc returned #VALUE!, but the documented/expected result is #REF!. Microsoft docs specify #REF! for out-of-range col_index_num; record engines' ACTUAL error code here since this is a known point of cross-engine divergence; MISMATCH vs expected: expected '#REF!', got '#VALUE!'

Executed test cases

LibreOffice Calc 25.8.7.3 (tested 2026-08-06)

Formula	Description	Result	Expected	Verdict
=VLOOKUP("b",A1:B3,2,FALSE)	Exact match mode (range_lookup=FALSE)	2	2	Matched
=VLOOKUP(3,A1:B5,2,TRUE)	Approximate match requires ascending sorted first column	20	20 3 is between 2 and 4; approx match returns the row for the largest value <= lookup (2 -> 20)	Matched
=VLOOKUP("z",A1:B3,2,FALSE)	Exact match with no match -> #N/A	#N/A	#N/A	Matched
=VLOOKUP("a",A1:B3,5,FALSE)	col_index_num beyond the table width -> #REF! per Microsoft docs	#VALUE!	#REF! Microsoft docs specify #REF! for out-of-range col_index_num; record engines' ACTUAL error code here since this is a known point of cross-engine divergence	Mismatch
=VLOOKUP("a*",A1:B3,2,FALSE)	Wildcards are honored even in exact-match mode	1	1 First row matching the a* wildcard pattern is 'apple'	Matched

Docs & syntax

Excel: official documentation
Google Sheets: official documentation
LibreOffice Calc: official documentation