Find Best Price With Excel INDEX and MATCH

Best Price With Excel INDEX and MATCH

If you’re setting up a new office, or going grocery shopping, you can use Excel to compare prices. Find best price with Excel INDEX and MATCH functions, combined with MIN. This will help you calculate the lowest price for each item, and see which store sells at that price. Then, print a list, and go shopping!

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Calculate Best Price with MIN

In this example, we have done some research, and entered the item prices from three stores, in cells B2:D6.

The next step is to calculate the best price for each item, by using the Excel MIN function. The formula in cell E2 is:

=MIN(B2:D2)

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Then, copy the formula down to cell E6.

Find Store With Lowest Price MATCH

The final step, before printing your shopping list, is to determine which store has that best price. For this, you’ll use the INDEX and MATCH functions.

With the MATCH function, you can find the position of the lowest price, in the 3 columns with store prices. This MATCH formula looks in cells B2:D2, to find the best price from cell E2.

=MATCH(E2,B2:D2,0)

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Sears has the lowest price for a lamp, and it is the second store in our worksheet, so the MATCH result is 2.

Get the Store Name With INDEX

Our shopping trip will be easier if there is a store name in column F, Instead of a store position number. The store names are listed in cells B1:D1, and the INDEX function can return a value from a specific position in a range.
With the INDEX function, we could select cells B$1:D$1, and type a 2 as the column number that should be returned.

=INDEX(B$1:D$1,,2)

The reference to B$1:D$1 uses dollar signs before the row number, because we don’t want that reference to shift, as we copy the formula down, in column F.

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The result in cell F2 is Sears.

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Combine INDEX and MATCH

Instead of typing the column number in the INDEX formula, we can use our MATCH formula to calculate the column number.

Here is the combined INDEX and MATCH formula, in cell F2:

=INDEX(B$1:D$1,,MATCH(E2,B2:D2,0))

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Copy the formula down to F6, and you’re ready to hit the shopping centre!

Download the Sample Excel File

To see the formulas, and the sample data, you can download the Best Price with Excel INDEX and MATCH sample workbook. It is in Excel 2007 format, and zipped. There are no macros in the file.

Watch the Best Price with Excel INDEX and MATCH Video

To see the steps for finding the store with the lowest price, watch this Excel video tutorial.

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23 thoughts on “Find Best Price With Excel INDEX and MATCH”

  1. Hi Debra,

    Great example of using INDEX/MATCH. I shortened your formula just slightly:

    =INDEX(B$1:D$1,MATCH(E2,B2:D2,0))

    And as you know but didn’t state, if 2 or more stores share the lowest price for an item, the formula will pull the 1st store starting from the left.

  2. Thanks this really helps with combining the 2 in my mind. I have been struggling with the concept and have only been able to make it work with trial and error. I will try and keep the framework you presented in my head.

    Thanks!

  3. Thanks a lot its very much useful to understand the concept of index. I’d would like to ask if the particular product sell by same price at this point how we can differentiate.
    There is option to know particular product have same price in two shops. Which one you need to go like that…………………

  4. We can use MIN function in this formula rather than take help from column E like
    =INDEX(B$1:D$1,MATCH(MIN(B2:D2),B2:D2,0))

  5. I want to be able to see if there is a way to get the 2nd store to appear if they have the same price. Does anyone have suggestions?

  6. Great stuff, I was hoping you could answer a question.
    Using your example above say item lamp had a 0 value and you wanted to exclude that.
    I have actually combined the index, match and min.
    How could you had the if statement to the min function? thanks

  7. Many thanks for the excellent way you presented this tutorial. Instead of having column E and F , could you highlight the lowest price by colouring in the cell
    Thank you once again

  8. Hi, I’m trying to find a formula that would help me solve the following problem:
    Code Country LE#
    123 US 4026
    123 UK 4026
    123 US 3026
    435 CN 1419
    435 CN 1398
    I need to find a formula that can return lowest LE# so if I look up 123 & US it should return with the lowest LE# which is 3026
    Thanks.

  9. I want a program that will write Lowest 2nd lowest & 3rd lowest below vendor name in column. Can u help with this?

  10. How would i exclude blank cells in the row for example if a particular store doesn’t sell that item so one or two cells in the row are left blank.
    The way ive got it at the moment is =MIN(G18:L18) returns a 0 because in my row i’ve got blank cells at I, J and L so its returning the lowest numeral 0.

  11. Hi, is there a way to Find Best Price & 2nd Best Price With Excel INDEX and MATCH?

    Would really appreciate it. Looking forward to your reply. Thanks

  12. Once again great tutoria
    I have used this method on a large database and this works great
    Some companies have the same price however and in that case I would like both companies to appear.
    Is it possible in any way?

  13. Please help me to get Rate for following
    Question
    Supplier Name Item Date Rate
    Super Vegetables Tomato 02-Jan-23 ?
    Super Vegetables Tomato 06-Jan-23 ?
    from
    Super Vegetables Tomato 01-Jan-23 9
    Super Vegetables Tomato 05-Jan-23 9.25
    Super Vegetables Tomato 08-Jan-23 8
    on 1st Question Answer should be 9
    & in Second it should be 9.25

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