What is criteria range in Google Sheets?
Criteria Range is lookup vocabulary: how MATCH, VLOOKUP, XLOOKUP, FILTER, and QUERY decide which row or value to return. Exact vs approximate match and wildcard rules change outcomes more than beginners expect.
When to use it
Use this jargon when configuring lookups, criteria ranges, or match modes so the right row comes back.
When to skip it
Skip manual match-mode tuning when FILTER or QUERY with clear column conditions is easier to maintain.
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A question from the Facebook group "I Love Google Sheets" wants to know how to count numbers between 1 and 16 in a series. So let us break it down and look at the best way to do this. The question was "How can I count the number of values in column B that are between 1 and 16?” 1. Using COUNT. Using the COUNT function will count the numbers in the range. 2. Using COUNTIF. Someone suggested using COUNTIF, however, we have to add a criteria (like >0). But what if we want to count numbe...
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Read post →Related terms
MATCH
MATCH searches a range for a value and returns its relative position. Feeding INDEX or OFFSET with MATCH replaces brittle column index math. Sorted approximate match modes support tier tables and date brackets.
Read guide →INDEX
INDEX fetches a value from a range by row and column number. Combined with MATCH it powers flexible lookups. Alone it picks nth items from lists, dynamic headers, or matrix intersections without VLOOKUP column limits.
Read guide →VLOOKUP
VLOOKUP searches the first column of a range for a key and returns a value from a specified column to the right. It is still everywhere in legacy templates even as XLOOKUP offers more flexible replacements.
Read guide →XLOOKUP
XLOOKUP searches a lookup array for a key and returns a matching value from a return array. It handles left lookups, approximate match, and custom not-found text without INDEX/MATCH gymnastics.
Read guide →Done reading about criteria range?
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