🔤 Text Function · intermediate
FIND Function in Google Sheets
Returns position of one string in another, case-sensitively.
Syntax
FIND(search_for, text_to_search, [starting_at])Returns: 1-based position, or #VALUE! if not found.
Excel equivalent: FIND (identical)
Parameters
| Name | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| search_for | Required | Substring to find. |
| text_to_search | Required | String to search. |
| starting_at | Optional | Start position. Default 1. |
Examples
Position of @
=FIND("@", A2)Split username from domain.
First word
=LEFT(A2, FIND(" ", A2) - 1)Everything before first space.
Case-sensitive contains
=IFERROR(FIND("Apple", A2) > 0, FALSE)TRUE if "Apple" (capital A) appears.
When to use an alternative
- SEARCH — Case-INsensitive.
- REGEXMATCH — Boolean.
- REGEXEXTRACT — Want the substring.
Common errors and how to fix them
#VALUE!
Cause: Not found.
Fix: Wrap with IFERROR.
Related functions
SEARCH
Returns position of one string in another, case-insensitively. Supports * and ? wildcards....
REGEXMATCH
Returns TRUE if a string matches a regex pattern, FALSE otherwise. The boolean version of REGEXEXTRA...
REGEXEXTRACT
Extracts the first substring of text matching a regular expression. The Swiss army knife of text par...
LEFT
Returns the leftmost N characters of a string. The simplest text-extraction function — useful for pr...
CONCATENATE
Joins multiple text values into one string. The classic way to combine fields, but TEXTJOIN is usual...
Frequently Asked Questions
FIND vs SEARCH?
FIND case-sensitive, no wildcards. SEARCH case-insensitive, supports * and ?.
Last occurrence?
FIND("~", SUBSTITUTE(text, char, "~", LEN(text) - LEN(SUBSTITUTE(text, char, "")))).