ROW Function Examples – Excel & Google Sheets

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Editorial Team

Reviewed by

Steve Rynearson

Last updated on November 6, 2023
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This tutorial demonstrates how to use the ROW Function in Excel and Google Sheets to look up the row number.

Row Formula Main

ROW Function – Single Cell

The ROW Function returns the row number of a specific cell reference. 

=ROW(B4)

ROW EX 01

ROW Function with no Reference

If no cell reference is provided, the ROW Function will return the row number where the formula is entered.

=ROW()

ROW EX 02

ROW Function with a Range

You can also enter entire ranges of cells into the ROW Function. When doing so, the ROW Function behaves differently in Excel 2019 (or earlier) vs. Excel 365 or newer version of Excel.

Excel 2019 or Older Row Function

In previous versions of Excel, the ROW Function returns an array containing the row values of all the cells in the range, but only displays the first result in the cell.

ROW EX 03

 

If you click the cell containing the formula and press F9, all the results are displayed in curly brackets as an array.

={2;3;4;5;6;7;8;9}

ROW EX 04

Excel 365 Row Function

However, Excel 365 comes with a spill range feature. Here, the ROW Function will return the rows of all cells in the range, “spilled” into the next cells.

ROW EX 05

ROW Function in Google Sheets

The ROW Function works exactly the same in Google Sheets as in Excel:

ROW Google Function

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