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Wildcards in Excel: *, ? and ~ with Examples
Wildcards let you match text you only partly know: everything that starts with "North", every code with exactly five characters, every cell that contains "invoice". Excel has three of them.
Excel CSE · In this guide
The three wildcard characters
| Wildcard | Matches | Example | Matches |
|---|---|---|---|
* | Any number of characters (also none) | "North*" | North, Northeast, North region |
? | Exactly one character | "P-10?" | P-101, P-102, P-10A |
~ | Makes the next * or ? a normal character | "Total~*" | Total* (with a real asterisk) |
Wildcards are not case-sensitive and only work on text, not on numbers.
Common patterns
- Starts with:
"Anna*" - Ends with:
"*.pdf" - Contains:
"*invoice*" - Exactly 5 characters:
"?????" - Contains, using a cell:
"*"&E2&"*"
Which formulas support wildcards
| Function | Example |
|---|---|
| COUNTIF / COUNTIFS | =COUNTIF(A2:A100, "*invoice*") |
| SUMIF / SUMIFS | =SUMIF(B2:B6, "A*", C2:C6) |
| AVERAGEIF(S) | =AVERAGEIF(A2:A10, "North*", C2:C10) |
| VLOOKUP (exact match) | =VLOOKUP("Man*", A2:C7, 3, FALSE) |
| MATCH (match type 0) | =MATCH("*berg", A2:A50, 0) |
| XLOOKUP | =XLOOKUP("Man*", B2:B6, D2:D6, , 2): match_mode 2 turns wildcards on |
| SEARCH | =SEARCH("inv*2026", A2) |
Lookups return the first match. If several values fit the pattern, make it more specific.
Where wildcards don't work
A normal comparison like =IF(A2="North*", …) looks for the literal text "North*". To test "starts with" or "contains" in IF, use:
- Contains:
=IF(ISNUMBER(SEARCH("north", A2)), "Yes", "No") - Starts with:
=IF(LEFT(A2, 5)="North", "Yes", "No") - Or with COUNTIF on one cell:
=IF(COUNTIF(A2, "North*"), "Yes", "No")
FILTER doesn't support wildcards either; use ISNUMBER(SEARCH()) there too. See FILTER.
In Find & Replace and filters
Wildcards also work in Ctrl+F / Ctrl+H. Replacing (*) with nothing, for example, removes a space followed by any text in brackets, such as " (copy)". In a filter dropdown, the search box and Text Filters › Contains accept them as well.
Frequently asked questions
How do I search for an actual asterisk or question mark?
Put a tilde in front of it: "~*" finds a real asterisk and "~?" a real question mark.
Do wildcards work with numbers?
No. A wildcard criterion only matches text. Numbers stored as real numbers won't match "12*".
Why doesn't my IF formula work with *?
IF compares literally. Use ISNUMBER(SEARCH()) or COUNTIF inside the IF instead.