Excel SORTBY Function
Summary
The Excel SORTBY function sorts the contents of a range or array based on the values from another range or array. The range or array used to sort does not need to appear in results.
Purpose
Sorts range or array by column
Return value
Sorted array
Syntax
=SORTBY (array, by_array, [sort_order], [array/order], ...)
Arguments
- array - Range or array to sort.
- by_array - Range or array to sort by.
- sort_order - [optional] Sort order. 1 = ascending (default), -1 = descending.
- array/order - [optional] Additional array and sort order pairs.
Usage notes
The Excel SORTBY function sorts the contents of a range or array based on the values from another range or array. The range or array used to sort does not need to appear in the source data. In the example shown, the formula in E5 is:
=SORTBY(B5:B14,C5:C14,-1) // sort by grades descending
The output in E5:E14 is the list of names sorted by scores in descending order. To sort by grades in ascending order use:
=SORTBY(B5:B14,C5:C14,1) // sort by grades ascending
Notes
- All arguments must have compatible dimensions, i.e. array and by_array1 must contain the same number of rows.
- The by_array arguments can only be one row or one column.
- The sort_order argument can only be -1 (descending) or 1 (ascending). If no value is provided, SORTBY will sort in ascending order.
SORTBY is a new function available in Office 365 only.
SORTBY formula examples
To sort a list in a custom order, you can combine the SORTBY function with the MATCH function. In the example shown, The table is being sorted by the "group" column using in the order shown in cells J5:J7. The formula...
To sort text strings by length in ascending or descending order, you can use a formula based on the SORTBY and LEN functions. In the example shown, the formula in D5 is:
=SORTBY(B5:B15,LEN(B5:B15),-1)
which sorts the...
To sort by two columns, you can use the SORTBY function. In the example shown, data is sorted first by the Group column in ascending order, then by the Score column in descending order. The formula in F5 is:
=SORTBY(...
To sort values by columns, you can use the SORT function. In the example shown, data is sorted by the Group column. The formula in C8 is:
=SORT(C4:L5,2,-1,TRUE)
The result is the range C4:L5 sorted by score in...
To sort a list or table in random order, you can use the SORTBY function with the RANDARRAY function. In the example shown, the formula in D5 is:
=SORTBY(data,RANDARRAY(COUNTA(data)))
where "data" is the named range...
To create a random list of names, you can use the INDEX function and the RANDARRAY function to select random names from an existing list. In the example shown, the formula in D5 is:
=INDEX(names,RANDARRAY(10,1,1,...
Related videos
In this video, we’ll look at a basic example of sorting with the SORTBY function. With the SORTBY function, you supply sort order in pairs of inputs. Each pair has an argument for range, and an argument for sort order.
In this video, we’ll look at how to perform a random sort with the SORTBY function, with help from the RANDARRAY function.
In this video, we'll look at how to sort with SORTBY function using a custom list. We use the custom list to specify a custom order.
In this video, we’ll look at how to sort by multiple columns with the SORT and SORTBY functions.
With the introduction of dynamic array formulas, Excel includes 6 brand new functions that directly leverage dynamic array behavior. In this video, we quickly demo all 6.
Related functions
See also
