How to use the Excel UNIQUE function

Summary

The Excel UNIQUE function returns a list of unique values in a list or range. Values can be text, numbers, dates, times, etc.

Purpose

Extract unique values from range

Return value

Array of unique values

Syntax

=UNIQUE (array, [by_col], [occurs_once])

Arguments

array - Range or array from which to extract unique values.
by_col - [optional] How to sort. By row = FALSE (default); by column = TRUE.
occurs_once - [optional] TRUE = values that occur once, FALSE= all unique values (default).

Usage notes

The Excel UNIQUE function extracts a list of unique values from a range. The result is a dynamic array of values. If this array is the final result (i.e. not handed off to another function) array values will "spill" onto the worksheet into a range that automatically updates when new uniques values are added or removed from the source range.

Examples

To return unique values from in the range A1:A10, you can use a formula like this:

=UNIQUE(A1:A10)

To return unique values from the horizontal range A1:E1, set the by_col argument to TRUE or 1:

=UNIQUE(A1:E1,1) // extract unique from horizontal array

The UNIQUE function has an optional argument called occurs_once that controls how the function deals with repeating values. By default, occurs_once is FALSE. This means UNIQUE will exact unique values regardless of how many times they appear in the source data. If set to TRUE or 1, UNIQUE will extract only unique values that appear just once in the source data:

=UNIQUE(A1:A10,0,1) // values that appear once only

Note: The UNIQUE function is in beta, available only through the Office Insiders program.

Related functions

Excel UNIQUE Function

The Excel UNIQUE function returns a list of unique values in a list or range. Values can be text, numbers, dates, times, etc.

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