CHOOSE function in Excel

CHOOSE returns one value from a list that you type into the formula, picked by its position number.

CHOOSE is a tiny lookup table written inside the formula itself. You give it a number and a list, and it hands back the item at that position. When the options are few and fixed, it is shorter and easier to read than a chain of IFs.

Syntax

=CHOOSE(index_num, value1, [value2], ...)

Argument	What it is
`index_num`	Which value to return: 1 for the first, 2 for the second, and so on.
`value1, value2, ...`	The values to choose from. They can be text, numbers, cell references or formulas.

Examples

Each result below is what Excel itself showed for the formula on the sample sheet.

Sample sheet: Twelve sales made by four salespeople in three regions.

	A	B	C	D	E	F
1	Date	Salesperson	Region	Product	Units	Amount
2	05-Jan-2026	Asha	North	Notebook	20	1200
3	12-Jan-2026	Ravi	South	Pen	50	500
4	20-Jan-2026	Meena	North	Bag	4	3000
5	02-Feb-2026	Asha	East	Pen	30	300
6	14-Feb-2026	Kabir	South	Notebook	15	900
7	28-Feb-2026	Ravi	North	Bag	2	1500
8	03-Mar-2026	Meena	East	Notebook	40	2400
9	15-Mar-2026	Asha	North	Bag	3	2250
10	22-Mar-2026	Kabir	South	Pen	60	600
11	01-Apr-2026	Ravi	East	Notebook	25	1500
12	18-Apr-2026	Meena	North	Pen	80	800
13	06-May-2026	Asha	South	Bag	5	3750

=CHOOSE(2,"Low","Medium","High")
Result: Medium
Position 2 of the list: Medium.
=CHOOSE(WEEKDAY(A2),"Sun","Mon","Tue","Wed","Thu","Fri","Sat")
Result: Mon
WEEKDAY gives 1 to 7, and CHOOSE turns that number into a name. The sale in A2 was on a Monday.
=CHOOSE(MONTH(A8),"Q4","Q4","Q4","Q1","Q1","Q1","Q2","Q2","Q2","Q3","Q3","Q3")
Result: Q4
The quarter of the Indian financial year, which starts in April. The date in A8 is in March, so Q4.
=SUM(CHOOSE(2,E2:E13,F2:F13))
Result: 18700
The values can be ranges: position 2 is the Amount column, so this adds up all the amounts.
=CHOOSE(5,"a","b","c")
Result: #VALUE!
Position 5 does not exist in a list of three: #VALUE!.

How it works

The first argument is a position: 1, 2, 3 and so on. The rest are the values. =CHOOSE(3,"a","b","c","d") returns "c". If the number has a fraction, Excel drops the fraction, so 2.9 counts as 2.

The number usually comes from another function. Anything that produces small whole numbers pairs well with CHOOSE:

WEEKDAY gives 1 to 7, which CHOOSE can turn into day names or into "working day" and "weekend";
MONTH gives 1 to 12, which CHOOSE can turn into quarters, seasons or month names;
a rating from 1 to 5 can become a word such as Poor, Fair, Good, Very good, Excellent.

The financial-year quarter

India's financial year runs from April to March, so the quarter cannot be worked out by dividing the month by three. The third example lists the quarter for each of the twelve months in order: January, February and March are Q4, April to June are Q1, and so on. It is long, but anyone can read and check it.

Choosing between ranges

The values can be ranges, and then CHOOSE returns a whole range that another function can use. =SUM(CHOOSE(n, range1, range2, range3)) adds up whichever range the number n points to. With a cell that holds 1, 2 or 3, the user can switch a total between scenarios.

CHOOSE, SWITCH or IFS?

Use CHOOSE when the thing you test is already a number from 1 upwards.
Use SWITCH when you are matching particular values, such as "N", "S", "E", "W".
Use IFS when each option has its own condition, such as marks above 80.
When the list of options is long, or changes, do not put it in a formula at all. Put it in cells and use a lookup.

Common mistakes

#VALUE! when the number is less than 1 or more than the number of values.
Starting from zero. CHOOSE counts from 1. If your codes start at 0, add 1.
A long list typed into many cells. If the same twelve values are needed in fifty formulas, keep them in one range and use INDEX. Then a change is made once.

In Google Sheets

CHOOSE is the same in Google Sheets.

Related functions

Every result on this page was calculated in Microsoft Excel (version 16.0, build 20326) on 12 November 2026, not typed by hand.

This is an independent help site. It is not connected with or approved by Microsoft. Excel and Microsoft 365 are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation, named here only to say which program a formula is for. The people and figures in the sample sheets are made up.