How to use RIGHT in Excel
The last characters of a text.
Syntax
textText or a cell[num_chars]How many characters optionalExample
Here’s RIGHT on a small table of orders. The highlighted cells are the ones the formula reads.
=RIGHT(A2,2)Edit this formula live Change the ranges and watch the answer update. Free, no sign-up.
Common mistakes with RIGHT
The result is text
RIGHT returns text even for digits. Wrap in VALUE to do math with it.
Variable-length text
For the part after a delimiter, combine RIGHT with LEN and FIND.
What the error messages mean
Type these slips into Gridwise and this is the feedback you get:
Leaving off the closing bracket
=RIGHT(A2,2
Parentheses don’t match. You have 1 opening and 0 closing parentheses. Every ( needs a ).
Questions
What does the RIGHT function do in Excel?
The last characters of a text. The syntax is RIGHT(text, [num_chars]).
Why is my RIGHT formula giving the wrong answer?
The result is text: RIGHT returns text even for digits. Wrap in VALUE to do math with it. Variable-length text: For the part after a delimiter, combine RIGHT with LEN and FIND.
Does RIGHT work in Google Sheets?
Most Excel functions, including the core ones on this page, work the same way in Google Sheets. A few newer functions arrived in Sheets later or behave slightly differently, so test it on your own data.