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How to Find Unique Values in Excel

D
David DeSouza
Dec 1, 2025
3 min read
A stylized illustration depicts two people standing on either side of a large blue inverted triangle, serving as a funnel or filter. The man on the left wears a light green shirt and dark blue pants, holding a magnifying glass to the triangle's opening. The woman on the right wears a coral shirt and light green pants, also holding a magnifying glass towards the triangle. Inside the inverted triangle are five light green rectangular boxes stacked vertically, each with a white circle and a dark blue line, representing data entries or options. Two light green gears are positioned above the top corners of the triangle, suggesting a filtering or processing mechanism. Below the triangle, abstract light green and white leafy shapes are scattered. The overall color palette is dominated by various shades of blue, green, and white, with coral and dark blue accents. The image conveys the concept of searching, filtering, or identifying specific items from a larger set.

The Problem

You have a list of 1000 orders and you just want a list of the unique customer names.

The Easy Way: Use SheetXAI

If you don't want to mess with formulas, the fastest way to do this is simply by asking.

With SheetXAI, you can open the sidebar and type:

List all the unique countries from column A.

SheetXAI will instantly write the formula or script for you and fill the cells. It handles the syntax so you can focus on the result.

The Manual Way: The Formulas You Need

To do this manually, you need to use: UNIQUE.

1. UNIQUE

Returns a list of unique values in a list or range.

Syntax: =UNIQUE(array)

  • array: The range or array from which to return unique rows or columns.

Example: Returns one instance of each value.

Understanding the Logic

It spills the results automatically into the cells below.

The Final Formula:

=UNIQUE(A:A)

Conclusion

Now you know the "classic" way to solve this using formulas. It's a great skill to have.

But for those times when you just want the job done without the mental math, SheetXAI is there to help.

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