LEFT vs MID vs RIGHT in Excel

LEFT — extract from the start

=LEFT(text, num_chars)
=LEFT(A2, 3)       first 3 characters of A2
=LEFT("ExcelPro", 5)   returns "Excel"

Use LEFT when you need a fixed number of characters from the beginning — country codes, ID prefixes, department codes.

RIGHT — extract from the end

=RIGHT(text, num_chars)
=RIGHT(A2, 4)      last 4 characters of A2
=RIGHT("report_2026.xlsx", 4)  returns "xlsx"

Use RIGHT when you need a fixed number of characters from the end — file extensions, year digits, area codes.

MID — extract from the middle

=MID(text, start_num, num_chars)
=MID(A2, 4, 3)     3 characters starting from position 4
=MID("ExcelPro123", 9, 3)  returns "123"

Use MID when you need characters from a specific position. The start_num is 1-indexed (1 = first character).

Combining with FIND for dynamic extraction

=LEFT(A2, FIND(" ", A2) - 1)
-- Extract first name: everything before the first space

=MID(A2, FIND(" ", A2) + 1, LEN(A2))
-- Extract last name: everything after the first space

💡 Excel 365 alternative

In Excel 365, TEXTBEFORE and TEXTAFTER replace most LEFT/MID/RIGHT + FIND combinations with cleaner syntax. Use the new functions when available.

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LEFT vs MID vs RIGHTwhich one to use

LEFT — extract from the start

RIGHT — extract from the end

MID — extract from the middle

Combining with FIND for dynamic extraction

Practice what you just learned

LEFT vs MID vs RIGHT
which one to use